Dodger May Pride Awards - Jon Chapper

Los Angeles Dodgers Announce

May Winners of Dodger Pride Awards

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the May winners of the Dodger Pride Awards.  The Dodger Pride Awards were created in 2008 by General Manager Ned Colletti, and are given on a monthly basis to the players at each level of the club’s minor league system who play the game with a hustling, smart, aggressive style. The players and staff on each respective club vote for the awards. 

  The winners for May are as follows:

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes

  Pitcher – RHP Charlie Haeger went 3-1 with a 4.41 ERA (16 ER/32.2 IP) in five May starts…the 25-year-old had his longest outing of the season May 17 at Fresno (Giants), allowing two runs (one earned) in 8.0 innings with six strikeouts and did not factor in the decision…the Michigan native has a team-leading seven wins, going 7-3 with a 4.46 ERA…he also ranks second on the club with 47 strikeouts.

  Player – INF Hector Luna batted .382 (39-for-102) with eight homers and 29 RBI in 28 May games…he finished the month with 11 multi-hit games, including five games with three or more hits…the 29-year-old collected a season-high six RBI on May 14 at Sacramento (Athletics), going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer…overall, Luna ranks fourth in the Pacific Coast League with a .358 batting average and second with a 1.089 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage (OPS).

  Other Notables – OF Dee Brown batted .351 (33-for-94) with nine doubles, 10 homers, and 28 RBI in 27 May games…overall, the 31-year-old is tied for sixth in the Pacific Coast League with 12 homers and is tied for 10th in the league with 41 RBI…C A.J. Ellis batted .361 (22-for-61) with five RBI in 19 May games, earning a brief call-up to the Dodgers from May 29-June 1…the 28-year-old is batting .400 (12-for-30) with runners in scoring position…overall, he is batting .331 with 13 RBI.

  Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts

Pitcher – RHP Matt Sartor went 0-1 with two saves and a 1.29 ERA (2 ER/14.0 IP) in 10 appearances in May…he has tossed 5.0 consecutive hitless innings in his last four appearances beginning May 30, striking out six and walking one in that time…the 24-year-old is 0-2 with three saves and a 2.65 ERA in 20 games overall.

  Player – 3B Josh Bell batted .301 (25-for-83) with eight doubles, three homers, and 18 RBI in 26 May games…the 22-year-old, who is a switch-hitter, is batting .278 with six homers and 32 RBI in 55 games overall.

  Other Notable – Since giving up eight runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings May 23 vs. Carolina (Marlins), LHP Scott Elbert has logged three straight quality starts, going 1-1 with 28 strikeouts and a 2.37 ERA (5 ER/19.0 IP) in those games…he is 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) overall…the 24-year-old has posted 68 strikeouts in 52.1 innings, an average of 11.69 punchouts per nine innings.

Single-A Inland Empire 66ers

  Pitcher – LHP Alberto Bastardo went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA (7 ER/26.0 IP) in five May starts…the 25-year-old struck out 21 in 26.0 innings…he tossed 7.0 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and picked up the win on May 29 vs. Modesto (Rockies)…overall, Bastardo ranks 10th in the California League with a 3.41 ERA and has a 5-2 record in 12 starts.

  Player – OF Scott Van Slyke batted .315 (35-for-111) with five homers and 23 RBI in 28 May games…he opened the month on a 10-game hitting streak from May 1-10, batting .489 (22-for-45) with two homers and 12 RBI…overall, the 22-year-old is batting .312 with eight homers and 38 RBI in 55 games.

  Other notables – OF Elian Herrera has batted .337 (28-for-83) with two homers and nine RBI in 23 games since being promoted from Single-A Great Lakes on May 12…RHP Jake McCarter is 2-0 with three saves, 18 strikeouts, and a 0.55 (1 ER/16.1 IP) in 10 games since making the jump from Extended Spring Training…the Texan is limiting left-handed hitters to a .040 average (1-for-25) with 10 strikeouts.

  Single-A Great Lakes Loons

Pitcher – RHP Josh Walter went 3-1 with 20 strikeouts and a 2.60 ERA (5 ER/17.1 IP) in 10 games (one start) in May…he made his first pro start May 31 vs. Peoria (Cubs), and tossed 4.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball…the 24-year-old, in his second start Friday at West Michigan (Tigers), allowed three runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings…he is 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA in 17 games (two starts) overall, limiting the opposition to a .203 average…Walter signed with the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent out of Texas State University in June 2008.

  Player – 3B Anthony Hatch batted .300 (30-for-100) with seven doubles, three homers, and 18 RBI in 27 May games…the left-handed hitter rebounded from an April in which he hit only .237 (14-for-59) with one homer and two RBI in 16 games…Hatch, who was selected by the Dodgers in the minor league phase of the 2008 Rule 5 Draft from Toronto, is batting .260 with four homers and 23 RBI in 52 games overall.

  Other Notables – RF Kyle Russell has 12 RBI in his last 12 games, and leads the league with 49 RBI overall…the 22-year-old also leads the league with 15 home runs and a .579 slugging percentage, and is batting .285 in 59 games…SS Dee Gordon has seven steals in his last 10 games, and leads the league with 32 stolen bases in 57 games overall…he is batting .280 with 42 runs scored…RHP Nate Eovaldi, the Dodgers’ 11th-round pick from the 2008 draft, has tossed 13.0 consecutive scoreless innings in his last three starts, lowering his ERA to 5.10 from 7.36…in those starts, he allowed seven hits while striking out nine and walking two…RHP Ethan Martin is tied for seventh in the league with 57 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.

Extended Spring Training

Pitcher – RHP Beyker Fructuoso struck out 17 in 15.0 innings and had a 2.40 ERA (4 ER/15.0 IP) in nine May games…the 19-year-old was signed at a non-drafted free agent in July 2007, and went 4-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 games for the Gulf Coast League Dodgers in 2008.

  Player – INF Joe Becker won the Dodger Pride Award for position players…the Lancaster , CA native batted .222 with 10 doubles and 10 RBI in 71 games with Great Lakes and Rookie-advanced Ogden in 2008.