July Players of the Month: Rafael Devers and Cody Kukuk

In a month with several excellent performances the standouts were the system's hottest young player and a talented pitcher looking to establish some consistency. Third baseman Rafael Devers (pictured, left) takes the honor as SoxProspects.com Player of the Month, while Cody Kukuk (pictured, below right) earns recognition as SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Month.

It was a whirlwind month for Devers, who jumped from the Dominican Summer League to the Gulf Coast League and also leaped up the SoxProspects.com rankings from 12th to number four. After abusing DSL pitching to the tune of .337/.445/.538, only a visa hiccup could slow the gem of the 2013 International Free Agent class. Promoted to the GCL on July 4, Devers didn't miss a beat. The precocious 17-year-old appeared in 22 July games after the promotion, hitting .372/.438/.564 with seven doubles and a pair of home runs. 

Kukuk had been inconsistent following an April promotion to the Carolina League, but the big lefty really hit his strike for Salem in July. The seventh-round pick from the 2011 draft allowed only six earned runs in 26 1/3 innings on the month, good for a 2.05 ERA. He struck out 35 while walking 15. Perhaps most impressively, in 109 July plate appearances against Kukuk he did not allow a single extra-base hit. His best start came on July 25, when he dominated the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, striking out 10 and allowing only two hits in six shutout innings.

Photo Credit: Rafael Devers and Cody Kukuk by Kelly O'Connor

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