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Topps names July Players of the Month

Snyder twins, Morris highlight latest group of honorees
August 8, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Twin brothers Matt and Michael Snyder, together with Huntsville's Hunter Morris, who repeats as the Southern League's honoree, are among the July Topps Player of the Month award winners. The Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball, announces the winners.

Henry Wrigley (25) of San Carlos, Calif., hit .370 with three homers and 18 RBIs. The Durham Bulls first baseman finished second in the International League with 37 hits and tied for third with 10 doubles. Wrigley recorded hits in 21 of 25 games, including 11 multiple hit efforts. The Tampa Bay Rays selected Wrigley in the 14th round in 2005 out of the College of San Mateo.

Dan Straily (23) of Springfield, Ore., led all Pacific Coast League pitchers in ERA (1.35), innings pitched (40), strikeouts (51), WHIP (0.70) and batting average against (.139). The Sacramento River Cats right-hander, who went 4-1 in six starts, allowed just one earned run in seven innings when he suffered his only loss of July on Friday the 13th. The Oakland Athletics, who drafted Straily in the 24th round in 2009 out of Marshall University, brought him up to the Majors on Aug. 3.

Oswaldo Arcia (21) of Cantaura-Anzoategui, Venezuela, led the Eastern League with 25 RBIs and an OPS of 1.009. The New Britain Rock Cats outfielder also ranked among the top seven in slugging (.583), batting average (.354), runs (23), hits (34) and on-base percentage (.426). The Minnesota Twins signed Arcia as a nondrafted free agent in July 2007.

Hunter Morris (23) of Oldsmar, Fla., claimed the Southern League's award for the second month in a row. The Huntsville Stars first baseman led the league in home runs (10), extra base hits (20), slugging percentage (.736), OPS (1.129) and total bases (78). Morris was third in the league with 36 hits, fourth with a .340 batting average and fifth with eight doubles. The Milwaukee Brewers picked Morris in the fourth round in 2010 out of Auburn University.

Engel Beltre (22) of Santo Domingo, D.R., paced the Texas League in runs (25), triples (6), extra-base hits (16), total bases (71) and steals (12). The Frisco RoughRiders outfielder had hits in 22 of his 28 games, including a dozen multihit contests. Beltre was also among the top four batters in hits (37), home runs (6), slugging (.592) and OPS (.943). The Texas Rangers acquired Beltre in a July 2007 trade with Boston.

Andres Santiago (23) of Toa Baja, P.R., went 2-0 with a 1.76 ERA for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The right-hander led the California League with 48 strikeouts and ranked second in innings pitched (41.0), WHIP (0.73) and average against (.147). The Los Angeles Dodgers promoted Santiago, whom they drafted in the 16th round in 2007 out of Colegio Carmen Sol in Puerto Rico, to Double-A® Chattanooga on Aug. 1.

Matt Fields (27) of Seattle, Wash., had a Carolina League best 13 homers, 38 hits, .794 slugging percentage and 1.219 OPS. The Wilmington Blue Rocks first baseman was second in the league with his .355 average and 20 extra-base hits. Fields had hits in 23 of 27 games and finished July on a nine-game hitting streak. The Kansas City Royals signed him as a free agent on June 21.

Tyler Pill (22) of Covina, Calif., won all five of his starts with the St. Lucie Mets. The right-hander finished second in the Florida State League in wins and ERA (1.55). In 29 innings, Pill struck out 28, while walking only seven. He lowered his season ERA from 2.78, entering July, to 1.82. The New York Mets drafted Pill in the fourth round in 2011 out of Cal State Fullerton.

Jason Wheeler (21) of Torrance, Calif., went a perfect 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA for the Beloit Snappers in July. The left-hander allowed two or fewer runs in four of his five Midwest League starts. Wheeler fanned 22 and walked 12 in 31 innings. The Minnesota Twins selected Wheeler in the eighth round in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount University.

