Castellanos, Ramirez are Weekly Winners

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Alex Castellanos of the Albuquerque Isotopes and Neil Ramirez of the Round Rock Express have been named Pacific Coast League Player and Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 16th-22nd, the league office announced today.

Castellanos put together six remarkable games last week, batting .440 while leading the league with four home runs and a 1.120 slugging mark. He added two triples and a double as part of his eleven hits, while walking four times and stealing three bases. His eight RBIs were good for third in the league as he helped the team go 6-1 on the week.

Castellanos, 25, is in the middle of converting back to a second baseman after previously moving to the outfield as a member of the Cardinals organization. After being drafted in the 10th round of the 2008 draft, he was traded to the Dodgers last July in a deal for Rafael Furcal and now ranks as the #13 prospect in their system on MLB.com. While transitioning back to the infield, Castellanos is hitting .371 so far this season, his first at the AAA level.

Ramirez earns his honors after putting up back-to-back wins, throwing six scoreless innings at home against Omaha then again in New Orleans. Over the twelve inning stretch, the right-hander allowed only seven hits and one walk while striking out ten, putting up a glistening 0.00 ERA for the week.

Ramirez is now 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA for Round Rock, allowing just 19 base runners in 21 innings so far this season. The 22-year-old was a supplemental 1st round pick for the Texas Rangers in 2007, coming out of high school in Kempsville, Virginia. In 2011 Ramirez made 18 starts for the Express, going 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA.