# Minor League Baseball Announces August Players and Pitchers of the Month

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/minor-league-baseball-announces-august-players-and-pitchers-of-the-month/
- Published: 2022-09-07T14:04:17-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

_Winners come from 18 organizations; Astros, D-backs and Dodgers lead with three
winners each_

**September 7, 2022 —** [Minor League Baseball](http://www.milb.com)™ (MiLB™) today
announced the Player and Pitcher of the Month Award winners for August in each of
the 14 leagues in [Major League Baseball](http://www.mlb.com)’s player development
system.

**International League (Triple-A)**
Worcester Red Sox catcher **[Connor Wong](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=wongco01,wong--001con&search=Connor+Wong&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .368/.411/.838 and led the league in home runs (nine), slugging percentage(.
838) and OPS (1.249). He finished second in RBI (22), third in total bases (57) 
and fourth in average (.368). Wong hit safely in 14 of his 16 games, including a
nine-game hitting streak from August 17-27, and homered in consecutive games three
times. Wong, 26, was originally selected by Los Angeles (NL) in the third round 
of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Houston.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) left-hander **[Michael Plassmeyer](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/plassmi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in four starts as he scattered 14 hits and 10 walks over
23.0 innings while striking out 28. He held opponents to a .175 average and no pitcher
in the league with more than 19.0 innings pitched allowed fewer earned runs than
Plassmeyer (three). Plassmeyer, 25, was originally selected by Seattle in the fourth
round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of Missouri.

**Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)**
Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros) outfielder**
[Lewis Brinson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brinsle01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .380/.449/.709 and led the league in average (.380). He finished second in
hits (30) and OPS (1.158), was third in slugging percentage (.709), fourth in home
runs (seven) and total bases (56) and fifth in RBI (23) and on-base percentage (.
449). Brinson, who was traded to San Francisco on August 31, recorded nine multi-
hit games and two multi-homer games. Brinson, 28, was originally selected by Texas
in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Coral Springs High School in Coral
Springs, Florida.

Reno Aces (D-backs) right-hander **[Brandon Pfaadt](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=pfaadt001bra&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**

**Eastern League (Double-A)**
Bowie Baysox (Orioles) infielder/outfielder **[Connor Norby](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=norby-000con&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .339/.405/.661 and led the league in hits (37), home runs (nine), RBI (26)
and total bases (72). He was second in slugging percentage (.661) and OPS (1.066)
and third in average (.339) and runs (25). Norby posted 13 multi-hit games and saw
his season batting average climb from .237 to .292 in August. Norby, 22, was selected
by Baltimore in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of East Carolina University.

Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) right-hander **[Tanner Bibee](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bibee-000tan&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in six starts. He led the league with 34.0 innings pitched
and was third with 37 strikeouts. He allowed five earned runs on 24 hits and seven
walks and held opponents to a .194 average. Bibee, 23, was selected by Cleveland
in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal State Fullerton.

**Southern League (Double-A)**
Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds) shortstop **[Elly De La Cruz](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=delacr000ell&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .355/.425/.688 and led the league in RBI (25), doubles (13) and total bases(
64), while finishing second in average (.355), hits (33), slugging percentage (.
688) and OPS (1.113). He was fifth in home runs (six). De La Cruz recorded 12 multi-
hit games and reached base safely in 22 of 24 games. De La Cruz, 20, was signed 
by Cincinnati as an international free agent out of Sabana Grande de Boya, Dominican
Republic, on July 2, 2018.

Birmingham Barons (White Sox) right-hander **[Sean Burke](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=burke-000sea&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in five starts as he allowed six earned runs on 13 hits
and seven walks over 21.0 innings. He struck out a league-best 38 and held opponents
to a .176 average. Burke, 22, was selected by Chicago in the third round of the 
2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Maryland.

**Texas League (Double-A)**
Amarillo Sod Poodles (D-backs) first baseman **[Leandro Cedeno](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cedeno000lea&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .398/.453/.699 and led the league in runs (27), total bases (65), home runs(
eight), slugging percentage (.699) and OPS (1.152). He was second in average (.398)
and hits (37), third in RBI (23) and fifth in on-base percentage (.453). He recorded
14 multi-hit games and had a career-high five hits August 18 at Midland. Cedeno,
24, was originally signed by St. Louis as an international free agent out of Guatire,
Venezuela, on August 29, 2014.

