NEW YORK -- The MLB Draft League announced that Frederick’s Andrew Papantonis and Mahoning Valley’s Nathan Medrano were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of July 17 to July 23.
Papantonis, 24, garners Hitter of the Week honors after batting .389 (7-for-18) with three home runs and 10 RBIs in four games for the Keys. The infielder led all MLB Draft League hitters during the period in home runs, RBI, OPS (1.278), slugging (.889) and total bases (tied-18).
Papantonis homered in three straight games for the Keys to open the week and ultimately recorded at least one hit and one RBI in all four contests. The infielder was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer against West Virginia on July 19 and followed that by hitting a three-run homer the next day. Facing Williamsport on July 21, Papantonis put the Keys up early with a first-inning grand slam before finishing 2-for-5. He closed out his week with a 1-for-5 performance.
A Lebanon Township, N.J., product, Papantonis improved his Draft League season batting line from .200/.455/.267 to .303/.425/.606 during his award-winning week. He’s batting .400 (10-for-25) with 10 RBIs, four extra-base hits and six runs scored during his current six-game hitting streak. This past spring, Papantonis produced a .767 OPS while appearing in 10 games as a University of Richmond graduate student before inking a professional contract with the MLB Draft League.
Medrano, 24, takes home Pitcher of the Week honors for the Scrappers after the right-handed pitcher delivered scoreless innings with nine strikeouts on July 19 to pick up the win on the road against Williamsport. Medrano surrendered one hit, hit a batter and issued three walks while throwing 117 pitches (73 strikes) in the outing. He retired the first six batters of the game in order, highlighted by three swinging strikeouts in the first inning, and 10 of the first 11 batters overall.
Medrano (1-0) owns a 0.69 ERA and 0.85 WHIP through his first two Mahoning Valley starts. In 13 innings, he has recorded 15 strikeouts against four walks while permitting seven hits (.152 BAA). The Gilroy, Calif., native was 2-2 with one save and 7.11 ERA in 21 appearances (six starts) as a Texas State senior this spring, totaling 59 strikeouts in 50.2 innings (10.5 K/9). Before joining the Bobcats, Medrano pitched for the University of Houston in 2022 after spending his 2019-20 campaigns at St. Edward’s.
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