May 31, 2012 at 2:17 AM
Players of the Week, May 21-27: Garin Cecchini & Doug Mathis
There were five nominees for last week's SoxProspects.com Player of the Week voting but Garin Cecchini emerged the victor in what quickly became a two-man contest and is joined by the unheralded Doug Mathis, who more easily bested the field in the Pitcher of the Week polling.
Greenville's Cecchini bested the power display put on by fellow nominee Portland's Reynaldo Rodriguez (two home runs, two doubles), by putting up a .400/.484/.640 line (10 for 25) in six games played with a home run, a double and a triple, batting-in and scoring ten runs each, and taking five bases on balls. His performance was highlighted by a 5 for 6 outing at Charleston (NYY) May 26, in which he doubled and batted in five runs. Thus far in 2012, Cecchini is batting .312/.394/.457 with three home runs, fourteen doubles and two triples in 186 at-bats over 47 games. He is currently the eleventh ranked prospect in the organization by SoxProspects.com.
Pawtucket's Mathis, a 28-year-old who joined the system as a minor league free agent in the offseason, got a second look from the SoxProspects.com membership by putting together his finest outing in a Paw Sox uniform working seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball at Norfork (BAL) May 21, striking out three while walking none and earning the win. Mathis owns 3-3 record in 10 starts on he season with a 4.86 ERA, having allowed 27 earned runs on 57 hits (a .286 BAA) over 50 innings pitched, striking out 26 while walking 19.