SL Weekly Award Winners: June 21 - July 1

MARIETTA, GA - The Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs are proud to announce that Pensacola Blue Wahoos infielder Taylor Sparks has been named Player of the Week and Chattanooga Lookouts starter Lewis Thorpe has been named Pitcher of the Week. Both awards recognize these players' performances across the first 10 games of the Southern League's second half.

Sparks, 25, leads all qualified hitters since the All-Star break with a .423 batting average (11-for-26), a .885 slugging percentage, and a 1.385 OPS. Through nine games this half the La Palma, California native ranks second among all hitters with a .500 on-base percentage and is among the league leaders in both extra-base hits (6, T-4^th) and total bases (23, T-6^th). Pensacola has started the second half with a 7-2 record, including an active seven-game win streak. The Blue Wahoos are 6-0 this half when Sparks records at least one hit.
Selected in the second round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft out of UC Irvine, Sparks is currently in the midst of his third Southern League season and has appeared in 154 total contests for the Blue Wahoos.
Thorpe, 22, started the second half of his season by spinning seven shutout innings and striking out a career-high 12 batters against the Biloxi Shuckers. In two starts since the All-Star break, the Minnesota Twins no. 11 prospect has fanned 19 total batters while surrendering just two walks. His 0.71 ERA (1 ER/12.2 IP) is the third lowest mark among pitchers with two starts this half, while his 0.55 WHIP and .119 AVG are currently the lowest among all qualified pitchers.
The Melbourne, Australia native has posted a 4-4 record with a 4.06 ERA through 15 games (14 starts) as a member of the Chattanooga Lookouts this season. Thorpe's 93 strikeouts rank fourth among all Southern League pitchers, while his 11.37 SO/9 IP ratio is the second highest among all qualified starters.