July 2, 2019 at 5:32 PM
June Players of the Month: Chad De La Guerra and Bryan Mata
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For De La Guerra, this is his first time he has taken home a Player of the Month Award despite being named a SoxProspects.com All-Star in 2017. Never a heralded prospect, the utility infielder has nevertheless slowly and steadily climbed the ladder of the minor league system since being drafted in 2015, finding some measure of success at every stop. Twice named an All-Star in his professional career, the infielder initially struggled to hit for anything more than a solid batting average until 2017. Since then, De La Guerra has steadily improved his power output before seeing a power surge in June. Although he spent most of the first two months of the season on the sidelines in two stints on the injured list, De La Guerra has come on strong since returning to full health, battering International League pitching to the tune of eight home runs, 19 extra-base hits and a .354 batting average in June. Even more impressively, De La Guerra has done this while playing the majority of his games at shortstop, something he has not done since 2017. The infielder's torrid June has seen his season batting line balloon to a herculean .324/.399/.600, good for the top slugging percentage in the system, an impressive feat in a system that includes Bobby Dalbec and Triston Casas.
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Honorable mentions for the monthly awards included Marcus Wilson on the batting side and Logan Browning for the pitchers. Since being demoted from Portland, Wilson has torn up the Carolina League, putting up a .345/.413/.636 batting line and six home runs in the month of June. Browning has built upon an impressive first full professional season with the Greenville Drive. The left-hander has not allowed a single run in the month of June, striking out 18 batters in just ten innings pitched, lowering his already-solid ERA to a sterling 1.85. Consideration on the pitching side also went to Yusniel Padron-Artiles (23 IP, 1.96 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 6 BB, 27 K) and Chase Shugart (34 1/3 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 6 BB, 28 K).
Photo Credit: Chad De La Guerra and Bryan Mata by Kelly O'Connor.