Lehigh Valley first baseman Joey Meneses, Lakewood left-hander Will Stewart and Lakewood shortstop Nick Maton have been selected as the Phillies Minor League Hitter, Pitcher and Defender of the Month, respectively, for May.
Meneses, 26, batted .315 (34-108) with six doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 20 RBI, seven walks, 17 runs scored and a .989 OPS in 29 games. He homered in four straight games from May 16-19 and was named International League Batter of the Week twice last month. A native of Mexico, Meneses currently ranks third in the International League in slugging percentage (.520), tied for third in home runs (9) and tied for fourth in total bases (93). The right-handed hitter was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent on Feb. 1, 2018.
The 20-year-old Stewart, who was recently selected as a South Atlantic League midseason All-Star, went 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA (3 ER, 36.2 IP), 34 strikeouts and held opponents to a .178 batting average in his five starts during May. He tossed his first professional complete game and shutout with a career-high 10 strikeouts on May 30 against Greensboro, earning the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week award for May 28-June 3. The 6-foot-2 lefty currently leads all qualifying pitchers in the league in ERA (1.23) and WHIP (0.85). Additionally, he owns the third-lowest ERA among all qualifying pitchers in Minor League Baseball this season. Stewart was selected by the Phillies in the 20^th round of the June 2015 draft.
Maton, 21, finished the month of May tied for third in the South Atlantic League in double plays turned by a shortstop (26) and has posted a .962 fielding percentage in 45 games (seven errors in 185 total chances) at shortstop and second base this season. Maton, a 2018 South Atlantic League midseason All-Star, was selected by the Phillies in the seventh round of last year's June draft.