**[Prelander Berroa](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=berroa000pre&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 2-0 with a 1.33 ERA in five starts as he allowed just three earned runs on 
eight hits while striking out 32 in 20.1 innings. Berroa held opponents to a .116
average and struck out a career-high 11 in five innings of a combined no-hitter 
against Northwest Arkansas on August 12. Berroa, 22, was originally signed by Minnesota
as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on July
2, 2016.

**Midwest League (High-A)**
South Bend Cubs outfielder **[Pete Crow-Armstrong](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=crow-a000pet&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .356/.417/.535 and led the league in hits (36), average (.356), total bases(
54) and OPS (.952). He was second in on-base percentage (.417), third in doubles(
seven), fourth in slugging percentage (.535) and fifth in runs (18). He recorded
12 multi-hit games and tied his career high with four hits on August 20 against 
Beloit. Crow-Armstrong, 20, was originally selected by New York (NL) in the first
round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. 
He was traded by the Mets to the Cubs on July 30, 2021, in exchange for [Javier Baez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/baezja01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral).

South Bend Cubs right-hander **[Luis Devers](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=devers001lui&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in four starts as he allowed three earned runs on 10 hits
and four walks in 20.0 innings. He struck out 20 batters and held opponents to a.
149 average. Devers, 22, was signed by Chicago as an international free agent out
of Samana, Dominican Republic, on July 19, 2017.

**Northwest League (High-A)**
Spokane Indians (Rockies) catcher **[Hunter Goodman](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=goodma000hun&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .370/.405/.769 and led the league in hits (40), home runs (10), RBI (27),
average (.370), total bases (83), slugging percentage (.769) and OPS (1.174). He
was second in runs (25) and doubles (11). His 83 total bases were 25 more than anyone
in the league and led all of professional baseball (MLB and MiLB), while his 40 
hits led the Minor Leagues. Goodman recorded 15 multi-hit games in August and his
33 home runs through August are tied for the Minor League lead with **[Moises Gomez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=gomez-003moi,gomez-002moi&search=Moises+Gomez&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
of the Cardinals organization. Goodman, 22, was selected by Colorado in the fourth
round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Memphis.

Hillsboro Hops (D-backs) right-hander **[Scott Randall](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=randasc01,randal002sco&search=Scott+Randall&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA in four starts as he allowed 14 hits and four walks over
24.2 innings. He held opponents to a .171 average and struck out 21. Randall, 24,
was selected by Arizona in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Sacramento
State University.

**South Atlantic League (High-A)**
Greenville Drive (Red Sox) infielder **[Matthew Lugo](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lugo--000mat&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .353/.405/.608 and led the league in hits (36) and total bases (62). He was
third in average (.353), runs (22) and RBI (24) and finished fourth in home runs(
four) and fifth in slugging percentage (.608). He recorded 11 multi-hit games. Lugo,
21, was selected by Boston in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the 
Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy in Florida, Puerto Rico.

Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) right-hander **[](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=engler000mas&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)
[Mason Englert](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=eng---001mas&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in four starts as he allowed five earned runs on just seven
hits over 24.2 innings. Englert held opponents to a .086 average as his month included
a span of 15.1 innings over the four starts where he did not allow a hit. He struck
out 21 batters in August and was promoted to Double-A Frisco on August 31. Englert,
22, was selected by Texas in the fourth round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Forney
High School in Forney, Texas.

**California League (Single-A)**
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) catcher/first
baseman **[Dalton Rushing](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=rushin000dal&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .442/.551/.805 and led the league in average (.442), on-base percentage (.
551), slugging percentage (.805) and OPS (1.356). He was second in doubles (10) 
and third in hits (34) and total bases (62). He posted eight multi-hit games and
homered in his first at-bat with a full-season affiliate on August 4. Rushing, 21,
was selected by Los Angeles in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the
University of Louisville.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) right-hander **[Reinaldo De Paula](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=depaul000rei&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 2-0 with two saves and a hold while finishing seven games for the Quakes. He
did not allow a run and allowed just four hits in his nine appearances while striking
out 14 in 14.0 innings. Opponents batted just .089 against him in August prior to
his August 25 promotion to High-A Great Lakes. De Paula, 23, was signed by Los Angeles
as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on May 
29, 2017.

