August 13, 2013 at 3:30 PM
Players of the Week, August 5-11: Mookie Betts and Daniel McGrath
In what was a reasonably strong week for pitchers in the organization, Lowell's Daniel McGrath distinguished himself from his peers, taking SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week honors by a wide margin; and while SoxProspects.com Player of the Week Mookie Betts (pictured) of Salem didn't face the same level of competition in the polls, he won by an even wider margin.
McGrath's first appearance of the week came out of the bullpen August 6 at Mahoning Valley (CLE), where he worked 2.1 perfect innings and struck out four en route to being credited with the win. His second was a victorious five inning start at Staten Island (NYY), perfect again, featuring six strikeouts on August 11. On the season McGrath is 2-2 with a 1.95 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) between Lowell and the GCL Red Sox, having allowed eight earned runs and 20 hits over 37.0 innings pitched, with 49 strikeouts verses seven walks while holding opposing batters to a .160 average.
Mookie Betts was consistent last week, picking up a hit in each of his seven games played, posting a .478/.571/.783 (11 for 23) line with two home runs and a double, knocking in 11 runs, taking four bases on balls, and swiping five bases without being caught. Betts is batting .291/.403/.473 with Greenville (76 games) and Salem (31 games) to go along with 12 home runs, 28 doubles, and three triples. On the season, he also has 72 bases on balls while striking out only 32 times, and has successfully stolen 32 bases in 34 attempts. He was also named Carolina League Player of the Week for the same period. This is his third SoxProspects.com Player of the Week title of the 2013 season, having previously won in consecutive weeks May 6-19.
Honorable mentions, batting:
Juan Carlos Linares (POR)
Mario Martinez (GRE)
Will Middlebrooks (PAW)
Stefan Welch (SAL)
Honorable mentions, pitching:
Justin Haley (GRE)
Kyle Kraus (SAL)
Carlos Garcia (DSL)
Heri Quevedo (SAL)
Photo credit: Mookie Betts by Kelly O'Connor