Luis Arraez and Zander Wiel win Midwest League Batting and RBI Crowns
Cedar Rapids, IA - The right side of the Kernels infield includes a pair of Kernels who finished the 2016 regular season at the top of the league leaderboard. Luis Arraez won the Midwest League batting title, finishing with the league's best batting average. Zander Wiel led the Midwest League in runs batted in. Both Arraez and Wiel were on the team's Opening Day roster, spending the entire season in Cedar Rapids.
Luis Arraez led the league with a .347 batting average. He played in 114 games, collecting 31 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 66 RBI. Arraez was named to both the Midwest League Post-Season & Mid-Season All-Star teams, posting a 16-game hitting streak in August. He is the youngest player to win the MWL batting crown since Mike Trout (.362) in 2010.
Zander Wiel led the league with 86 runs batted in. Wiel drove in seven runs on Monday to claim the crown over South Bend's Eloy Jimenez and Bowling Green's Brett Sullivan. Wiel also hit 19 home runs, which was one back of Wisconsin's Isan Diaz. His 19 HR and 86 RBI are the most by a Kernel since Adam Brett Walker's 27 HR and 109 RBI in 2013. Wiel's seven RBI on Monday are the most by a Kernel in a single game this season.
The Kernels open the MWL Playoffs on Wednesday, September 7th at Wisconsin, and host the Timber Rattlers on Thursday, September 8th and Friday, September 9th (if necessary) in the best-of-three first round matchup. Playoff tickets are on sale now by calling the Kernels Ticket Office at 896-7560 or online at www.kernels.com.
Morgan Hawk and Chris Kleinhans-Schulz bring you all of the play-by-play on the radio home of Kernels baseball, 1450 KMRY AM and 93.1 KMRY FM. Fans may listen on-line at www.kmryradio.com, or www.kernels.com.
Tickets may be purchased on-line at www.kernels.com, or by calling the Kernels Ticket Office at 896-7560. Ticket office hours are 10 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday.