NEW YORK -- The MLB Draft League announced that West Virginia’s Jack Elliot and Williamsport’s Nick Meyer were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for the period of Aug. 1-7.
Elliot, 23, garners Hitter of the Week honors after batting .444 (8-for-18) with five doubles, one home run and seven runs scored in five games for the Black Bears. He led all qualified MLB Draft League hitters during the period in slugging percentage (.889), total bases (tied-16) and doubles (tied), ranked second in both OPS (1.434) and runs scored, and recorded the fifth-highest average. Elliot is the third straight West Virginia hitter to win the award, following Ryan Hernandez (July 11-17) and Turner Hill (July 22-31).
After back-to-back two-hit games to begin the week, Elliot erupted for a 4-for-4, four-double performance in Wednesday’s win over Mahoning Valley. He went 8-for-13 with all six of his extra-base hits during West Virginia’s three-game series against the Scrappers. Overall, Elliot saw his Draft League batting line climb from .214/.313/.321 to .304/.407/.543 during his award-winning week. The Willoughby Hills, Ohio, native batted .271/.396/.527 with a school-record 35 home runs over parts of five seasons at Mercyhurst University (PA). As a senior this past spring, he set career highs in nearly every offensive category, producing a .299/.432/.688 batting line with 14 home runs and 43 RBI in 48 games.
Draft League Data: Elliot hammered all pitch types during his award-winning week, posting a 1.159 OPS and 1.917 OPS against fastballs and breaking balls, respectively, and a 3.000 OPS against offspeed. He hit a 104.1-mph home run and 103.5-mph double and hit six balls at 89 mph or harder. Elliot also recorded a 43.8-percent line-drive rate and had an average launch angle of 18.3 degrees on his 16 batted balls.
Meyer, 23, won his only start for Williamsport last week, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings against State College on Aug. 2. The right-hander recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts while scattering three hits and one walk and hitting one batter. He threw 65 of 105 pitches for strikes in the outing and retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced, eight via the strikeout.
Meyer (3-2) is 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and .164 BAA in three starts for the Crosscutters during the second half of the MLB Draft League season. He’s allowed 10 hits in 17 innings while compiling 24 strikeouts against seven walks. Overall, Meyer, who made two appearances (one start) for Williamsport during the first half, has pitched to a 3.43 ERA with 29 strikeouts and eight walks in 21 innings this season. The Cincinnati native joined the Crosscutters after completing his senior season at the University of Dayton, where he was 3-1 with two saves and 1.17 ERA in 17 relief appearances.
Draft League Data: Meyer averaged 87 mph (T88.9) with his fastball against Williamsport, throwing it with over 17 inches of Induced Vertical Break and nearly 11 inches of horizontal movement. He recorded a 63.4% Strike% with his fastball and a 64% Strike% with his changeup - a 79-82-mph, spin-killing (1464 rpm avg.) offering with 12.6 inches of horizontal movement. Meyer registered five strikeouts apiece with his fastball and changeup and posted a 66.7% Whiff% with the latter (57.1% Z-Whiff%, 80% O-Whiff%), throwing it 25 times.
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