I can’t believe June is already here. That means it’s time to look back at May and who turned in great performances that month. Our panel has spoken, and there’s no disputing who belongs at the top this month.

FR Position Player of the Month of May:

1. Joe Mather, 20 points. Key stats: .311/.385/.709 AVG/OBP/SLG, 12.8% per plate appearance. 10 HR.
2. Allen Craig, 13 pts. .327/.356/.611. 9 HR.
3. Brian Barden, 10 pts. .377/.460/.538.
4. Bryan Anderson, 8 pts. .358/.400/.463.
5. Shane Robinson, 7 pts. .367/.402/.456.

Also receiving points: Andrew Brown, 1.

No question that Mather belongs at the top, his performance was so hard to ignore that it earned him a spot on the big league team when it was all said and done. After him, it’s pretty questionable who was 2nd best. Craig had some monster power numbers that are certainly hard to overlook. Brian Barden had a spectacular month, but how many years has he played in AAA now? Anderson and Robinson both continued to build on their impressive first months of the season.

FR Pitcher of the Month of May:

1. Jess Todd, 20 points. 18.8% K/PA rate, .169 BABIP, 0.91 ERA.
2. Fernando Salas, 16 pts. 53.8% K/PA, 3.8% BB/AP, .167 BABIP. 1.23 ERA.
3. Mitchell Boggs, 8 pts. 3.22 ERA, 51 GB%, 16.2 % K/PA.
4. Mark Diapoules, 6 pts. 64% GB, 2.73 ERA, 19.4% K/PA, 5.6% BB/PA.
5. (Tie) Jaime Garcia, Francisco Samuel 3

Also receiving points-Nick Additon, 2, Mark McCormick 1, Matt Scherer 1.

Todd has been the Pitcher of the Month two times in a row now, last month in Palm Beach now this month while he was in Springfield. At this rate, he’ll be the June Pitcher of the Month at Memphis. Salas has emerged from an unknown in the Mexican League to a shutdown closer in the TL. Like with the hitters, it’s a toss up after the top of the list. You could make an argument for Garcia being next; # 5 seems too low for me but I presume that is because after some great starts in AAA he’s had some so-so ones that have knocked him down a peg. Boggs has been one of the PCL’s most solid starters. Young Mark Diapoules come up to the QC with aplomb, missing bats and inducing lots and lots of grounders with that sinker of his. And Francisco Samuel has been “effectively wild” to this point for Palm Beach, ascending into the closer spot after others have faltered.

We’re doing a new monthly thing here at FR: Hitter and Pitcher of the Month awards. We’ll have to think of a catchy name for the awards…maybe the FRedbirds? The world does need more Fredbird, and we here at the blog put the “FR” in Fredbird.Yeah, that’s bad. Maybe just pitcher and position Player of the Month will do for now. This definitely isn’t a ranking of their prospect status, it’s based on their performance for the month. Fewgoodcards, Roarke, AZ and myself form the illustrious panel of minor league-minded judges. We put it to a vote on who we think is deserving, 1-5. A first place vote is 5 points, a second place vote is 4 votes, third place three, etc., etc.

Here is your April Position Player and Pitcher of the Month–

POSITION PLAYERS

1. Shane Robinson, 20 pts. No disagreements here— 78 at bats, .410/.451/.615, 9 K’s, 7 BB, 4 steals, .448 BABIP
2. Bryan Anderson, 14 points. —80 AB, .388/.412/.525, 2 HR, 4 BB, 12 K, .433 BABIP
3. Pete Kozma, 12 pts. — 91 AB, .341/.421/.538 13 BB, 18 K, 3 HR, 2 SB, .400 BABIP
4. Jon Jay, 7 pts. — 97 AB, .330/.393/.505, 3 HR, 9 BB, 12 K, 3 SB, .354 BABIP
5. Steve Hill, 5 pts.—88 AB, .341/.392/.580, 4 HR, 8 BB, 17 K, .388 BABIP

Also receiving a vote-Daryl Jones, 1pt. I think that those of us who didn’t vote for him were sorely tempted to vote for him, if he hadn’t have been injured for that 9 day period. Tyler Henley’s probably is deserving of some honorable mention here as well, especially considering he plays a premium position at CF, while Hill plays LF and DH. I can’t speak for our panel here, but had I thought of that I may have voted different. Then again, we have no way really of knowing how well Henley played in CF. He could be a butcher out there, but from the scouting report or two I’ve read on him, I highly doubt that.

PITCHERS

1. Jess Todd, 18 pts. —24 IP, 94 TBF, 31 K, 5 BB, 15 hits, 0 HR, 1.48 ERA, 1.62 FIP. Excellent command, 3rd in FSL in K/PA% w/33%
2. Jaime Garcia, 17 points. —29 IP, 120 TBF, 36 K, 13 BB, 21 H, 0 HR, 2.17 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 62% GB. 2nd in TL in K/PA 30%.
3. Jason Motte, 11 pts.—12.1 IP, 50 TBF, 21 K, 4 BB, 9 H, 1 HR, 2.19 ERA. 2nd in all the minors in K/9 with 15.32.
4. Tyler Herron, 8 pts. —27 IP, 107 TBF, 24 K, 2 BB, 25 H, 2 HR, 3.00 ERA. Great control, 2nd in FSL with just 1.9% BB/PA %.
5. Fernando Salas, P.J. Walters tied at 2 pts.

Also receiving votes-Mark Worrell 1 pt, Clayton Mortensen 1.

Close battle between Garcia and Todd, with Todd getting the narrow edge. You really can’t go wrong with either one with their performances this past month. It was a great month for all of these players, hopefully they can continue building on their successes. I’d really like to see Colby get it going and it least be in the mix when we’re voting for the top spot next month.