Hoying, Hoffman collect weekly awards

ROUND ROCK, Texas - Round Rock Express' outfielder Jared Hoying and Albuquerque Isotopes' right-hander Jeff Hoffman are the Pacific Coast League Player and Pitcher of the Week for April 24-30, the League office announced Monday. 

Hoying hit .391 (9-for-23) in six games with a Triple-A-best four home runs and nine RBI, a total that trailed only teammate César Puello for most in the PCL. His 23 total bases paced the PCL, while his six extra-base hits and eight runs scored both tied for the League lead. Hoying also slugged 1.000 with a .462 on-base percentage and drew three walks.
The Ohio native had multiple hits in four contests and was only held hitless once - a rain-shortened five-inning affair. Hoying drilled two home runs April 27 at Memphis; the second was a go-ahead three-run shot in the ninth inning, part of a five-run frame in a 9-7 come-from-behind win. He started the week by homering in an April 24 win over Iowa and finished it by adding another three-run shot, April 30 at Memphis.
Hoying, in his fifth season with the Express, finished the season's opening month among PCL leaders in games played (24, t-1st), home runs (7, t-3rd) and RBI (22, 4th). The 27-year-old has spent his entire eight-year career in Rangers organization after getting selected by Texas in the 10^th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Toledo. Hoying has accumulated a .253 batting average (420-for-1663), 80 home runs, 250 RBI and 63 stolen bases in his Triple-A career - all with the Express. This is second career Player of the Week award, having previously won in June 2014, also with Round Rock. 

Hoffman, who was tabbed Colorado's No. 3 prospect entering the season by Baseball America, allowed one hit over seven shutout innings, striking out eight, in an April 28 win at hitter-friendly Cashman Field. He retired the final 10 Las Vegas hitters he faced, throwing 55 of his 90 pitches for strikes.
Over five starts in April for the Isotopes, the 24-year-old tossed 28.0 innings, the third most in the PCL. He went 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA, striking out 24 compared to only nine walks. Hoffman is in his second full season in the Rockies organization after being acquired in a July 2015 trade from Toronto, part of a package that netted the Blue Jays Troy Tulowitzki. He was Toronto's first round pick (ninth overall) in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of East Carolina University. Hoffman was selected to the 2016 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in San Diego; he threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout. He made his major league debut later that season, throwing 31.1 innings in eight appearances (six starts) for the Rockies. This is Hoffman's first career Player of the Week.