Los Angeles Dodgers Announce June Winners of Dodger Pride Awards
The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the June winners of the Dodger Pride Awards. The Dodger Pride Awards were created in 2008 by General Manager Ned Colletti, and are given on a monthly basis to the players at each level of the club’s minor league system who play the game with a hustling, smart, aggressive style. The players and staff on each respective club vote for the awards.
The winners for June are as follows:
Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes
Pitcher – RHP JOHN ELY ranked among the June Pacific Coast League leaders with four wins (4-1, T-3rd), a 3.00 ERA (9th) and a .236 opponents’ batting average (8th) in five starts. Overall, Ely has gone 8-6 with a 3.22 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 109.0 innings, earning him a selection to the PCL All-Star Team, which will compete against the International League All-Stars tomorrow night in Buffalo, NY. The 26-year-old is in his third season in the Dodger organization after being acquired from Chicago in the Juan Pierre deal following the 2009 season and was originally selected by the White Sox in the third round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.
Player – OF TRENT OELTJEN batted .333 (28-for-84) with four home runs and 20 RBI in 23 June games. The 29-year-old has made himself at home at Isotopes Park this season, where he has a .325 batting average with eight of his nine home runs in 43 games. Oeltjen, who is in his third season in the Dodger organization, is hitting .292 overall, including a .333 mark with runners in scoring position (24-for-72) and a .333 average with runners on base (32-for-96).
Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts
Pitcher – RHP ALLEN WEBSTER ranked second in the Southern League with a 1.88 ERA and was third in the league with a .195 opponents’ batting average, while going 2-2 in four June starts for the Lookouts. After a rough start to the season, the 22-year-old has posted a 1.50 ERA (6 ER/36.0 IP) in his last 10 games (five starts) since May 15. Webster entered the season rated as the Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect by Baseball America and was originally selected by Los Angeles in the 18th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Player – OF BLAKE SMITH batted .314 (27-for-86) with seven doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBI in 24 June games. Last month, Smith played for the North Division All-Stars in the Southern League All-Star Game and overall ranks among the circuit’s best in batting average (.289, T-7th), on-base percentage (.378, T-5th) and slugging percentage (.478, 7th). The 24-year-old is in his fourth professional season and was named the MVP of the Panama Winter League this past offseason.
Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Pitcher – LHP JORDAN ROBERTS tied for second in the league with four wins (4-0) and posted a 2.11 ERA (5 ER/21.1 IP) in nine June games (one start). Overall, the 26-year-old is 5-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 23 games (one start) and has been especially tough against left-handed hitters, limiting them to a .239 batting average (16-for-67). Roberts is in his fifth professional season after being selected by Los Angeles in the 28th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Player – IF C.J. RETHERFORD led the California League with a .458 batting average, 44 hits, 20 extra-base hits, 13 home runs, 30 RBI (tied), a .534 on-base percentage and a .948 slugging percentage in 26 June games. The 26-year-old hit safely in 23 of 26 games during the month, including a pair of 10-game hitting streaks (June 2-11 and June 22-July 1). Retherford earned a selection as a California League All-Star and ranks fourth on the circuit overall with a .343 batting average, is second with 20 homers and is tied for the circuit lead with 72 RBI in 74 games.
Single-A Great Lakes Loons
Pitcher – RHP MATT SHELTON posted a 0.54 ERA (1 ER/16.2 IP) with one save and limited opponents to a .153 batting average with 18 strikeouts in 10 June relief appearances. Overall, the 23-year-old has a 1-3 record with one save and a 2.48 ERA, limiting opposing hitters to a .226 batting average with 40 strikeouts in 40.0 innings. Shelton has been especially tough with runners on base, holding hitters to a .229 batting average and allowing just one of his 19 inherited runners to score.
Player – OF SCOTT SCHEBLER batted .330 (31-for-94) with nine doubles, two homers and 17 RBI in 25 June games. Overall, the 21-year-old has come through in the clutch, batting .360 with runners in scoring position (32-for-89) and hitting .324 with runners on base (46-for-142) this season. Schebler is in his third professional season after being selected in the 26th round of the 2010 draft out of Cedar Rapids (IA) Prairie High School.
Rookie-advanced Ogden Raptors
Pitcher – RHP SAWIL GONZALEZ has gone 1-0 with two saves and has yet to allow a run in 10.0 innings in seven relief appearances this season. The 22-year-old has allowed just five baserunners (three hits, one walk, one hit batter), while striking out 15 and limiting opposing hitters to a .091 batting average (3-for-33). The native of the Dominican Republic is in his second professional season after signing with Los Angeles as a non-drafted free agent on May 7, 2010.
Player – IF JESUS VALDEZ led the Pioneer League with a .447 batting average (21-for-47) and a .518 on-base percentage in 12 June games. Overall, Valdez is hitting .375 in 20 games (5th, Pioneer League), including a .409 mark against right-handers and a .387 average with runners in scoring position (12-for-31), and is tied for fifth on the circuit with 17 RBI. The 20-year-old is in his second professional season after being selected in the 17th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Oxnard (CA) Community College.
Rookie-level Arizona Dodgers
Pitcher – RHP RICKY PEREZ collected saves in all four of his appearances during June, allowing just one unearned run while striking out eight batters in 4.1 innings of work during the month. Overall, Perez has yet to allow an earned run in seven appearances (7.0 IP) and has been successful on all six of his save opportunities. The 22-year-old is limiting opposing hitters to a .125 batting average with 11 strikeouts and only one walk in 7.0 innings.
Player – IF/OF PAUL HOENECKE collected hits in all eight of his June games, hitting .400 (14-for-35) with four doubles, a triple, two homers and 12 RBI. The 22-year-old opened his career with a bang, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in his professional debut on June 21 against the Brewers. Hoenecke was the Dodgers’ 24th-round selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Dodgers
Pitcher – LHP JHOSUE BERMUDEZ went undefeated during the month, going 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts. The 19-year-old opened the season with 15.0 scoreless innings, posting a similar stat line in each of his first three starts by picking up a win with 5.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball. Overall, Bermudez is tied for the league lead with five wins (5-1) and has posted a 2.70 ERA and a .211 opponents’ batting average in seven starts.
Player – IF JOSMAR CORDERO hit safely in all 25 games during the month of June, going 48-for-106 (.453) with four homers and 29 RBI during the month, while also adding four stolen bases. Overall, Cordero leads the DSL with 52 hits and ranks among the league leaders in batting average (.419, 2nd), total bases (78, 2nd), on-base percentage (.474, 5th) and RBI (32, 4th). The 21-year-old has come through in the clutch this season, batting .455 with runners in scoring position (25-for-55) and hitting .451 with runners on base (32-for-71).