Batter of the Month
Donnie Rotten
He may be short and stocky (4 foot 11, 174 pounds) but he sure whacks a pretty mighty bat. (That's what she said) Despite missing the first week of the season due to injury during spring training, Donnie Rotten recovered nicely in the final stretch of the month to lead the team in OPS at 1.104. He also tied for the team lead in homeruns with 5 and led the team with 14 runs batted in. In total, he hit .371/.426/.677. If he keeps that up, he may actually earn the title as the highest paid player in the league at $21 million per!
Pitcher of the Month
Steve Cooke
Thanks to the Surfers coaching staff for botching up the rotation in week one, Cooke only managed two starts in the month of April as the club's 5th starter, but he made the most of those two starts. In each outing, he allowed only one run. He gave up a run to Vegas in his first start, going 7 innings. Unfortunately the bullpen collapsed and lost the game 5-4. In his next outing, he gave up 1 run in 8 innings to Austin, but yet again, the bullpen let him down and the team lost 2-1. So in total, he went 15 innings, allowed 2 runs on 12 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6 for the month. He post an ERA of 1.20 and a WHIP of 1.07 but had a record of 0-0.
AAA Player of the Month
Manuel Egozcue
While nearly all of our big name prospects continue NOT to develop, Egozcue is about the only one showing any signs whatsoever of getting closer. The problem is, he is 25 already and still has only a 4 power rating (6 potential). Despite not living up to the power potential of yet, Egozcue hit the ball well in April, posting numbers of .327/.377/.436 in April. He led the Santa Fe club in hits (33), RBI (16), and batting average.
AA Player of the Month
Marcos Latta
Latta is a guy it seems everytime we check his development, it goes down! After putting up a stellar year last season in Single-A, Latta was bumped up to Double-A where he continues to shine. In April, he hit .359/.451/.495 with 3 homeruns and 13 RBI. He led the team in hits (37), average, and OPS and was second on the team in runs (22) and total bases (51). Now, if only the 19 year-olds ratings would go up, and not down!
A Player of the Month
Miguel Diaz
Diaz flirted with disaster in his 6 April starts as evidenced by his 1.45 WHIP which resulted from 46 hits and 11 walks in 39.1 innings. Nonetheless, Diaz consistently worked himself out of jams and posted a 4-0 record in those 6 starts, allowing only 10 earned runs and putting up a 2.25 ERA to lead all Tombstone starters for the month. Diaz was the Surfers 9th round pick last season and was used primarily in the bullpen last season but is trying to convert himself into a starter this season. Look for Diaz to shift back to the bullpen at some point. With only two pitches and a 9 endurance rating, he is likely better suited for the pen.