De La Cruz and Neslony named Farm Bureau Pitcher and Player of the Week

PEARL, MS - Mississippi Braves right fielder Tyler Neslony and right-handed pitcher Jasseel De La Cruz  have been named Farm Bureau Player and Pitcher of the Week. The awards were given for their performances for the M-Braves from July 1-8.

De La Cruz, 22, the No. 21 overall prospect for the Atlanta Braves according to MLB Pipeline takes home the award for the first time for the Mississippi Braves. The Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic native, went 1-1 with a 0.75 ERA over two starts last week, allowing one run across 12.0 innings. Opposing batters hit .209 against De La Cruz, who struck out 16 and walked four.

In his July 7 start, De La Cruz recorded a new career-best ten strikeouts and earned his first career hit and his first career run. He pitched 6.0 shutout innings, allowing only four hits and two walks. 

In nine appearances (eight starts), De La Cruz is 2-4 with a 2.92 ERA (16 ER/ 49.1 IP). He has struck out 95 batters in his Minor League career, 47 at the Double-A level while walking 23 at Mississippi. 

The Atlanta Braves acquired De La Cruz as a free agent in 2015 with a minor league contract. De La Cruz was promoted to Mississippi from Florida after throwing the club's first no-hitter.

Neslony, 25, a Texas Tech product, takes home the award for the first time this season. The Corpus Christi, Texas native, played in seven games and recorded a .385 (10-for-28) batting average with three doubles, one triple, one home run, seven RBI, seven runs, 18 total bases, two walks, a .429 OBP, and a .1.121 OPS. Over his current four-game hitting streak, Neslony is 10-for-17 with a homer, triple, three doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored. 

This season Neslony is batting .297 (51-for-172) with eight doubles, four triples, four home runs, 20 RBI and a .374 OBP. He has recorded five three-hit games and one four-hit game. Neslony logged his fifth three-hit game on Sunday, July 7 against Biloxi, falling a homer shy of the cycle. 

In June, Neslony had 15 runs, 23 hits, three doubles, one home run, six RBI, ten bases on balls, and hit .277. 

The Atlanta Braves selected Neslony in the ninth-round in 2016 from Texas Tech. Neslony was promoted to Double-A Mississippi from High-A Florida in 2017 where he was named a Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star after batting .319 (51-for-160) in 45 games to open the season.