Mitch Atkins Named PCL Pitcher of Week

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Pacific Coast League today announced Matt Carson of the Sacramento River Cats the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week and Mitch Atkins of the Iowa Cubs the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for August 24-30.

Signed as a minor league free-agent, Carson is in his first season with the Oakland As and has played in 111 games with the River Cats and blasted 23 home runs and drove in 71 runs. The Newport Beach, California native is in his eighth professional season and was originally drafted by the New York Yankees out of Brigham Young University in the fifth round of the 2002 MLB draft.

Atkins is in his second season with the Iowa Cubs and is 8-11 overall with a 6.56 ERA. His 121 strikeouts are the fourth highest in the PCL. The North Carolina native was the Chicago Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008 and finished the season 8-1 in just ten starts. His .889 winning percentage was the best in the PCL. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of Northeast Guilford High School in the seventh round of the 2004 MLB draft.

Watch the International League champion and the Pacific Coast League champion compete in the 2009 Triple-A National Championship Game on September 22nd live from Oklahoma City on ESPN2 at 6:05 CDT. For more information visit the official Pacific Coast League web site, www.pclbaseball.com or the official Triple-A baseball web site, www.triple-abaseball.com.