Holliday, Marte headline Players of the Month

Minor League Baseball announced the Player and Pitcher of the Month Award winners for May in each of the 11 full season leagues in Major League Baseball’s player development system.

International League (Triple-A)

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) outfielder Jake Cave batted .400/.500/.798 and led the league in average (.404), runs (33), doubles (16), slugging percentage (.798) and OPS (1.298). He was second in hits (38) and third in total bases (75) and on-base percentage (.500). He had a 21-game hitting streak from May 4-28 and posted 12 multi-hit games during the streak. Cave, 30, was originally selected by New York (AL) in the sixth round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Virginia.

Durham Bulls (Rays) right-hander Evan McKendry went 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA in five appearances (four starts), including a seven-inning shutout of Jacksonville on the final day of May. McKendry had three starts of six or more innings where he didn’t allow a run and he held opponents to two hits in each of his four starts. He allowed one run in May as he scattered 11 hits over 29 1/3 innings while striking out 26. McKendry, 25, was selected by Tampa Bay in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Miami.

Pacific Coast League (Triple-A)

Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) first baseman Elehuris Montero batted .393/.451/.753 and led the league in home runs (nine), RBIs (30) and total bases (67). He was second in average (.393) and slugging percentage (.753), third in runs (23) and fourth in OPS (1.204). He recorded 12 multi-hit games, including five in his last six games before a May 28 promotion to Colorado. Montero, 24, was originally signed by St. Louis as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic on August 29, 2014. He was acquired by the Rockies in the 2021 trade that sent Nolan Arenado to St. Louis.

Oklahoma City Dodgers right-hander Matt Andriese was 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts as scattered 14 hits over 20 1/3 innings. He held opponents to a .194 average in May and did not allow an earned run in two of his four starts and allowed just one earned run in another outing. Andriese, 33, was originally selected by San Diego in the third round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of the University of California-Riverside.

Eastern League (Double-A)

Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) third baseman Colt Keith batted .374/.437/.670 and led the league in average (.374), runs (23), slugging percentage (.670 and OPS (1.107). He was second in hits (34), total bases (61), RBIs (27) and on-base percentage (.437) and was fifth in home runs (five). He recorded eight multi-hit games and hit for the cycle as part of a six-hit, seven RBI game on May 16 at Harrisburg. Keith, 21, was selected by Detroit in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Biloxi High School in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) right-hander Mike Vasil went 1-1 with a 2.52 ERA in four starts as he allowed seven earned runs on 14 hits and four walks over 25 innings. He held opponents to a .159 average in May and allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his four starts. Vasil, 23, was selected by New York (NL) in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia.

Southern League (Double-A)

Chattanooga Lookouts (Reds) infielder Noelvi Marte batted .343/.409/.626 and led the league in average (.343), hits (34), total bases (62) and home runs (seven). He was second in runs (22), was third in slugging percentage (.626) and OPS (1.035). He was fifth in doubles (seven) and on-base percentage (.409). He recorded 12 multi-hit games and separate hitting streaks of seven and eight games. Marte, 21, was originally signed by Seattle as an international free agent out of Cotui, Dominican Republic, on July 2, 2018. He was traded to Cincinnati in exchange for Luis Castillo on July 30, 2022.

Tennessee Smokies (Cubs) right-hander Porter Hodge went 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts. He struck out 32 and scattered 12 hits over 22 innings. He did not allow a run in two of his five outings and did not allow more than three hits in any of his five starts. Hodge, 22, was selected by Chicago (NL) in the 13th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Texas League (Double-A)

Amarillo Sod Poodles (Diamondbacks) infielder Ryan Bliss batted .361/.404/.598 and led the league in hits (35), total bases (58), slugging percentage (.598 and OPS (1.002). He was second in average (.361), was third in runs (21) and sixth in home runs (five) and on-base percentage (.404). He recorded 11 multi-hit games and had separate hitting streaks of seven and nine games. Bliss, 23, was selected by Arizona in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Auburn University.

Tulsa Drillers (Dodgers) right-hander Emmet Sheehan went 2-0 with a 0.36 ERA in five appearances (four starts) as the only run he allowed in May was in the last inning he pitched of his 24 2/3 innings. He led the league in strikeouts (41) and held opponents to a .098 average as he allowed just eight hits (three extra-base hits). Sheehan, 23, was originally selected by Los Angeles (NL) in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Boston College.

Midwest League (High-A)

Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) infielder Austin Gauthier batted .349/.491/.614 and led the league in on-base percentage (.491), slugging percentage (.614) and OPS (1.105). He was second in runs (22), RBIs (23) and walks (25) and third in average (.349) and home runs (five). He finished fifth in total bases (51) and posted eight multi-hit games prior to his May 29 promotion to Double-A Tulsa. Gauthier, 24, was signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on August 4, 2021, out of Hofstra University.

