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Players of the Week

For the week ending August 9
August 10, 2009
International League
Brandon Snyder, Norfolk
.500 (12-24), 5 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 SB, .280 SLG
Former first-rounder Brandon Snyder has hit consistently since his mid-June promotion to Triple-A, and this week he really showed what he can do. He had three hits in Monday's game and followed with three more on Tuesday, then collected two singles in each of his next two games. Snyder, who was second in the Carolina last year with a .315 average, may lack astounding power, but he does have the ability to get on base and score runs, which he showcased this week.

Pacific Coast League
Chad Huffman, Portland
.448 (11-23), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 7 SO, 1 SB, .957 SLG
Huffman started the week a bit slow but exploded for five extra-base hits over his last four games. He drove in four with a homer and a double against Albuquerque on Thursday, then collected three more RBIs on another homer, a double and two singles Saturday. The Padres prospect finished the week with another homer -- his third in four games -- during a three-hit game.

Eastern League
Brett Pill, Connecticut
.379 (11-29), 6 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 SB, .655 SLG
Giants prospect Brett Pill homered, doubled and had five RBIs over his first two games of the week. He cooled off a touch on Thursday and Friday, but combined for four RBIs, four runs scored, a homer and a double over the weekend. Pill's big week netted him the league lead in RBIs; he's now collected 88 on the season.

Southern League
Juan Francisco, Carolina
.516 (16-31), 9 R, 7 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB, 1.032 SLG
The Reds' Juan Francisco teed off on Southern League pitching this week, compiling multiple extra-base hits in three separate games and notching a double in three others. He was especially abusive to the Tennessee pitching staff from Monday to Wednesday, going yard three times, doubling twice and knocking in six runs. On Friday against West Tenn, he doubled three times, plated two runs and twice crossed the plate himself.

Texas League
Chris Carter, Midland
.542 (13-24), 9 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 6 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, 1.000 SLG
In Chris Carter's worst game of the week, he doubled and drove in a run. That demonstrates how impressive the A's prospect's been, and he's earned Texas League honors for the second consecutive week. Carter doubled in four straight games, from Wednesday to Saturday, he scored at least one run in each of those games. Not surprisingly, his 38 two-baggers through Sunday lead the league. He's also shown strong plate discipline this week, walking twice as many times as he struck out.
Matt Spencer, Midland
.393(11-28), 8 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 3 BB, 6 SO, 0 SB, .929 SLG
Matt Spencer opened the week by homering in two straight games, and that was just the start. Not only did he hit safely in each of the week's games, but he also notched at least one RBI and scored at least one run. Spencer has demonstrated the ability to do some heavy lifting since coming up to the Texas League in early-May, and this week he put the weight of the world on his shoulders. He and co-Player of the Week Chris Carter, combined to score or drive in 43 of the RockHounds' 47 runs between Monday and Sunday.

California League
Brandon Barnes, Lancaster
.480 (12-25), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, .760 SLG
Astros prospect Brandon Barnes started the week with a scorching bat and cooled only slightly by Sunday. After knocking in six runs over a 6-for-9 stretch, he had six more hits over his next four games. Barnes isn't a speed demon -- the 210-pounder has stolen only three bases in eight attempts between two levels all year -- but during Wednesday's 4-for-4 performance, he hustled out his third Cal League triple since his early-June promotion.

Carolina League
Robert Widlansky, Frederick
.586 (17-29), 7 R, 6 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, 1.000 SLG
Widlansky, who was taken by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 2007 Draft, hasn't had any trouble with Carolina League pitching since joining the Keys from extended Spring Training in late-May. This marks the second time in two months Widlansky's been named Player of the Week, and his performance this week made him the inevitable honoree. He not only had four three-hit games, but he also had at least one hit in each of his other three games. He finished strong, blasting a homer and a double on Sunday.

Florida State League
Daniel Brewer, Tampa
.636 (14-22), 5 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3 SB, .909 SLG
Daniel Brewer has been decent since moving up to the Class A Advanced level from the South Atlantic League a little more than a month ago, but this week he produced the results the Yankees hoped for when they took him in the eighth round of last year's Draft. He had at least two hits in each of the five games he played in, and had three or more hits in three of them. On Friday, he put on something of a variety show, homering, singling twice and stealing a base to help his club wrap up a four-game sweep of Clearwater.

Midwest League
Xavier Scruggs, Quad Cities
.556 (15-27), 6 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB, 1.185 SLG
Scruggs was moved up from the New York-Penn League on Monday, and he immediately made it clear to the St. Louis brass he could handle the transition. He homered twice and collected four RBIs in his first Midwest League game, and, after doubling and singling on Tuesday, rocketed another longball in a five-RBI game on Wednesday. He plated one run in each of his three games, and on Sunday went yard again during a 5-for-6, four-RBI showing.

South Atlantic League
Steve Brown, Lexington
.429 (12-28), 8 R, 0 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 BB, 5 SO, 0 SB, .821 SLG
Houston's Steve Brown boosted his batting average by more than 20 points this week (from .233 on August 2 to .256 on August 9), and he's also flashed considerable power for his 180-pound frame. In addition to doubling his previous home run total with longballs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, he recorded his fifth triple of the season in Thursday's game. Brown has also scored at least one run in each of his last four contests and has three RBIs in four games.

Appalachian League
Cory Harrilchak, Danville
.600 (12-20), 4 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SO, 0 SB, .850 SLG
Cory Harrilchak, a 2009 Braves draftee, prefaced his red-hot weekend with three games of the consistent hitting his Danville teammates have come to expect from him. He was 4-for-9 before plating two runs with an RBI single on Friday, and Saturday he went 3-for-4 with a double and another RBI. Sunday, he fell a triple shy of the cycle, plated two and scored twice during a 4-for-4 performance. With his standout week, Harrilchak propelled himself into the top five Appalachian League batting leaders.

New York-Penn League
Kyle Conley, Batavia
.458 (11-24), 7 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB, 6 SO, 1 SB, .958 SLG
After a sub-par July in the Midwest League, Kyle Conley, the Cardinals' seventh-round pick in this year's Draft, used his first week in the New York-Penn League to show what he's capable of. Conley doubled and knocked in a run in his first game and homered and doubled in his second. He homered twice more in his third game, and before the week was over he'd doubled again, stolen a base and scored three more runs.

Northwest League
Matt Cerione, Everett
.500 (12-24), 4 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 SO, 0 SB, 1.000 SLG
Matt Cerione flexed his muscles at the beginning of the week, hammering out five extra-base hits (three homers and a pair of doubles) over the course of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He had a hit in each of his next two games, and he concluded the week with a double and a run scored in a 3-for-5 day at the plate Sunday.

Pioneer League
Paul Goldschmidt, Missoula
.500 (11-22), 6 R, 5 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 BB, 3 SO, 1 SB, .864 SLG
Paul Goldschmidt spent the week making the Diamondbacks glad they took him in the eighth round of this year's Draft. He went 4-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored on Monday and had at least two hits in each of the weekend's games. In fact, after doubling in Friday's game, he did it again Saturday. On Sunday, he homered and doubled twice more, plating four runs and scoring two in the process. After his strong week, Goldschmidt is among the league's top five in homers, doubles, hits, slugging percentage and extra-base hits.

Josh Jackson is a contributor to MLB.com.