MWL Awards

The Offensive Player and Pitcher of the week were named yesterday for the Midwest League.

This week, it's co-batters of the week from the same team and a pitcher from West Michigan.

Engel Beltre, Clinton
.429 (12-28), 6 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SO, 1 SB, .750 SLG
The LumberKings were 5-1 this week as they pushed their way into first place in the Midwest League. If anything, Clinton won with their offense, scoring 41 runs in six games, and as a result, finds itself with a pair of co-Players of the Week. After all. it's hard to pat any one guy on the back after weeks like that. The junior half of the honored contingent is Engel Beltre, the 18-year-old sparkplug atop the order. Beltre collected a hit in every LumberKings game, but stood out in the weekend series against now second-place Kane County, including a home run and four hits in Sunday's 11-4 win. The lefty hitter has struggled against left-handed pitching (.493 OPS) and at home (.635 OPS), but more weeks like this will make the Rangers feel good about making Beltre the diamond of last year's Eric Gagne trade.

Renny Osuna, Clinton
.381 (8-19), 8 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB, .632 SLG
Osuna, who is nearly five years older than his Class A teammate, is just as valuable to the LumberKings, protecting Beltre in the two-hole while playing both middle infield positions. While Beltre's damage was done in the series win over Kane County, Osuna helped set the tone earlier in the week, collecting six hits in Clinton's three-game sweep of Great Lakes. Tuesday saw Osuna's first home run of the season -- his first since June 21 last year. The righty hitter has been dominant against left-handed pitching this season, posting a .633 OPS in 30 plate appearances against southpaws.

Alfredo Figaro, West Michigan
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 20 SO
It's difficult to have a more dominant week and a more dominant start to the season than Figaro. The Dominican native began the campaign with a 19-inning stretch in which he did not allow an earned run, spanning more than three starts. After allowing two earned runs in six innings on April 22, Figaro tightened things up again, returning to his scoreless ways last week. On Monday, the right-hander was fabulous against Wisconsin, striking out nine in six innings and allowing just an unearned run before a blown save cost him his fourth win. Figaro would get that Sunday, dominating once again in his first day game of the season as he threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out 11 River Bandits without issuing a walk.

According to this blog post at the Grand Rapids Press, Figaro is ready for the Florida State League, but there isn't room for him yet.