Ritchie, Musgrove win Astros' April honors
Catcher and first baseman Jamie Ritchie is the Quad Cities River Bandits Player of the Month for April, and right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove is the team's Pitcher of the Month, the Houston Astros announced on Saturday.
The Houston Astros Player Development Department named a Pitcher and Player of the Month at each of their four full-season affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team. Both Ritchie and Musgrove made their Midwest League debuts in April to help the River Bandits finish the month at a league-best 15-6, marking the best 21-game start for Quad Cities since 2001.
Ritchie, Houston's 13th-round pick out of Belmont University in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, was second in the Midwest League with a .467 on-base percentage in April, was fourth with a .926 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), and sixth with a .344 batting average. The 22-year-old Buford, Ga., native led the River Bandits by scoring 13 runs and tied for the team lead with 21 hits, including two doubles, one triple and one home run. Ritchie played in 17 April games, including five as a catcher and 11 as a first baseman. Ritchie's 14 bases on balls were the most in a month by a River Bandit since May 2014.
Musgrove, acquired by Houston in a trade with Toronto on July 20, 2012, won each of his first three outings in April to tie for the most by any Midwest League pitcher and any Houston Astros minor league pitcher. His 0.87 ERA (two earned runs in a team-high 20 2/3 innings) qualified for fifth-best in the Midwest League in the month. The El Cajon, Calif., native did not issue a walk in his first 14 2/3 innings this season, and he finished April with 20 strikeouts while walking only one batter in four appearances. It was the second straight monthly award for Musgrove, who was the Pitcher of the Month for short-season Class-A Tri-City in August 2014.
For other Houston Astros affiliates, five former River Bandits were recognized as Player or Pitcher of the Month. Richard Rodriguez (2013 River Bandits) was Pitcher of the Month for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. Carlos Correa (2013) and Chris Devenski (2013) were respectively the Player and Pitcher of the Month for the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks. Brett Phillips (2014) and Tyler Brunnemann (2014) were respectively the Player and Pitcher of the Month for the Class-A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks.
Every Astros in-season minor league affiliate, as well as the major league club, had a winning record in April. Houston finished the month with a seven-game winning streak to hold first place in the American League West with a 15-7 record - tied with Kansas City for the best record in the American League and marking the Astros' best record in April since 1986. Quad Cities and Corpus Christi also finished the month in first place in their respective divisions. Fresno and Lancaster each held or tied for second place.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits will give away five new Mini Rita Grills next Thursday on Rita de Mayo presented by Bud Light and 7G Distributing. The amusement rides will open on Total Turf and Landscape Night and a Thirst-Day with $2 drink specials presented by 104.9 The Hawk, ESPN 93.5 and the River Cities' Reader. IHMVCU members can purchase buy-one-get-one free tickets at the box office. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop'N Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.