Future Stars Series alumni Dylan Crews and Pete Hansen were named the Player and Pitcher of the Week in their respective leagues on Monday.
Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the most recent MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals, has torn up the Carolina League since he set foot there after a very brief stay in the Florida Complex League. In six games, Crews slashed .414/.469/.793, and delivered his first professional multi-homer game on Sunday, going deep twice as part of a stunning 5-for-5 day.
Hansen is obviously less heralded, but has done nothing but up his stock all season long with the Palm Beach Cardinals; St. Louis took him at No. 96 overall in 2022. The 23-year-old southpaw and former National Tournaments standout is now 9-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 19 starts this season, but earned Florida State League Pitcher of the Week honors after an August 8 start in which he went five hitless frames, allowing just one walk while striking out seven.
Nadir Lewis, OF — ACL Giants (San Francisco Giants)
Most players go their entire professional career without hitting for the cycle. Lewis needed just six games…and only four innings in that game. A one-time Pre-Draft Combine standout, the former Princeton star is looking like a steal after going in the 20th and final round at No. 600 overall; hit an RBI double in the first inning, a two-run home run in the second, singled in the third, and finished the cycle on an RBI triple in the fourth.
Henry Bolte, OF — Stockton Ports (Oakland Athletics)
Bolte’s first full professional season has gone well, with last year’s No. 56 overall pick by the Oakland Athletics hitting .255 with 11 homers and 52 RBI at just 20 years old in Single-A. The Main Event star and National Tournaments champion as a member of NorCal has fortified those numbers with a strong August; he produced his first career multi-homer game on August 1, and put together his third multi-hit game of the month on Sunday.
Roc Riggio, INF — Tampa Tarpons (New York Yankees)
New York’s fourth-rounder this year at No. 129 overall, the Oklahoma State star has made waves early in pro ball. He needed just five games in the Florida Complex League before getting the bump to full season ball with a promotion to Low-A Tampa. Still only 21 years old, Riggio is hitting .231 in his first four games with the Tarpons, and also has first professional RBI.
That’s @ftrstarsseries alum and another new @RumblePoniesBB standout, @gillygoobear, with the two-run, bases-loaded single. pic.twitter.com/1fXaNctQPc
— Mike Ashmore (@mashmore98) August 9, 2023
Drew Gilbert, OF — Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets)
Gilbert was one of the media darlings of the most recent Binghamton-Somerset series, and for good reason. The centerpiece of the return from Houston for Justin Verlander, the newly-minted Mets prospect was impressive in his first installment of the Subway Series, albeit the minor-league version. The former Tennessee star is hitting .294 in his first nine games with the Rumble Ponies, with five RBI to his name already.
Kyle Henley, OF — ACL Reds (Cincinnati Reds)
Congratulations are in order for former Main Event star Kyle Henley, who racked up his first professional hit as a member of the ACL Reds. Cincinnati has done well in stacking FSS alums in their farm system, and Henley, who they stole in the 14th round at No. 408 overall, seems to be no exception. He’s hitting .333 with a stolen base early in his pro career, and will immediately be one of the top athletes in the Reds system.
