NEW YORK -- The MLB Draft League announced that State College’s Brock Wills and Frederick’s Christian Rodriguez were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of July 8-14.
Wills, 21, earned Hitter of the Week honors after batting .526 (10-for-19) with one triple, one home run, four RBI and five runs scored in five games for the Spikes. He led all MLB Draft League during the period in runs scored (tied), total bases (tied-15) and stolen bases (6), and ranked second in hits, average, OBP (.571) and slugging (.789). Wills’ 1.360 OPS was third-best in the circuit.
Wills had four multi-hit performances while hitting safely in all five games for State College during the final week of the MLB Draft League’s first half. He posted three consecutive two-hit games against Mahoning Valley to begin the week, highlighted by a 2-for-3 performance in which he tallied a run scored, RBI and four stolen bases on July 11. After going 1-for-4 with an RBI against Trenton on July 12, Wills capped his week by hitting a home run -- his first of the season -- and a triple, scoring three runs and driving in two more in a 3-for-5 showing.
A Holly Springs, N.C., native, Wills hit .405 (15-for-37) with a 1.099 OPS over 11 games in the Draft League, finishing the first half on an eight-game hitting streak. He recorded five multi-hit games for the Spikes, tallying three triples, one home run and eight RBI across 40 plate appearances. As a UNC Wilmington sophomore this spring, Wills produced a .268/.411/.420 batting line with nine extra-base hits and 31 RBI in 33 games for the Seahawks. He appeared in 56 games as a freshman in 2023, hitting .286 with 17 extra-base hits and 34 RBI.
Rodriguez, 22, garnered Pitcher of the Week honors after he set a pair of MLB Draft League first-half records in his July 12 start for the Keys. Making his first start of the season after appearing in seven games out of Frederick’s bullpen, Rodriguez fired the first nine-inning complete game in the history of Draft League’s first half while setting the league’s all-time single-game strikeout record with 16 against Mahoning Valley on July 12. The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits and hit one batter while throwing 78 of 110 pitches for strikes.
Rodriguez (3-1) lowered his Draft League ERA from 4.50 to 3.92 with his complete-game performance. He finished the first half as the Draft League’s leader in strikeouts (45) and was second in innings pitched (39). He allowed 42 hits and 12 walks in the span, completing the first half with a 1.38 WHIP and .269 BAA.
The Orange, Calif., native appeared in 15 games, making 12 starts, as a Cal State Fullerton redshirt junior this spring, going 3-8 with a 5.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts in a career-high 69 1/3 innings. Committed to Hawaii for the 2024-25 college season, Rodriguez was 4-12 with a 4.97 ERA in 25 games (20 starts) in three seasons with the Titans.
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