Astros announce Minor League players of the month for May

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros Player Development Department has named May's Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Month at each of their four in-season minor league affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team.

At Triple A Fresno, IF Jon Singleton was named the May Player of the Month and RHP Dan Straily was named the May Pitcher of the Month. Singleton had a historic month of May, as his 37 RBI marked the most by a Triple A player in a single month since May of 2011, when IF Brett Lawrie and IF Mike Carp each put up 37 RBI. In 29 total May games, Singleton hit .286 (32x112) with seven doubles, one triple, 10 homers and a 1.001 OPS (.367 OBP/.634 SLG). This included a stretch in which he hit three grand slams and five total home runs over a five-game span, in addition to setting a Fresno single-game club record with 10 RBI on May 13. The 23-year-old currently leads all of minor league baseball in homers (14) and RBI (49). In five May starts, Straily went 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA (10ER/29.1IP), 28 strikeouts and just three walks. During his final start of the month on May 30, Straily struck out 10 batters in 6.0 innings of one-run ball.

IF Tony Kemp was named the Double A Corpus Christi Player of the Month after batting .326 (30x92) with 11 stolen bases and a .417 on-base percentage in 23 games in May. The left-handed hitter currently ranks third in the Texas League in batting average (.335, 56x167), and ranks seventh among all minor league hitters in on-base percentage (.437). Winning his second consecutive Corpus Christi Pitcher of the Month Award was RHP Chris Devenski, who went 4-0 with a 1.01 ERA (3ER/26.2IP) and 19 strikeouts in five games (four starts) in May. On Friday, Devenski (5IP) and LHP Josh Hader (0.1IP) combined to throw the first no-hitter in Hooks franchise history in what was a rain-shortened, 4-0 win. Devenski's 0.59 ERA (3ER/46IP) this season ranks second in all of minor league baseball.

A second round pick by the Astros in 2014, IF A.J. Reed took home Lancaster's May Player of the Month honors. Reed's 10 homers in May were tied for the most in the minors with Singleton. In 28 total games during the month, he hit .327 (37x113) with 29 RBI and a 1.080 OPS (.417 OBP/.664 SLG). Reed currently leads the California League in home runs (13) and ranks second in RBI (42) and fourth in OPS (.971). RHP Joe Musgrove earned JetHawks May Pitcher of the Month honors after going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA (8ER/24IP), 36 strikeouts and no walks in five games (3 starts) with the club. Musgrove, who was named the Quad Cities April Pitcher of the Month, has recorded 59 strikeouts while walking just one batter in 49.2 innings between Lancaster (5g) and Quad Cities (5g) this season.

C Jacob Nottingham was named the Quad Cities Player of the Month for May after hitting .355 (33x93) with 13 extra-base hits (8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers), 20 RBI and a .997 OPS (.406 OBP/.591 SLG) in 23 games. A sixth-round selection by the Astros in 2013, the 20-year old is leading the Midwest League in OPS (.956), while ranking fourth in homers (8) and batting average (.327). RHP Akeem Bostick won the River Bandits Pitcher of the Month award as he went 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA (3ER/21IP) and just nine hits allowed (.125 opponents' average) in four games (three starts) in May. Bostick was a second round pick by the Rangers in 2013, and was acquired by Houston on Jan. 21, 2015 in exchange for C Carlos Corporan.