Tuesday, June 2, 2015
**[size=150] NOLA, HOSKINS SELECTED AS PHILLIES MINOR LEAGUE
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH FOR MAY [/size]**
Right-hander Aaron Nola of the Reading Fightin Phils and Lakewood first baseman Rhys Hoskins have been selected as the Phillies Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Month for May.
Nola, who will turn 23 on June 4, started six games for the Fightin Phils and went 4-1 with a 1.35 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 32 strikeouts and just five walks in 40.0 innings pitched. On May 15 he tossed 6.0 shutout innings, allowing just four hits to Erie, and followed that up with a 7.0-inning, no-run performance in his next start against New Hampshire. Those were two of five outings in the month in which he pitched at least 6.0 innings and allowed one run or fewer. Nola, who also was named Phillies Player of the Week from May 4-10, allowed only two home runs in May and held opponents to a .210 batting average.
The No. 2 Phillies prospect, as ranked by Baseball America, Nola leads the Eastern League with 64.1 innings pitched, and is third in WHIP (0.87), fourth in wins (6) and strikeouts (50), fifth in ERA (1.81) and batting average against (.215). He was selected by the Phillies in the first round (seventh overall) in the 2014 draft out of Louisiana State University and was signed by Mike Stauffer.
Hoskins batted .342 (38-111) with two home runs, 23 RBI, 18 runs scored, six doubles, two triples and a .908 OPS during the month. The 6-foot-4 first baseman recorded 13 multi-hit games in 29 games played, and finished May with a seven-game hitting streak, during which he hit .424 (14-33) with a home run, six RBI and six runs scored. He started May with six hits and five RBI in his first 13 at-bats, earning him Phillies Player of the Week honors from April 27-May 3.
The 22-year-old Hoskins sits atop the South Atlantic League with 97 total bases, ranks second in hits (62) and slugging percentage (.513), third in RBI (33) and on-base percentage (.407), and fifth in batting average (.328). He was selected by the Phillies in the fifth round of the 2014 draft out of Cal State Sacramento and was signed by Joey Davis.
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