Offensive Players of the Week
Justin Maxwell, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
.476/.542/1.000, 6 G, 10-for-21, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 10 RS, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 SB, 0 CS
Yankees farmhand Justin Maxwell started the week with a .235 batting average in the IL, but by the time his head hit the pillow Sunday night, he had that mark up to .264. The 27-year-old outfielder had four multi-hit games, and he scored two runs or more in three separate tilts. Maxwell saved his best hitting for the weekend, homering in each game from Friday through Sunday and also doubling in Saturday's game. He carries a seven-game hitting streak into the new week, and he's scored a run in each of those games. He hasn't failed to get himself on base since May 13.
Pacific Coast League
Andrew Brown, Memphis
.520/.636/1.000, 7 G, 13-for-25, 3 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 RS, 8 BB, 6 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Andrew Brown used his opportunities this week to build up an 11-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .439 with 16 RBIs. The Redbirds outfielder homered and plated three runs in a 2-for-4 game Monday, also scoring twice and working a walk. On Thursday, he busted out with another longball and went 3-for-4, again scoring twice and once more earning a base-on-balls. After ripping two doubles Friday, he homered yet again Saturday, and he doubled, singled and walke Sunday. Brown's .441 on-base percentage puts him fourth in the PCL.
Eastern League
Tyler Moore, Harrisburg
.448/.448/.897, 8 G, 13-for-29, 4 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 RS, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
The Carolina League MVP from 2010, Tyler Moore is starting to look the part in Double-A at last. He had five multi-hit games from Monday through Sunday and only saw a seven-game hit streak ended by an 0-for-2 in the nightcap of a doubleheader Sunday. Of the seven games in which Moore had at least one hit, the Nationals' 2008 16th-round pick had an extra-base hit in six of them. He homered Tuesday, Friday and in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. He still has just five walks for the season, and learning patience may be the next step if the Mississippi State product is to become a Major Leaguer.
Southern League
Kyle Russell, Chattanooga
.423/.444/1.115, 7 G, 11-for-26, 6 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 8 RS, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Outfielder Kyle Russell won the Southern League Player of the Week almost entirely off his early week performance. He had 10 hits from Monday to Wednesday, all of them for extra bases. The Texas product had a pair of homers and four RBIs on both Monday and Wednesday, and he had three RBIs on the day in between. A 1-for-12 finish to the week for the 2008 Dodgers third-round pick could do nothing to the glory of the first part of his week.
Texas League
Tim Wheeler, Tulsa
.500/.600/.833, 6 G, 12-for-24, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 RS, 5 BB, 1 K, 1 SB, 0 CS
Tim Wheeler, who also was named the Texas League Player of the Week at the beginning of the month, was drilling for Tulsa this week. He kicked off a hot streak by banging out three hits, including a double, on Monday, and he had two hits, two walks, two runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI in his next game. On Thursday, he slugged two home runs and another double, also walking and plating four runs. The Rockies' first-rounder from 2009, Wheeler finished his week by notching two hits Saturday and two more Sunday.
California League
Kiel Roling, Modesto
.448/.529/.931, 6 G, 13-for-29, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 12 RS, 5 BB, 5 K, 0 SB, 1 CS
Kiel Roling, on average, crossed the plate twice and knocked in more than two runs per game this week. Although he clustered some of that production together into unique outbursts (for example, Friday's 4-for-5, two-homer, four-runs-scored, five-RBI extravaganza), Roling hit consistently throughout his six contests. He had three hits Wednesday, two Thursday and two Sunday, and he never went hungry. The Colorado prospect homered, walked three times and scored four runs in the final game of the week.
Carolina League
Andy Wilkins, Winston-Salem
.429/.520/.952, 6 G, 9-for-21, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 5 RS, 4 BB, 4 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Andy Wilkins, the White Sox's fifth-round pick from last summer's Draft, doubled in his second straight game Monday, and kicked off a string of four straight games in which he recorded an RBI on Tuesday. That wasn't his only impressive streak of the week, though; the 22-year-old first baseman went yard Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Over that stretch, he totaled six hits, including a double, and five RBIs. He had a hit, a walk and a run scored in Sunday's game. Wilkins crossed the plate in every one of the week's tilts except Monday's.
Florida State League
Brock Kjeldgaard, Brevard County
.435/.519/1.000, 10-for-23, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 7 RS, 3 BB, 5 K, 3 SB, 1 CS
After he pushed aside an 0-for-6 start to the week, opposing pitchers had a better chance of spelling Brock Kjeldgaard's last name correctly than they did of keeping him off the bases. He homered twice, had three RBIs, walked and stole a base to break out of the skid Wednesday. Over the next two days, the Brewers prospect tallied six hits, including another homer and a double, four RBIs, two runs scored, another walk and another stolen base. On Sunday, Kjeldgaard went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and his 10th homer of the season.
Midwest League
Rymer Liriano, Fort Wayne
.500/.609/1.000, 6 G, 9-for-18, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 RS, 5 BB, 1 K, 9 SB, 1 CS
San Diego prospect Rymer Liriano struggled in his first 15 games of the season in the Class A Advanced Cal League, but he's found his groove this week in the Midwest League. The 19-year-old speedster racked up two stolen bases in each of four games between Monday and Friday, and he did plenty of damage with his bat, too. He tripled and doubled in his first tilt of the week and tripled and singled twice in his next one. He homered and doubled in Game 1 of a Sunday doubleheader and stole another base in Game 2. Liriano walked in four straight games this week, getting aboard via the base-on-balls twice and scoring two runs on Friday.
South Atlantic League
Jakob Dalfonso, Rome
.478/.556/1.043, 6 G, 11-for-23, 1 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 9 RS, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 SB, 0 CS
Braves prospect Jakob Dalfonso homered in four consecutive games this week, beginning with his 3-for-4, three-RBI Monday. In each of the four games, he had at least two hits and knocked in a minimum of two runs, and he scored three times on Wednesday. On Friday, he missed the cycle by a triple, scoring twice and knocking in two. Alfonso quieted down over Saturday and Sunday, going 1-for-6, but even on the only day of the week he didn't have a hit, he still managed to score.