Luke Hughes of Eastern League New Britain Rock Cats Selected as Player of the Month

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Portland, ME — The Eastern League is pleased to announce that New Britain Rock Cats third baseman/outfielder Luke Hughes has been selected as the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of April, narrowly edging Bowie pitcher Chris Waters for the award.  Hughes got off to an outstanding start for the Rock Cats, batting .354 (35-for-99) with six doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 20 runs scored, 18 RBI, 14 walks and three stolen bases in 24 games during the month of April. The 23-year old had a hit in all but four of the games that he played in during the month, including 11 multiple hit games and one multiple home run game on April 23^rd.  Hughes, who is a native of Perth, Australia, currently leads the league in virtually every offensive category, including batting average (.385), home runs (9), hits (47), on-base percentage (.449), extra-base hits (18) and runs scored (29) and he is also ranked second among all of the players in Minor League Baseball in total bases this season, with 85.  This is not the first award that the 6’0”, 190 lb. slugger has taken home this season, as he was also named the Bank of America Eastern League Player of the Week for the week ending April 27^th.

      As impressive as his performance was in April, Hughes has been even better so far during the month of May, hitting .522 with one double, one triple, one home run and nine runs scored in five games.  He currently has a 14-game hitting streak, which is tied for the longest streak in the Eastern League this season.  Eight of the 14 games have been multiple hit games and Hughes is hitting .431 with seven homers, 20 runs scored and 15 RBI during the streak.

      Luke, who batted .263 with 18 doubles, nine home runs, 56 runs scored and 43 RBI while making his Double-A debut for the Rock Cats last season, was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a non-drafted free agent on July 19, 2002 out of Hampton High School. 
 

Luke Hughes’ Stats – April 2008

G	AVG	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	SB	BB	SLG	OBP
24	.354	99	35	6	1	8	18	20	3	14	.677	.430

 

Luke Hughes’ Stats – 2008 Season

G	AVG	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	SB	BB	SLG	OBP
29	.385	122	47	7	2	9	20	29	4	15	.697	.449

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