Topps honors best players of August

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Reading's Darin Ruf, who tied the professional record by slugging 20 homers last month, and Brooklyn's Hansel Robles, who didn't allow an earned run in 33 innings, highlight the 16 August Topps Player of the Month award winners. The Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, announces the winners.

Chris Parmelee (24) of Chino Hills, Calif., led the International League in slugging percentage (.667) and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS, 1.110) and tied for the league lead with 17 extra-base hits. The Rochester Red Wings first baseman also ranked among the top five in homers (8), walks (23), RBIs (20), doubles (8) and on-base percentage (.444). The Minnesota Twins selected Parmelee in the first round of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of high school.

Leonys Martin (24) of Weston, Fla., had hits in 21 of 24 games, including 12 in a row from Aug. 5-22. The Round Rock Express outfielder topped the Pacific Coast League in runs (29) and slugging percentage (.689), and ranked second in batting average (.379) and OPS (1,123). The Texas Rangers signed Martin as a nondrafted free agent in May 2011.

Darin Ruf (26) of Omaha, Neb., tied Sammy Sosa's professional record by clubbing 20 homers in a month. In addition to his homer total, the Reading Phillies outfielder/first baseman also led the Eastern League in OPS (1.382), slugging (.931), on-base percentage (.451), RBIs (36), runs (28) and extra-base hits (25). The Philadelphia Phillies, who selected Ruf in the 20th round of the 2009 Draft out of Creighton University, promoted him to the Majors on Monday.

Josh Fellhauer (24) of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., paced the Southern League with a .505 on-base percentage and ranked second in batting average at .372. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos outfielder recorded 10 multiple-hit games and ranked among the top five in the league in walks (21) and OPS (.992). The Cincinnati Reds took Fellhauer in the seventh round of the 2009 Draft out of Cal State Fullerton.

Nolan Arenado (21) of Lake Forest, Calif., ranked first in the Texas League in hits (39) and total bases (62), and tied for the league lead with 15 extra-base hits. The Tulsa Drillers third baseman began August with an 11-game hitting streak and hit safely in 22 of his 27 games. Arenado was also among the top three in the league in batting average (.358), doubles (11), slugging percentage (.569) and OPS (.944). The Colorado Rockies picked Arenado in the second round of the 2009 Draft out of high school.

Nick Tropeano (22) of West Islip, N.Y., went 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA for the Lancaster JetHawks. The right-hander ranked among the top six California League pitchers in wins, ERA, innings pitched (37 2/3), WHIP (Walks + Hits/Innings Pitched, 1.14) and strikeouts (35). The Houston Astros selected Tropeano in the fifth round of the 2011 Draft out of SUNY Stony Brook (N.Y.).

Dan Black (25) of Carmel, Ind., had 13 multiple-hit games and a 10-game hitting streak on his way to batting .345 against Carolina League pitchers. The Winston-Salem Dash first baseman led the league in runs (20), RBIs (26), slugging percentage (.591) and OPS (.996). Black ranked second with six homers and 38 hits, and third in batting average. The Chicago White Sox selected Black in the 14thround of the 2009 Draft out of Purdue University.

Marcell Ozuna (21) of Santo Domingo, D.R., led the Florida State League in hits (38), extra-base hits (16), homers (8), RBIs (32), runs (24), slugging percentage (.673) and OPS (1.094). The Jupiter Hammerheads outfielder had hits in 21 of his 27 games in batting .365, fifth best in the league. The Miami Marlins signed Ozuna as a nondrafted free agent in February 2008.

Daniel Paolini (22) of Stratford, Conn., had a powerful month for the Clinton LumberKings, leading the Midwest League in homers (11), RBIs (37), extra-base hits (20), slugging percentage (.705) and OPS (1.127). The 37 runs the first baseman drove in last month were one more than his season total entering August. Paolini had 14 multiple-hit games, and finished second in the league with a .361 batting average and 44 hits. The Seattle Mariners chose him in the 10th round of the 2011 Draft out of Siena College.

Ben Alsup (24) of Ruston, La., went 3-0 and led the South Atlantic League in ERA (1.08), batting average against (.153) and WHIP (0.75). The Asheville Tourists right-hander tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout on Aug. 15 against Charleston and followed that up with 12 scoreless innings in his final two starts of the month. The Colorado Rockies took Alsup in the 18th round of the 2011 Draft out of Louisiana State University.

Hansel Robles (22) of Bonao, D.R., didn't allow an earned run in 33 innings in going 4-0 in five starts for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The right-hander struck out 30 New York-Penn League batters and led the circuit in ERA, batting average against (.118) and WHIP (0.52). The New York Mets signed Robles as a nondrafted free agent in August 2008.

Daniel Vogelbach (19) of North Ft. Myers, Fla., had hits in his first 10 August games on the way to batting .304 with a Northwest League leading nine home runs. The Boise Hawks first baseman ranked second in the circuit in RBIs (23), extra-base hits (15), OPS (1.025) and slugging percentage (.607). He ranked third with 20 walks and a .418 on-base percentage. The Chicago Cubs selected Vogelbach in the second round of the 2011 Draft out of high school.

Dario Pizzano (21) of Saugus, Mass., began August with a 15-game hitting streak on his way to leading the Appalachian League with a .429 average. The Pulaski Mariners outfielder also paced the league in hits (42), doubles (12), on-base percentage (.473) and OPS (1.075). Piazzano also ranked in the top five with 14 extra-base hits, 18 RBIs and a .602 slugging percentage. The Seattle Mariners took him in the 15th round in this year's Draft out of Columbia University.

Corey Seager (18) of Kannapolis, N.C., hit .381 and led the Pioneer League in slugging percentage (.738) and OPS (1.183). The Ogden Raptors shortstop ranked third in batting average and home runs (7). He was fourth in runs (25), on-base percentage (.444) and RBIs (25). The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Seager with their first-round pick (18th overall) in this year's Draft out of high school.

Paul Hoenecke (22) of Kewaskum, Wisc., topped the Arizona League in batting average (.406), doubles (13), slugging percentage (.677), extra-base hits (18) and OPS (1.130). The Dodgers first baseman was second in the league in RBIs (20) and third in on-base percentage (.453). Los Angeles picked Hoenecke in the 24th round in this year's Draft out of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.

Mike Meyers (18) of Las Vegas, Nev., led the Gulf Coast League in batting average (.446), on-base percentage (.483) and slugging percentage (.661). The Red Sox second baseman was also among the top three in doubles (9), extra-base hits (10), total bases (37) and hits (25). Boston took Meyers in the 12th round in this year's Draft out of high school.

Statistics provided by Major League Baseball Advanced Media