Ziegler Earns NWL Player of the Week Honors

KEIZER, Ore. - Salem-Keizer Volcanoes center fielder Malique Ziegler was named Northwest League Player of the Week earlier this week thanks to a scorching start to the 2017 season.
Through a six-game stretch dating from June 19-25, Ziegler went 12-for-27 (.444) and logged a mind-boggling 1.219 OPS (.516 OBP and .703 SLG), crowning him Player of the Week in the NWL.
The Des Moines, Iowa native clubbed four extra-base hits - two doubles, one triple and one home run - and scored 10 runs for the Volcanoes offense through that timespan. He also swiped four out of five stolen base attempts.
On the young season, Ziegler has sustained the robust offensive production. He is slashing .382/.460/.618 with a 1.078 OPS through 13 games.
Ziegler is proving early on that his call-up from the Arizona Fall League was a worthy decision. The right-hander has improved upon his already stellar slash line of .290/.384/.419 with a .803 OPS, which he tallied in 18 games in the AZL in 2016.
Ziegler is also solidifying himself as one of the premier table-setters in the Single-A Short Season ball this year. With a .460 OBP, he is an on-base machine at the leadoff spot for Salem-Keizer in 2017. Ziegler is walking at a solid rate of 9.4% and only striking out at a 12.5% clip.
Once he reaches base, Ziegler creates havoc for opposing teams as well as scoring opportunities for the Volcanoes with his Road Runner-like agility, as shown by his nine stolen bases on the season.
A 22nd round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2016 out of North Iowa Area Community College, Ziegler is either leading or in the top five of several NWL offensive categories. He leads the league in OPS and runs scored (16), and is tied for first place in stolen bases and hits (21). Ziegler ranks second in SLG and total bases (34), third in AVG and fourth in OBP.
Ziegler will look to continue to swing the hot lumber tonight when the Volcanoes open up a five-game set against the Tri-City Dust Devils tonight at 7:15 p.m. PT.