Norwood Southern League Player of the Week

BILOXI, Miss. - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp right fielder John Norwood has been named the Southern League Player of the Week for August 21-27, announced by the league office Monday morning.

Norwood hit safely in seven of the eight games over the week for the Jumbo Shrimp, hitting .462 (12-for-26) with a home run, six runs batted in, 10 runs scored, with five walks and a .548 on-base percentage. His slugging percentage for the week was .654, and his on-base plus slugging percentage was 1.202. His leadership was key to Jacksonville going 7-1 during the eight games played during the week, as the Jumbo Shrimp built a three game lead in the second half South Division standings, and Jacksonville's magic number to clinch a division title is now at five.
Overall this season, Norwood is hitting .283 while leading Jacksonville with 18 home runs and 59 runs batted in. His batting average is now 10th best in the Southern League, and he is also fourth in the league with his 18 home runs, third in the league with 128 games played, fourth in the league with a .452 slugging percentage, and fourth in the league with 201 total bases.
A 2016 Florida State League All-Star and 2017 Southern League All-Star, he was named the starting right fielder for the South Division in the June 20 Southern League All-Star Game, which rain cancelled in Pensacola.
Norwood, 24, entered the season ranked as the Miami Marlins No. 29 prospect by Baseball America, and he is currently ranked No. 25 in the organization by MLB.com. A native of Peapack, New Jersey, he was signed by the Miami Marlins as a non-drafted agent in August 2014, two months after his go-ahead home run in the third game of the College World Series led Vanderbilt University to its first NCAA Championship.
This is the second Southern League Player of the Week honor for Norwood this season, as he previously earned the honor from July 10-16. The Jumbo Shrimp are collecting many weekly honors from the Southern League this year, with David Vidal earning weekly honors twice from April 17-23 and July 24-30, and Braxton Lee from June 26 to July 2. Joe Gunkel also recently won the league's Pitcher of the Week award from July 24-30, and Mike Kickham took home the honor for the week of May 22-28.
The Jumbo Shrimp and Shuckers will continue their series with the third game of the five-game set on Monday night at 7:35 p.m. ET. Right-handed pitcher Trevor Richards (5-5, 3.08 ERA) will start for Jacksonville against Biloxi right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta (1-4, 2.26 ERA). Fans can listen to the game on the Jumbo Shrimp Network presented by Community First, beginning at 7:20 p.m. with the pregame show "Shrimp On Deck" locally on FM 100.3 The Biz and AM 1600, on the TuneIn Radio app, and www.jaxshrimp.com.
ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are beginning a new era of affordable family fun with the 2017 season presented by Community First Credit Union at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. With a new lineup of ticket and group options, there is a reason for everyone to get part of the action by calling the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visiting www.jaxshrimp.com.