NEW YORK -- The MLB Draft League announced that Mahoning Valley’s Zach Dezenzo and State College’s Mason Olson were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of July 4 to July 10.
Dezenzo, 22, earns Hitter of the Week honors after batting .438 (7-for-16) with one home run and one triple in five games for the Scrappers. He led all MLB Draft League hitters during the period in RBI (8) and finished second in slugging (.750) and OPS (1.250). The infielder hit safely in all five games last week, highlighted by back-to-back 2-for-3 performances over the weekend. Dezenzo hit his fourth home of the season in a four-RBI game on Saturday and drove in two more runs while adding a stolen base to conclude the week.
Dezenzo is batting .275/.370/.536 with four home runs, two triples and two doubles in the MLB Draft League, totaling 17 runs scored and 19 RBI in 20 games. The Alliance, Ohio, native had a breakout 2021 MLB Draft League campaign, batting .339/.393/.732 with six home runs and four doubles in 14 games with the Frederick Keys. This past spring, the Ohio State senior set career highs by hitting 19 home runs and 18 doubles while batting .319/.413/.701 in 51 games.
Draft League Data: Dezenzo appeared all over the Draft League Daily Leaderboards thanks to his big week. Specifically, he produced a max exit velocity of 108.8 mph – his second-highest EV of the season (109.2) – and a 93.7-mph average exit velocity. Dezenzo hit seven balls over 101 mph, giving him 17 101+ EVs on the season, finishing the week with a 50% Hard Hit% and a 42.9% LD%. He crushed fastballs to the tune of a 1.409 OPS.
Olson, 20, became the second MLB Draft League pitcher this season to record two starts of five innings or more, accomplishing the feat in a 2-0 week for the Spikes. Olson threw five scoreless innings, scattering three hits and walks apiece while striking out four against Mahoning Valley on Monday, then recorded a season-high seven strikeouts over five one-hit innings against the Crosscutters on Sunday, throwing 42 of 65 pitches for strikes en route to his second win of the week.
Olson has not allowed a run since June 19. He leads the MLB Draft League in ERA (0.33) and ranks second in WHIP (0.70) and opponent batting average (.138) over a league-leading 27 innings this season. As a College of Southern Idaho sophomore this past spring, Olson was 5-1 with a 2.69 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 90.1 innings.
Draft League Data: Olson recorded a 66.4% Strike% across his two starts while also inducing whiffs at a 37.9-percent clip. The left-hander was highly effective with each of his three secondary pitches, posting a 50% Whiff% with his changeup (-14” HB, 0” IVB), a 52% Whiff% and 38% Z-Whiff% with his slider, and a 60% Whiff% and 62.5% Chase% with his curveball.
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