30 April 2005
Who has been the hitter of the month and the pitcher of the month for April for the Braves? I will name, in my opinion, who has been deserving of recognition this first month of the season. I'll also add in who I think has been the hitter and pitcher of the month combined for the minor leagues at the top 4 stops (Richmond, Mississippi, Myrtle Beach, and Rome).
By the way, it seems really strange typing in Mississippi instead of Greenville; I had to stop myself from typing Greenville a time or two.
Hitter of the Month: Chipper Jones...
This really is a no-brainer. Chipper leads the team in nearly every offensive statistical category, and is among the league leaders as well.
-He is 3rd in the NL in batting average at .375.
-He leads the major leagues in on-base percentage at .512.
-He is 3rd in the NL with a .688 slugging percentage.
-He is 2nd in both the NL and the majors in OPS at 1.200, only behind the Cubs' Derrek Lee.
-He has walked 18 times while striking out only 8 times.
Honorable Mention: Marcus Giles, Pete Orr
Pitcher of the Month: Mike Hampton...
Hampton and Tim Hudson were neck and neck for this award until Hudson allowed 5 earned runs in his last April start. Hampton leads the Braves in some pitching categories.
-He is undefeated at 3-0, and leads the team in wins. (Not to mention since last July 4, he is 14-1.)
-He leads the starting staff in ERA, and is 7th in MLB at 1.67
-He is 2nd in the NL in innings pitched with 37.2 innings, behind only Livan Hernandez (by 2 and a third innings). Hernandez has one more start than Hampton.
Honorable Mention: Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, John Thomson, Chris Reitsma
Minor League Hitter of the Month: Kelly Johnson (Richmond)...
-Kelly Johnson is batting .325/.418/.623 with 5 home runs. He's drawn 12 walks while striking out only 10 times.
Honorable Mention: Andy Marte(Richmond), James Jurries (Richmond), Scott Thorman (Mississippi), Miguel Bernard (Myrtle Beach)
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: Chuck James (Myrtle Beach)...
-James is 1-3, but with an ERA of 1.52 in 29.2 innings in 5 starts. He has only walked 3 and has struck out 41, while giving up 17 hits.
Honorable Mention: Brady Endl (Myrtle Beach), Sean White (Myrtle Beach), Kyle Davies (Richmond), Matt Harrison (Rome), Kelvin Villa (Rome)
Who do you think is deserving of recognition that I might have forgotten to mention? Comments?
