Player of the Week: Ozhaino Albies, Shortstop, Danville Braves
10-20, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 BB, 1 K, 4 SB, 0 CS, .500/.583/.750
Albies has been turning heads ever since he came stateside from Curacao this year, and it's easy to see why. Albies forced a promotion from the Gulf Coast League Braves after posting a .381/.481/.429 line in 19 games. His first 7 games in Danville have been more of the same. This past week, Albies recorded a hit in each of the five games he played, including four multi-hit games out of the five. He also notched four extra-base hits, two walks, and four steals. And if all that isn't impressive enough, consider the fact that he was born in 1997, which makes him more than three years younger than the average player in Rookie-level ball.
Pitcher of the Week: Alec Grosser, Right-Handed Starter, Danville Braves
2 GS, 1-0, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2.00 GO/FO
Grosser has been one of the top risers in Atlanta's system this year, and his two starts this week were just further proof of that. The 11th round draft choice of Atlanta in 2013, Grosser tossed 13 innings over two starts last week and only allowed 7 baserunners. He only struck out three men, and while we'd like to see that number climb a bit, the strikeout stuff is there, as anyone who has seen him pitch can attest. He uses his plus slider to generate weak contact, as evidenced by his 2.00 groundout to flyout rate.