Offensive Players of the Week
Eric Munson, Durham
7 G, 25 AB, 10 R, 13 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .520 AVG, .625 OBP, 1.040 SLG, 0 SB
Munson had two monstrous games to help the Durham Bulls snap a five-game skid and end the week with three straight wins. The third overall pick of the 1999 draft hit safely in his first five games of the week to extend his hitting streak to nine games, the last of which was a 3-for-4 effort that included a two-run homer, five RBIs and the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 11th inning. He endured his only hitless game of the week on Saturday before exploding for five hits in five at-bats on Sunday in a 13-9 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Two of those five hits were home runs -- his 12th and 13th of the season -- placing him fourth in the International League in that category. For the week, the former USC Trojan led the league in home runs (four), on-base percentage (.625), slugging percentage (1.040) and runs scored (10). Munson is back in the Minor Leagues for the first time since 2002 after hitting 37 homers over the past two seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Pacific Coast League
Josh Willingham, Albuquerque
6 G, 20 AB, 8 R, 11 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .550 AVG, .625 OBP, 1.150 SLG, 0 SB
The Florida Marlins top catching prospect had another outstanding week to further entrench himself as one of the best hitters in the Pacific Coast League. Willingham hit in all six Isotopes games, collecting a pair of hits in each of the first five before going 1-for-3 with a home run in the last game of the week. The converted corner-infielder also homered on June 6 at Oklahoma and on June 9 in the first of a four-game series against Round Rock. His three roundtrippers boosted his total to 19 on the season, which is tied for first in the Pacific Coast League and fifth in Minor League Baseball. The former University of North Alabama All-American ranks amongst the best in the Minors in several other categories, as well. He leads all Minor Leaguers in slugging percentage (.767), is second in on-base percentage (.480), tied for fourth in runs (52), and tied for seventh in RBIs (52). His .352 average is third-best in the PCL.
Eastern League
Rob Cosby, New Hampshire
6 G, 25 AB, 7 R, 12 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .480 AVG, .519 OBP, .840 SLG, 0 SB
Fisher Cats third baseman Rob Cosby raised his average 30 points in just six games on the strength of a four-hit game, a three-hit game and a pair of two-hit games. He entered the week hitting just .252, but finished with a .282 mark. The 24-year-old from San Juan, Puerto Rico, had his biggest game on June 8 when he went 4-for-6 with two doubles, two runs and four RBIs in a 17-13 loss to Akron. He followed that up with back-to-back 2-for-4 efforts, the latter of which included a home run and three RBIs. The 10th-round pick of the Blue Jays in 1999, Cosby added another home run on Sunday, when he went 3-for-4 in a 9-6 loss to Erie. On the week, he led the league in hits (12) and runs (seven), was second in hitting (.480), tied for third in RBIs (eight), fourth in on-base percentage (.519), and fifth in slugging percentage (.840).
Southern League
Jerry Gil, Tennessee
6 G, 21 AB, 7 R, 9 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, .429 AVG, 1.000 SLG, 0 SB
Jerry Gil made the best of a bad situation last week. During the eighth game of what was intended to be a 10-game rehab stint with Tennessee, the shortstop was struck on the right hand by a pitch on May 31 and had his stay with the Smokies extended. He went 0-for-4 in his first game back in the lineup on June 2, dropping his average to .219, but has hit .423 since to raise his average to .310. Perhaps inspired by the Diamondbacks' recent addition of two high-profile shortstops -- Justin Upton and Stephen Drew -- Gil also displayed some uncharacteristic pop in his bat, launching five homers in seven games, eclipsing his season totals in four out of his five seasons in the Minor Leagues. The 22-year-old Dominican, who made his Major League debut in 2004, homered for a second consecutive game to start the week on June 6 then went 2-for-4 with another homer in an 8-2 win over Montgomery on June 9. The coup de grâce came in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday, when Gil accounted for all but one of the Smokies' runs in an 8-4 win over Montgomery. He was 3-for-3 with two homers, three runs scored and four RBIs .
Texas League
Juan Senreiso, Frisco
6 G, 25 AB, 6 R, 13 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .520 AVG, .556 OBP, 0 SB
Frisco right fielder Juan Senreiso hit a hefty .520 to earn Texas League Offensive Player of the Week honors. The 23-year-old Dominican hit safely in all six games for the RoughRiders, raising his average from .268 to .297. Senreiso, formerly known as Julin Charles before having his true identity revealed, was instrumental in leading Frisco to its only two wins of the week. He was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in a 13-0 whitewashing of San Antonio on June 8 and went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs in a 9-8 comeback win over the Missions the following night, including a game-tying double in the ninth inning. On the week, Senreiso led the league in average and hits (13) and was third in on-base percentage (.556).