**Carolina League (Single-A)**
Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) outfielder **[Shane Sasaki](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=sasaki000sha&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .356/.436/.713 and led the league in hits (31), doubles (12), total bases(
62) and OPS (1.149) and was second in average (.356) and slugging percentage (.713).
He was fourth in home runs (five) and fifth in on-base percentage (.436). Sasaki
posted 11 multi-hit games, including the third and fourth four-hit games of his 
career. Sasaki, 22, was selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2019 MLB
Draft out of Iolani High School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) left-hander **[Will Dion](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=dion--000wil&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 3-0 with a 1.16 ERA in four starts before an August 29 promotion to High-A 
Lake County. Dion struck out 27 and walked six over 23.1 innings as he scattered
15 hits. He allowed one earned run in his last 16.2 innings of the month and held
opponents to a .179 average in August. Dion, 22, was selected by Cleveland in the
ninth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of McNeese State University.

**Florida State League (Single-A)**
Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) shortstop **[Tsung-Che Cheng](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cheng-000tsu&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .389/.517/.611 and led the league in hits (35), runs (23), average (.389),
total bases (55), walks (23), on-base percentage (.517), slugging percentage (.611)
and OPS (1.128). He finished second in doubles (10) and stolen bases (10). He posted
10 multi-hit games and reached base safely in 24 of his 26 games. Cheng, 21, was
signed by Pittsburgh as an international free agent out of Pingtung County, Taiwan,
on July 2, 2019.

Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins) right-hander **[Pierson Ohl](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ohl---000pie&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 2-1 with a 1.33 ERA in five games (four starts) as he allowed just four earned
runs over 27.0 innings. Ohl struck out 26 while walking just one batter and did 
not allow an earned run in his first 21.0 innings of the month. Ohl, 22, was selected
by Minnesota in the 14^(th) round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Grand Canyon University
in Phoenix.

**Arizona Complex League (Rookie)**
Dodgers infielder **[Rayne Doncon](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=doncon000ray&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .339/.422/.679 and led the league in home runs (five), total bases (38), 
slugging percentage (.679) and OPS (1.101). He finished second in RBI (15) and was
third in hits (19) and fourth in average (.339) and on-base percentage (.422). Doncon,
18, was signed by Los Angeles as an international free agent out of San Pedro de
Macoris, Dominican Republic, on January 15, 2021.

Giants Orange right-hander **[Gerelmi Maldonado](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=maldon000ger&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
pitched to a 1.17 ERA in five appearances (three starts) as he allowed two earned
runs over 15.1 innings, while leading the league in strikeouts (28). Maldonado held
opponents to a .175 average. Maldonado, 18, was signed by San Francisco as an international
free agent out of Palo Negro, Venezuela, on January 15, 2021.

**Dominican Summer League (Rookie)**
Astros Orange outfielder **[Luis Baez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=baez--006lui,baez--009lui,baez--007lui&search=Luis+Baez&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .373/.426/.695 and led the league in hits (22), total bases (41), home runs(
five) and slugging percentage (.695). He was second in OPS (1.121) and fourth in
average (.373). Baez, 18, was signed by Houston as an international free agent out
of Bani, Dominican Republic, on January 15, 2022.

Yankees right-hander **[Alejandro Gomez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gomez-011ale&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
went 4-0 with a 0.52 ERA in four appearances as he allowed just one earned run over
17.1 innings. He struck out 25 and held opponents to a .107 average. Gomez, 20, 
was signed by New York as an international free agent out of Ocotlan, Jalisco, Mexico,
on July 5, 2021.

**Florida Complex League (Rookie)**
Astros Orange infielder/outfielder **[Rolando Espinosa](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=espino001rol&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
batted .348/.508/.630 and led the league in runs (16), total bases (29), walks (
15), stolen bases (12), on-base percentage (.508), slugging percentage (.630) and
OPS (1.138). He was second in average (.348), home runs (four) and RBI (15). Espinosa,
21, was signed by Houston as an international free agent out of Ciego de Avila, 
Cuba, on August 21, 2017.

Yankees right-hander **[Alfred Vega](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=vega--000alf&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=&utm_medium=referral)**
pitched to a 0.73 ERA in four appearances (two starts) as he allowed just three 
hits and one earned run over 12.1 innings. Vega struck out 16 and held opponents
to a .073 average. He did not allow a hit in his first three outings of the month,
covering 9.2 innings. Vega, 21, was signed by New York as an international free 
agent out of Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, on July 2, 2017.

**###**

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