04
Jun
2014
First career monthly honors awarded to catcher who hit .388, pitcher who won four straight outings
DAVENPORT, Iowa. (June 4, 2014) - Catcher Brian Holberton is the Quad Cities River Bandits Player of the Month for May, and right-handed pitcher Jandel Gustave is the team's Pitcher of the Month, the Houston Astros announced on Tuesday.
The Houston Astros Player Development Department named a Pitcher and Player of the Month at each of their four in-season minor league affiliates. These awards are chosen every month by the field staff of each team. Former River Bandits infielder Carlos Correa and left-handed pitcher Josh Hader took home the honors at Class-A Advanced Lancaster.
Holberton, Houston`s ninth-round pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, hit .388 with nine doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs, a .425 on-base percentage, .638 slugging percentage and 1.063 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) in 21 May games. The 21-year-old Charlotte, N.C., native hit for the cycle in a 5-for-5, five-RBI performance at Kane County May 18, becoming the first Quad Cities player to do so since 2005. Holberton ranks second in the Midwest League with a .344 batting average (min. 100 plate appearances). For the season, Holberton has smacked 12 doubles and four home runs while driving in 22 runs. He has posted a .391 OBP, .557 SLG and .948 OPS.
Gustave, 21, went 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA in five May outings, allowing seven earned runs in 23 innings with 20 strikeouts. He won four straight outings May 12-28. A product of the Astros Dominican Academy who signed with the Astros in May 2010, the Santo Domingo native has registered a 5-2 record and 3.70 ERA while fanning 40 against 12 walks in his first year with a full-season club. Gustave began the season ranked as the Astros' No. 27 prospect according to Baseball America.
The River Bandits finished 18-13 in May to improve to 29-26 on the season. Each of the Houston Astros full-season minor league affiliates posted a winning record through the season's first two months.
UP NEXT: The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park at 6 p.m. Saturday with a Craig Biggio Bobblehead Giveaway presented by Prairie Farms and FOX18 for the first 1,500 fans. Tickets are available at riverbandits.com. To order any of the River Bandits 2014 ticket plans - with new lower prices - call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.
