Casteel, Davidson named Farm Bureau Players of the Week

PEARL, MS - Mississippi Braves infielder Ryan Casteel  and left-handed pitcher Tucker Davidson  have been named this week's Farm Bureau Player and Pitcher of the Week. The awards were given for their performances for the M-Braves from May 13-19.

Casteel, 27, led the club this week by batting .308 (8-for-26) with one double, one run, one RBI, three walks and a .379 on-base percentage. The Chattanooga, Tennessee native is currently on a season-long nine-game hitting streak batting .313 (10-for-32) with two doubles, a home run, two RBI, two runs, five walks, and a .421 on-base percentage. The nine-game streak is tied for the longest active streak in the Southern League. It also matches for the longest by an M-Brave this season (Pache). 

Casteel has a hit in 20 of 23 games played this season and is batting .282 (22-for-78) overall with six doubles, three home runs, nine RBI, 12 walks and .385 on-base percentage. Casteel opened the season on the Rookie-Danville roster and was activated on April 18 when C.J. Alexander was placed on the Injured List. He hit his first home run on April 22 vs. Montgomery against Rays No. 2 prospect Brendan McKay and hit his second home run two days later on April 24 vs. Montgomery. Casteel previously had an eight-game hitting streak, April 20-April 29.

The Atlanta Braves signed Casteel as a minor league free agent on January 30, 2019. He was originally drafted by Colorado in the 17th round in 2010 out of Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tennessee. 

Davidson, 23, made two quality starts over the past week going 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA, allowing just three earned runs over 14.0 innings, with three walks and 10 strikeouts. The Amarillo, Texas native capped his week with a career-high 8.0 shutout innings on Saturday, May 18 at Birmingham, collecting his first Double-A victory. 

Davidson currently ranks fourth in the Southern League with a 1.65 ERA through eight starts and is second in opponent's batting average at .176. Overall Davidson is 1-2 with a 1.65 ERA (8 ER/43.2 IP), and leads the club in ERA, innings pitched, opponent's batting average and WHIP (1.12). 

Davidson is Atlanta's No. 21 overall prospect according to MLB.com and was selected by the Braves in the 19th round of the 2016 draft out of Midland College (TX). 

Overall this season, Mississippi starting pitchers have a 3.01 ERA overall, and 2.76 ERA so far during the month of May with nine quality starts, 40 walks, and 97 strikeouts.