Tyler Anderson (22) of Las Vegas, Nev., went 3-0 with a South Atlantic League best 0.85 ERA. The Asheville Tourists left-hander, who tossed a seven inning, three-hit shutout on July 29 against Charleston, struck out 18 and walked eight in 31 2/3 innings. The Colorado Rockies took Anderson in the first round (20th overall) in 2011 out of the University of Oregon.

Matt Snyder (22) of Centerville, Va., led the New York-Penn League last month in batting (.414) and OPS (1.094). The Staten Island Yankees first baseman ranked second in RBIs (23) and slugging (.609) and third in hits (36) and on-base percentage (.485). Snyder had hits in 20 of 24 games, including 10 in row from July 8-20. The New York Yankees drafted Snyder in the 10th round in June out of the University of Mississippi.

Christopher Taylor (21) of Virginia Beach, Va., hit .293 with five doubles, 13 runs and eight stolen bases in 21 games with the Everett AquaSox. The shortstop, who hit .382 against Northwest League pitchers in June, was promoted to Class A® Clinton on July 25. The Seattle Mariners picked Taylor in the fifth round in June out of the University of Virginia.

Candido Pimentel (22) of La Victoria, Santo Domingo, D.R., led the Appalachian League with 36 hits and a .409 average. The Elizabethton Twins second baseman ranked second in on-base percentage (.464) and third in runs (20). Pimentel had hits in 20 of 23 games, including a dozen multiple-hit ones. The Minnesota Twins inked Pimentel as a nondrafted free agent in February 2009.

Michael Snyder (22) of Centerville, Va., drove in 34 runs, nine more than any other Pioneer League player. The Orem Owlz third baseman also led the circuit with 16 extra-base hits and 66 total bases. Snyder had hits in his first nine July games to stretch a hitting streak to 18 games. He ranked second in slugging (.660) and third in home runs (6) and OPS (1.114). The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Snyder in the 23rd round in June out of Florida Southern College.

Joey Gallo (18) of Las Vegas, Nev., paced the Arizona League in homers (10), RBIs (28), slugging (.744), runs (27) and extra-base hits (17). The Rangers third baseman hit .314 and ranked second with a 1.154 OPS. The Texas Rangers drafted Gallo in the first compensation round (39th overall) in June out of Bishop Gorman high school.

Jeremias Pineda (21) of Hormigo, D.R., led the Gulf Coast League with a .436 average, 62 points better than anyone else. The Red Sox outfielder was also first in hits (41), total bases (52), on-base percentage (.470) and OPS (1.023). Pineda tied for the league lead with 10 stolen bases and finished fourth with 16 RBIs. The Boston Red Sox, who signed Pineda as a free agent in March 2011, traded him to Minnesota for third baseman Danny Valencia on August 5.

July Topps Player of the Month Award Winners
LEAGUE PLAYER CLUB MLB ORG POS AVG HR RBI W-L ERA
International Henry Wrigley Durham TB 1B .370 3 18
Pacific Coast Dan Straily Sacramento OAK RHP 4-1 1.35
Eastern Oswaldo Arcia New Britain MIN OF .354 4 25
Southern Hunter Morris Huntsville MIL 1B .340 10 25
Texas Engel Beltre Frisco TEX OF .308 6 15
California Andres Santiago Rancho Cucamonga LAD RHP 2-0 1.76
Carolina Matt Fields Wilmington KC 1B .355 13 19
Florida State Tyler Pill St. Lucie NYM RHP 5-0 1.55
Midwest Jason Wheeler Beloit MIN LHP 4-0 2.03
South Atlantic Tyler Anderson Asheville COL LHP 3-0 .85
New York-Penn Matt Snyder Staten Island NYY 1B .414 2 23
Northwest Christopher Taylor Everett SEA SS .293 1 9
Appalachian Candido Pimentel Elizabethton MIN 2B .409 1 14
Pioneer Michael Snyder Orem LAA 3B .370 6 34
Arizona Joey Gallo AZL Rangers TEX 3B .314 10 28
Gulf Coast Jeremias Pineda GCL Red Sox BOS OF .436 0 16

Statistics provided by Major League Baseball Advanced Media