Eybersson Polanco Named Southern League Pitcher of the Week

MADISON, AL – Minor League Baseball announced today that Rocket City Trash Pandas right-hander Eybersson Polanco has been named the Southern League Pitcher of the Week following his perfect five-inning performance against the Biloxi Shuckers on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Field.

Polanco becomes the second Trash Pandas pitcher to earn the honor this season, joining right-hander Nate Snead, who was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week on June 29. Infielder Nick Rodríguez also earned Southern League Player of the Week honors on July 13.

The 22-year-old from Lagunillas, Venezuela, turned in his best start of the season in Rocket City's 8-1 victory over Biloxi on Sunday, retiring all 15 batters he faced over 5.0 perfect innings. Polanco needed just 55 pitches, 34 for strikes, while striking out two and walking none. The performance earned Polanco his fifth victory of the season and helped Rocket City finish off its first 5-1 series of the year.

Polanco has made 28 appearances, including 13 starts, for Rocket City this season. He began the year working out of the bullpen before moving into the starting rotation at the end of May.

Originally signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2021, Polanco was selected by the Angels in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December 2025. made his professional debut in 2022 and was a Dominican Summer League Mid-Season All-Star that year.

Polanco's performance continued an impressive stretch for a Rocket City pitching staff that has emerged as one of the top staffs in Double-A. The Trash Pandas currently rank second in the Southern League and fifth among all Double-A clubs with a 4.39 ERA. During last week's six-game series against Biloxi, Rocket City pitchers went 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA, allowing only 33 hits over 54 innings while striking out 60 and posting a 0.91 WHIP.

The strong pitching has helped Rocket City surge into first place in the Southern League North Division. Following Sunday's victory and Knoxville's loss at Pensacola, the Trash Pandas (27-24, 62-57) hold a half-game lead over the Smokies with three weeks and 18 games remaining in the regular season. Rocket City also sits one game ahead of Birmingham in the race for the North Division wild card should the Trash Pandas not win the second-half title.

The first-place Trash Pandas open a pivotal six-game road series against Birmingham on Tuesday night at Regions Field.

*ABOUT THE ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS
*Owned and operated by BallCorps, LLC, the Rocket City Trash Pandas are the proud Double-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Southern League. The Trash Pandas play at state-of-the-art TOYOTA Field in Madison, Alabama. The organization's mission is to unite our communities by creating positive and lasting memories one experience at a time.