Garcia and Martinez Win Cardinals June Minor League Honors
Garcia earns two FSL player-of-the week; Martinez posts a 2.20 ERA in 6 starts
ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 2, 2013 -The St. Louis Cardinals announced their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for June by honoring outfielder Anthony Garcia at Palm Beach (A) and right-handed starting pitcher Carlos Martinez at Memphis (AAA) for their accomplishments on the field.
Garcia, 21, the Cardinals 18th round (549th overall) selection out of the San Juan Educational School in the 2009 first-year player draft, batted .385 (25-65) with seven home runs and 14 RBI during the month while posting a 1.298 on-base+slugging percentage (OPS) at Palm Beach. He raised his batting average from .181 to .244 and his seven home runs were third most in the Florida State League for June. Garcia currently ranks 10th in the FSL with 11 home runs on the season. The Carolina, Puerto Rico, native won two of the four total Florida State League Player-of-the-Week awards (June 3-9 & 24-30) in June.
"Anthony has really begun to turn his season around, made some adjustments, and is now playing well in all facets of his game," said Cardinals Director of Minor League Operations John Vuch. "Palm Beach is a pitcher's park and the Florida State League as a whole is a tough place for any hitter, so it was impressive to see the kind of production that Anthony put up this month as a 21-year old in that environment."
Martinez, 21, a non-drafted free agent out of Colinas Del Sur, Dominican Republic, was 2-2 with a 2.20 ERA over six starts at Memphis. He struck out 30 batters over 32.2 innings and did not surrender a home run while facing 139 total batters during the month. The right-hander made seven relief appearances in St. Louis during the month of May before getting optioned back to Memphis to commence a starting role.
"It was exciting to see Carlos jump right back into the starting role this month and have this kind of immediate success," said Vuch. "While building his pitch count back up, he's also done a great job of utilizing all of his pitches to continue to enhance his repertoire as a starter"