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.
IF Danny Worth received his second consecutive Triple A Fresno Player of the Month award after leading all of minor league baseball in on-base percentage (.505) and all Triple A hitters in OPS (1.130) in May. Among Pacific Coast League hitters during the month, Worth ranked tied for first in walks (22) and second in batting average (.375, 30x80), while adding eight doubles, four homers and 18 RBI in 24 games. RHP Brady Rodgers went 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA (10ER/33.1IP), 36 strikeouts and six walks in five starts in May en route to Fresno Pitcher of the Month honors. The 2012 third-round pick finished the month tied for the PCL lead in strikeouts, and ranked eighth in ERA. He also received PCL Pitcher of the Week honors on May 8 following a nine-strikeout, four-hit complete game shutout, the first of his career, on May 4 vs. Reno.
At Double A Corpus Christi, IF Alex Bregman took home his second consecutive Player of the Month award after a torrid May in which he hit .309 (29x94) with nine doubles, seven homers, 21 RBI and a 1.042 OPS (.414 OBP/.628 SLG) in 25 games. The number two overall pick in last year's draft led all Texas League hitters in OPS in May, and ranked tied for second in homers behind teammate J.D. Davis (9). He currently leads all of Double A in OPS (.992). RHP Aaron West earned Corpus Christi's May Pitcher of the Month honors after allowing just three runs in 18.1 innings (1.47 ERA) in nine May outings. West struck out 17 batters and walked just three during the month, recording three saves in four total chances.
C Garrett Stubbs was named Class A Advanced Lancaster's May Player of the Month, while RHP Josh James was named Lancaster's May Pitcher of the Month. Houston's eighth round pick in the 2015 draft, Stubbs hit .316 (25x79) with three doubles, five homers, 19 RBI and a .953 OPS (.409 OBP/.544 SLG) in 21 games in May. On the season, Stubbs has posted a California League-best 66.7 caught-stealing percentage (12-for-18) from behind the dish. James pitched to a 1.90 ERA (5ER/23.2IP) in five May outings (four starts), striking out 28 with seven walks and a .198 opponent batting average.
OF Kyle Tucker was the May Player of the Month recipient for Class A Quad Cities, as he hit .316 (31x98) with seven doubles, three triples, 20 RBI, 16 steals and a .384 on-base percentage in 26 games. Last year's fifth overall pick in the draft, Tucker paced all Midwest League hitters in stolen bases in May. LHP Zac Person was named the River Bandits May Pitcher of the Month after posting a 0.54 ERA (1ER/16.2IP) with 20 strikeouts and a .175 opponent batting average in eight games during the month. Person finished the month of May with five consecutive scoreless appearances spanning 8.2 innings.
-ASTROS-