Playoff-bound teams earn awards for August 12-18

Down East's Perez, Wilmington's Bubic rewarded for stellar weeks

Photos courtesy of Matthew Edwards/Down East Wood Ducks and Brad Glazier/Wilmington Blue Rocks.

August 19, 2019

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (August 19, 2019) - The Carolina League's two first-half division champions boast the circuit's weekly award winners for August 12-18, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Down East's Yanio Perez led the league in several categories en route to the Player of the Week honor,

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (August 19, 2019) - The Carolina League's two first-half division champions boast the circuit's weekly award winners for August 12-18, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Down East's Yanio Perez led the league in several categories en route to the Player of the Week honor, while Wilmington's Kris Bubic took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning on Thursday night to become the Pitcher of the Week.
Perez paced all Carolina Leaguers last week with nine RBIs and 17 total bases, while he finished second with a .500 batting average, 10 hits and a 1.350 OPS. The Cuba native hit safely in all five games, with his most impactful effort coming on Thursday at Fayetteville. Perez went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBIs, four of which came on a third-inning grand slam, as the Woodies rolled to an 11-1 victory.

Perez has been a strong force within the first-place Wood Ducks' lineup all season. In 99 games, the 24-year-old is hitting .265 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs. Since the start of the second half, Perez boasts a .307 average and a .787 OPS.
For the second time in a row and a third time over the last five weeks, the CL has honored a Wilmington pitcher. Bubic fell just three outs shy of a nine-inning no-hitter against Lynchburg on Thursday, which would have been the Blue Rocks' second such no-no this season after going almost two decades without one. Jonathan Bowlanaccomplished the feat on July 15, and he was honored with the circuit's Pitcher of the Week honor.
Despite missing out on a no-hitter, Bubic churned out a nine-inning, one-hit gem that featured 11 strikeouts and only 99 pitches, 67 of which were strikes. The former Stanford star has now recorded back-to-back nine-inning, 11-strikeout outings, with his first coming on August 8 when he gave up just one run at Fayetteville.
Following Monday's league-wide off day, Perez and the Wood Ducks welcome Fayetteville for a three-game series, while Bubic and the Blue Rocks entertain Salem for three games. If the season ended on Monday, these two matchups would represent the two Carolina League Division Championship Series.