Dayton Dragons (Reds) right-hander Julian Aguiar went 2-0 with a 0.41 ERA in four starts. Aguiar did not allow an extra base hit in 22 innings and did not allow more than two hits or one earned run in a start in May. He held opponents to a .099 average and walked just three batters. Aguiar, 22, was selected by Cincinnati in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cypress Junior College in Cypress, California.

Northwest League (High-A)

Spokane Indians (Rockies) outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez batted .385/.419/.726 and led the minor leagues in hits (45, five more than any other player), total bases (85, eight more than any other player) and RBIs (35). He also led the league in home runs (10). He was second in the league in average (.385) and OPS (1.145), was third in runs (26), triples (two) and slugging percentage (.726). He hit safely in 24 of 28 games, posted 13 multi-hit games and hit in 13 consecutive games from May 16-28. Fernandez, 20, was signed by Colorado as an international free agent out of Havana, Cuba, on July 12, 2019.

Eugene Emeralds (Giants) left-hander Carson Whisenhunt went 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five starts. He struck out 30 and allowed one hit or fewer in four of his five starts. He held opponents scoreless in three of his five outings and struck out a career-high eight batters on May 18 against Hillsboro. Whisenhunt, 22, was selected by San Francisco in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of East Carolina University.

South Atlantic League (High-A)

Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles) shortstop Jackson Holliday batted .384/.509/.628 and led the league in average (.384), hits (33), total bases (54), on-base percentage (.509) and OPS (1.137). He was second in runs (26) and triples (three) and third in slugging percentage (.628) and fifth in RBIs (19) and walks (21). He recorded nine multi-hit games and posted a career-high five hits May 17 at Winston-Salem. Holliday, 19, was the first overall pick by Baltimore in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles) right-hander Alex Pham went 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts and did not allow a run in four of his five starts. He allowed just one hit in three of his five starts and allowed two in another outing. He allowed just two extra-base hits in his 23 1/3 innings and struck out a career-high 11 on May 12 against Hudson Valley. His .128 average against was the lowest in the league among pitchers to complete at least 17 innings. Pham, 23, was selected by Baltimore in the 19th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of San Francisco.

California League (Single-A)

San Jose Giants outfielder Carter Howell batted .372/.454/.574 and led the league in average (.372), hits (35) and runs (31). He was second in total bases (54) and on-base percentage (.454) and third in OPS (1.028), while walking more times (14) than he struck out (13). He had 11 multi-hit games and hit safely in 19 of 21 games (separate hitting streaks of nine and 10 games) before a May 30 promotion to Eugene. Howell, 24, was signed by the Giants as a non-drafted free agent out of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 28, 2022.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Dodgers) right-hander Jared Karros went 1-0 with a 1.40 ERA in five appearances (four starts). He did not allow an earned run in three of his five outings and did not allow more than three hits in an outing. He held opponents to a .164 average and his 0.78 WHIP was lowest among pitchers with at least 11 1/3 innings pitched in May. Karros, 22, was selected by Los Angeles (NL) in the 16th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

Carolina League (Single-A)

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) third baseman Bryce Willits batted .360/.430/.640 and led the league in average (.360), hits (27), slugging percentage (.640) and OPS (1.070). He finished second in home runs (five), total bases and on-base percentage (.430) and was third in RBIs (15). Willits hit safely in 10 consecutive games from May 3-14 and recorded seven multi-hit games. Willits, 23, was selected by Chicago (AL) in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) right-hander Connor McCullough went 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts. He threw a seven-inning no-hitter May 18 against Carolina and was a walk shy of a perfect game in the league’s only shutout by a starter in May. His average against (.089) and WHIP (0.38) were the best in the league and over his first three starts, he allowed just four hits and a walk while striking out 22. He was promoted to Winston-Salem on May 31. McCullough, 23, was signed by Chicago (AL) as a non-drafted free agent on July 31, 2022, out of Kansas State University.

Florida State League (Single-A)

Daytona Tortugas (Reds) outfielder Hector Rodriguez batted .357/.394/.612 and led the league in hits (35), runs (23), triples (four), slugging percentage (.612) and OPS (1.006). He was second in average (.357) and total bases (60). He recorded nine multi-hit games and hit safely in 21 of 23 May games, including a 13-game hitting streak from May 16-31. Rodriguez, 19, was originally signed by New York (NL) as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on January 15, 2021. He was traded to Cincinnati in the 2022 trade that sent Tyler Naquin and Phillip Diehl to the Mets.

Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) right-hander J.P. Massey went 1-0 with a 0.72 ERA in five starts as he began the month with a 17-inning scoreless streak. He led the league with 25 innings pitched and held opponents to a .167 average. His 29 strikeouts were second in the league, and he struck out a career-high nine batters on May 13 against Lakeland. Massey did not allow more than one run in a start in May and had three starts with two or fewer hits allowed. Massey, 23, was selected by Pittsburgh in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Minnesota.