August Players of the Month: Wilyer Abreu and Brandon Walter

A pair of prospects on the 40-man roster took home the awards for August on account of what they did in Worcester. Wilyer Abreu (pictured, left) and Brandon Walter (pictured, bottom right) had months to remember both on and off the field, as the former made his major-league debut and the latter leveraged his performance on the mound into a September call-up.

Abreu's selection should come as no surprise considering the fact he earned Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks (Aug. 7-13, 14-20). In 17 games for the WooSox last month, the left-handed hitting outfielder slashed a ridiculous .424/.528/.949 (252 wRC+) with four doubles, nine home runs, 25 RBIs, 18 runs scored, three stolen bases, 12 walks, and 10 strikeouts over 72 plate appearances. Three of those nine homers came in a 13-4 win over the Buffalo Bisons at Polar Park on Aug. 13.

Nine days after accomplishing that feat, Abreu debuted against the Astros -- the organization that traded him away last summer -- at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The 24-year-old came on as a defensive replacement for Alex Verdugo (who was ejected for arguing balls and strikes) and has since gone 7 for 23 (.304) with three doubles, one home run, five RBIs, four runs scored, three walks, and seven strikeouts in his first eight games with the Red Sox.

Abreu was away from the team during last week's series against Houston at Fenway Park by virtue of being on the paternity list. He and his wife, Kelly Valera, welcomed their first child together -- a baby boy named Andres -- on Aug. 28. As things stand now, the newly-minted father of one is ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the organization.

Walter, meanwhile, made four starts and appeared in five total games for Worcester last month. The soon-to-be 27-year-old left-hander pitched to a 1.42 ERA and 3.80 FIP with 16 strikeouts to six walks over 23 1/3 innings of work in which he held opposing hitters to a .207 batting average against. In a recent conversation with MassLive.com's Katie Morrison-O'Day, Walter revealed that he had added a cutter to his pitch mix and was throwing more strikes as a result.

On the heels of such a strong month, Walter was called up by Boston alongside second baseman Enmanuel Valdez when major-league rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players last Friday. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound southpaw has gotten into one game since then, but was unfortunately shelled for seven runs over four innings of relief in a 13-2 loss to the Royals in Kansas City. He now owns a 5.79 ERA (4.65 FIP) in seven career outings (18 2/3 innings) at the big-league level.

In similar fashion to Abreu, Walter also celebrated a personal milestone late last month by asking his girlfriend to marry him. She said yes. Now engaged, Walter is currently regarded as the No. 13 prospect in Boston's farm system, which ranks fourth among pitchers behind only righties Luis Perales and Wikelman Gonzalez and fellow lefty Shane Drohan.

Photo Credit: Wilyer Abreu and Brandon Walter by Kelly O'Connor

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