SL Weekly Awards: June 10-16
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are proud to announce that Mississippi Braves outfielder Drew Waters has been named Player of the Week and Biloxi Shuckers starter Bowden Francis has been named Pitcher of the Week. Both awards recognize these players' performances for games during the
MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are proud to announce that Mississippi Braves outfielder
Waters, 20, earns Player of the Week honors following a dominant nine-game stretch for the M-Braves in which he led all qualified batters in a number of offensive categories including batting average (.444), OPS (1.182), hits (16), and total bases (26). He also ranked among the league leaders in RBI (7, T-1st), on-base percentage (.459, 2nd), and slugging percentage (.722, 3rd).
At the halfway mark of his first Southern League season, Waters leads all qualified batters in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.535), OPS (.916), hits (93), doubles (23), triples (8), extra-base hits (36), total bases (147), and runs scored (42). He has reached base in 25 straight games (since May 23) for Mississippi, the longest such streak in the Southern League this season.
Video: Braves' Waters singles up the middle
The Atlanta Braves selected Waters in the second round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia. A switch-hitting outfielder, Waters is currently listed by MLB Pipeline as Atlanta's no. 5 prospect as well as the no. 59 overall prospect in baseball.
Francis, 23, is named Pitcher of the Week after spinning a pair of shutouts for the South Division champion Biloxi Shuckers. All in all, the Tallahassee, Florida native combined to go 2-0 with a spotless 0.00 ERA across 13.0 innings of work, allowing just three hits and three walks along the way. His 22 strikeouts led Minor League Baseball this past week, while his 0.46 WHIP and .071 opponents batting average (3-for-42) paced all qualified pitchers in the Southern League.
Video: Shuckers' Francis freezes Davis
The Milwaukee Brewers selected Francis in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft out of Chipola College in Marianna, Florida. Through his first 11 starts in the Southern League, Francis has posted a 4-4 record alongside a 4.58 ERA (29 ER/57.0 IP) and 65 strikeouts.