Suns Duo Sweep SAL Player/Pitcher of the Week

Soto, Braymer earn SAL honors after huge weeks

By Shawn Murnin

April 16, 2018

Hagerstown, MD - The South Atlantic League named a pair of Hagerstown Suns the first Player and Pitcher of the Week for the 2018 season on Monday. Outfielder Juan Soto was named SAL Player of the Week and Ben Braymer earned the SAL Pitcher of the Week award for the

Hagerstown, MD - The South Atlantic League named a pair of Hagerstown Suns the first Player and Pitcher of the Week for the 2018 season on Monday. Outfielder Juan Soto was named SAL Player of the Week and Ben Braymer earned the SAL Pitcher of the Week award for the week of April 5-15.

Soto has started the 2018 season red-hot for Hagerstown, highlighted by his April 8 performance where he missed hitting for the cycle by a double. The right-fielder went 4-for-5 with nine total bases, hitting a homer, a triple, and two singles while driving in four RBIs against the Rome Braves. Soto also had a career-high six RBIs on April 10 in Columbia against the Fireflies, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and a homer. All total, the National's #2 prospect is batting .361 (6^th in the SAL) with four homers (tied for 1^st), 19 RBIs (1^st), and 31 total bases (1^st). His .861 slugging percentage is tops in the league while his .489 on-base percentage is second-best on the circuit. Soto was also named to MLB Pipeline's Prospect team of the Week earlier in the day.
Braymer has been lights-out on the mound for the Suns early in 2018, earning him the honor of SAL Pitcher of the Week. The southpaw has pitched in three games for Hagerstown, going 2-0 while totaling 11.2 innings of work and holding opponents to a .158 batting average with just six hits against him. His most recent performance on April 14 against Greensboro was his best yet, holding the Grasshoppers to two hits over five innings pitched with six strikeouts. He hasn't allowed a run yet this season and is second in the SAL with 16 strikeouts while posting a 0.51 WHIP, good for second in the league.
Soto is the first Suns player to win the SAL Player of the Week award since outfielder Daniel Johnson received the honor for June 19-25 of 2017. Braymer becomes the first Suns hurler to be named SAL Pitcher of the Week since Taylor Guilbeau was for the week of August 22-28 back in 2016.
Braymer, Soto, and the rest of the Hagerstown Suns are back in action at Hagerstown Municipal Stadium on Tuesday with a double header against the Delmarva Shorebirds with the first game beginning at 5:05 PM. Fans can order tickets online at www.hagerstownsuns.com or by calling (301) 791-6266.