California League
Stephen Drew, Lancaster
6 G, 24 AB, 9 R, 10 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .417 AVG, .792 SLG, 0 SB
It didn't take Drew long to make his long-awaited presence felt, as the Diamondbacks' 2004 first-round draft pick launched his Minor League career with the Lancaster JetHawks. Having signed a contract just minutes before the deadline that would have sent him back into the 2005 draft pool, Drew was assigned to Arizona's California League affiliate, where he hit .417 with four multi-hit games, 10 runs and eight RBIs in his first six games. In his first game, the former Florida State star went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, two walks and two runs scored -- including the game-winner in the top of the ninth -- as the JetHawks beat Bakersfield, 6-5. The third of three brothers to be taken in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft, Drew heated up as the week progressed. He went 3-for-5 with a double, triple, three runs and four RBIs on June 10, then had a pair of hits and a homer in each of his last two games. The 22-year-old shortstop led the league in runs scored (nine), tied for second in home runs (two), was third in RBIs (8) and slugging percentage (.792) and tied for seventh in average (.417).
Carolina League
Leo Daigle, Winston-Salem
6 G, 24 AB, 7 R, 9 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 12 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.250 SLG, 1 SB
Daigle had a mammoth week to become the first three-time winner of the Offensive Player of the Week award and just the second player to win the award twice in a row. Last week may have been Daigle's best yet, as the 6-foot-3 corner infielder continued his pursuit of a Triple Crown by smashing seven homers, driving in 12 runs and hitting .375. The Detroit Tigers' 1997 11th-round draft pick started the week with his 14th homer of the year in a 2-1 loss to Potomac. After a rare hitless game on June 7, Daigle made amends by homering in four straight games, including consecutive two-homer games on June 8 and June 10. On the season, the California native has four multi-homer games and has gone deep in consecutive games five times. Midway through the season, the 25-year-old leads the league in average (.350), home runs (20), RBIs (65), hits (86), slugging percentage (.675), extra-base hits (40) and runs (46).
Florida State League
Shawn Bowman, St. Lucie
7 G, 26 AB, 6 R, 13 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 12 RBI, .500 AVG, .552 OBP, 1.192 SLG, 0 SB
After struggling mightily for the first two months of the season, Bowman finally showed some evidence of why he is considered the Mets' top infield prospect. The 20-year-old Canadian was batting just .169 with four home runs and 18 RBIs entering the week, but went 13-for-26 (.500) to raise his average 40 points. He also hit more homers (five) than he had in his first 51 games and nearly doubled his RBI total with 12 in seven games. Bowman started the week by going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in an 8-5 loss to Palm Beach and then led the Mets to a five-game winning streak. On June 8, the 6-foot-2 third baseman hit a grand slam in a 9-8 win over Brevard County. Two days later, he went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs to complete a three-game sweep of the Manatees. Then on June 11, Bowman clubbed two roundtrippers in a 6-1 win over Jupiter. For the week, he led the FSL in homers, slugging percentage (1.192) and extra-base hits (eight), was second in RBIs, hits (12) and on-base percentage (.552) and was third in average.
Midwest League
John Jaso, SW Michigan
6 G, 20 AB,11 R, 10 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .500 AVG, .577 OBP, 1.200 SLG, 0 SB
Jaso hit as many home runs last week as he did in his first two professional seasons combined, going deep four times while helping Southwest Michigan to five wins in seven games. Jaso started at catcher and went 4-for-5 with a homer, four runs and two RBIs in the Devil Rays' 12-2 rout of Wisconsin in the first game of a doubleheader on June 6. The next night, the California native served as the team's designated hitter and went 2-for-2 with two homers, three runs, two RBIs and a pair of walks. Back behind the plate on June 10, he went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs in a 13-8 loss to West Michigan. Jaso finished the week as the league's third-leading hitter at .339 while owning a share of the league lead in homers (11) and ranking first in slugging percentage (.602).
South Atlantic League
Brian Barton, Lake County
7 G, 26 AB, 9 R, 10 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, .385 AVG, 4 SB
Barton continued his torrid hitting since being called up from extended Spring Training in May, hitting .385 with nine runs and nine RBIs in a week that saw that Captains score a dozen or more runs three times. The non-drafted free agent out of the University of Miami had a huge game to start the week, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, four runs, four RBIs and a stolen base in an 18-7 win over Delmarva. He went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs the following night as the Captains beat Hagerstown, 12-2, and then went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs in a 12-1 pasting of Delmarva on June 11. The 23-year-old outfielder led the Sally League in runs, RBIs, doubles (four), triples (1) and extra-base hits. His .385 average was also good for eighth in the league, but caused his season average to drop to .407.