Cubs name LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, C Will Remillard minor league pitcher, player of the month for April

May 7, 2014

The Chicago Cubs today named Triple-A Iowa left-handed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada and Single-A Kane County catcher Will Remillard the organization's minor league pitcher and player of the month for April, respectively.

Wada, 33, went 3-1 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 0.68 ERA (2 ER/26.1 IP) in four April starts for Iowa, walking just three and striking out 29, good for an average of 9.9 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched. His 0.65 WHIP led the league while his .156 opponents' batting average (14-for-90) ranked second. He led PCL starting pitchers with the fewest baserunners per 9.0 innings (5.81).

Wada was named the league's Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 3-13 to open the season. In two starts against Nashville and at Memphis, he allowed one run on seven hits, walked one and struck out 18 in 13.1 innings.

In his first year since signing with the organization in January, Wada is 4-1 with a 1.21 ERA (5 ER/37.1 IP) in six starts for the I-Cubs this season. He has struck out 38 compared to just six walks, and has held the opposition to a .171 batting average (22-for-129).

Wada pitched nine seasons for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Japan Pacific League from 2003-11, going 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA (503 ER/1,444.2 IP) in 210 games (207 starts). He signed with Baltimore as a free agent prior to the 2012 season, but underwent Tommy John surgery that May. In three minor league seasons between Baltimore's and Chicago's systems, he is 9-8 with a 3.56 ERA (54 ER/136.2 IP) in 25 starts.

Remillard, 21, batted .373 (19-for-51) with six doubles, one home run and 15 RBI in April, his first month in professional baseball since he was selected by the Cubs in the 19th round of the 2013 draft. The right-handed batter finished with a 1.007 OPS, including a .458 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging mark. He walked six times and struck out just seven times.

Remillard had five multi-hit efforts, including a pair of four-hit games, April 17 at Dayton (a game in which he drove in five runs) and April 23 vs. Beloit.

A native of Cohoes, N.Y., Remillard is hitting .385 (25-for-65) with eight doubles, one home run and 21 RBI (tied for fifth-most in the league) in 19 games for Kane County this season. He owns a .500 average (9-for-18) off left-handed pitching and has a .340 average (16-for-47) against righthanders. Behind the plate, he has thrown out seven of 22 (32 percent) baserunners attempting to steal and not committed an error in 173 total chances.