D-backs Award Owings, Bradley With Monthly Honors
Marks first time in club history the same player and pitcher have garnered the awards in consecutive months
The Arizona Diamondbacks named Triple-A Reno infielder Chris Owings and Double-A Mobile right-handed pitcher Archie Bradley the organization's Minor League Player- and Pitcher-of-the-Month for May, respectively. This marks the first time in club history the organizational player and pitcher have garnered the awards in consecutive months.
Owings, 21, hit .355 (44-for-124) with 6 doubles, 1 home run, 14 RBI and 3 stolen bases in 29 games in May for the Aces. He began the month with an 8-game hit streak (May 1-9) and then hit safely in his final 19 games from May 11-31. His current 21-game streak is good for the longest active streak in professional baseball and the third longest in club history (Jake Elmore-2012, 31 games; Tony Abreu-2011, 24 games). Owings leads all of professional baseball in hits (86), 10 more than any Minor Leaguer and ranks first in the PCL in games (57), at-bats (251), runs scored (48) and sixth in batting average (.343). His 27 multi-hit games lead the Aces. Entering the 2013 season, he was rated by MLB.com as the No. 6 Prospect in the D-backs organization and No. 7 by Baseball America. The Charleston, S.C. native was drafted by the D-backs in the supplemental first round (41st overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.
Bradley, 20, went 4-1 with a 0.79 ERA (3 ER in 34.0 IP) and 37 strikeouts in 6 starts in May for the BayBears. After being promoted from Single-A Advanced Visalia on May 2, he had an 18.0-inning scoreless streak from May 2-24, while notching Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors (May 13-19). Bradley's 0.79 ERA during the month ranked second in the Southern League. His combined ERA (1.01) and strikeouts (80) for the season rank second among all Minor Leaguers. Since his promotion, he has yet to surrender a home run and has limited right-handed batters to a .100 average (7-for-70) with 20 strikeouts. Bradley, who was named the California League Pitcher of the Week (April 4-14), entered the 2013 season rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the California League and the No. 25 Prospect in baseball. A native of Muskogee, Okla., Bradley was drafted in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.
Every month during the season, the D-backs Player Development staff chooses the player and pitcher most deserving of the honors based on nominations from coaches at each affiliate along with input from the Minor League coordinators.