Assad Earns Second Straight Weekly Honor

It's been quite the month of May for RHP Javier Assad. A member of the 2017 Eugene Emeralds team, Assad was named today as the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week, the second consecutive week that he's garnered the honor. 

The award comes on the heels of Assad's third consecutive performance featuring at least six innings and no runs allowed. Assad's most recent gem came on May 15 where he tossed a career-high seven innings while allowing one hit and collecting nine strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Winston-Salem Dash.
The nine-strikeout performance was the fourth time he's done so in his career with each of the previous three instances coming as a member of the Emeralds in 2017.
Last week, Assad put forth a pair of impressive performances, first tossing six shutout innings in a 12-2 win over the Salem Red Sox. He followed up that outing six nights later by throwing six, one-hit innings against the Down East Wood Ducks before ultimately collecting a no decision. 
After that string of scoreless showings, Assad now finds himself in the midst of a 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings streak that dates back to April 27. Opponents are hitting a mere .086 off of Assad since his scoreless innings streak began. 
The weekly honor is the third time in his pro career that he's received an MiLB weekly award. Previously, Assad was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week on August 27, 2017 after tossing six, one-hit innings with 9 strikeouts on just 82 pitches in an 8-3 Emeralds win over Salem-Keizer.
Assad spent the entire 2017 season with Eugene going 5-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 13 appearances, all starts. The right-hander struck out 72 batters while issuing just 21 walks in 66.0 innings pitched. 
This season pitching for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (High-A) has been arguably his best pro season so far. Assad currently sits 5th in the Carolina League in both ERA (2.19) and WHIP (0.97) while having piled up 36 strikeouts in 37.0 innings pitched.
Assad is currently managed by former Emeralds Manager Steve Lerud. Lerud served as the bench boss for the Ems during last season and guided the team to its second Northwest League title in three seasons.
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