Player & Pitcher of the Week

The Midwest League has announced their awards for the week:

Player of the week
Thomas Pham, Quad Cities
.333 (9-27), 9 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 9 SO, 2 SB, .926 SLG

Pham got off to a slow start for Palm Beach of the Florida State League, but has had no such trouble with Quad Cities. In just seven games for the River Bandits, the 20-year-old outfielder has blasted five home runs, good enough for a piece of the team lead. He also drove in 10 runs during the week, including all three in Sunday's 3-1 win over Burlington. Pham got Quad Cities on the board with a two-run double in the fifth inning then added an insurance run with a solo shot in the eighth. His week-long power surge helped lift the River Bandits to a 5-2 road trip.

Pitcher of the Week
Jonathan Kibler, West Michigan
2-0, 0.56 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 16.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 14 SO

Kibler earned two road victories last week, allowing just one unearned run on three hits in seven innings against Fort Wayne on Tuesday before going the distance on a two-hitter Sunday at Lansing. The southpaw allowed just one earned run to the Lugnuts while striking out eight. In seven starts on the year, Kibler has yet to allow more than six hits in a game, and has given up just seven hits in his last 23 innings.