Rosenthal and Walsh earn Cardinals May Minor League honors
Walsh leads A-ball with .483 OBP during month; Rosenthal posts 3-1, 1.65 ERA in 5 games
The St. Louis Cardinals announced their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for May by honoring right-handed pitcher Trevor Rosenthal and infielder Colin Walsh for their accomplishments on the field.
Walsh, 22, the Cardinals' 13th round selection out of Stanford University in the 2010 first-year player draft, batted .366 (34-93) with 6 HR and 25 RBI during the month of May at Quad Cities (A). He led all of Single-A ball and ranked seventh in all of Minor League Baseball during the month with a .483 on base percentage. Walsh ranked second in A-ball with an OPS of 1.085 while tallying 10 multi-hit games hitting safely in 21 of 27 games.
The switch-hitting La Jolla, Calif., native currently ranks fifth in the Midwest League in batting (.324) and second in home runs (12) and RBI (40). The 12 home runs this season are more than the eight total he hit in his first two professional seasons spanning 127 games.
"Colin has always demonstrated good plate discipline throughout his career, and now has begun to display power and a solid hitting approach from both sides of the plate," said Cardinals farm director John Vuch. "We're looking forward to watching him continue to build on his tremendous start to this season".
Rosenthal, who just turned 22 on Wednesday, was the Cardinals' 21st round selection out of Cowley County Community College (Kan.) in the 2009 first-year player draft, posted a 3-1 record with a 1.65 ERA in five starts allowing six runs (five earned) over 27.1 innings at Springfield (AA) during April. The right-hander currently ranks fourth in the Texas League with a 2.72 ERA and ninth with a 1.23 walks+hits/innings pitched (WHIP).
Rosenthal, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training camp this year, surrendered just one earned run and 16 base runners over his last three starts in May covering 18.0 innings.
"We gave Trevor a difficult challenge, as he jumped from Quad Cities to Springfield this season, and he's handled it extremely well," explained Vuch. "He spent considerable time in our Major League spring training camp and it's encouraging to see him put that experience to good use so far this season. Despite his young age, Trevor continues to refine all aspects of his game and is becoming an increasingly polished pitcher."