It was a pretty inconsistent month of August for the Naturals, but a couple of guys still made an impression. The team struggled to turn their production into wins. The offense and pitching rarely lined up to produce wins, however, each side had streaks of fantastic success. Josh Lester and Luca Tresh were both shortlisted for the award this month but lost out to an on-base clinic put on by our honoree. Pitching was much easier, with a runaway performance by our pitcher of the month. Without further ado, your Naturals monthly awards.
Pitcher of the Month
Steven Zobac was unconscious in August. Posting a 1.87 ERA over 33.2 innings pitched, Zobac struck out 41 batters and was 6-0 on the month. He minimized damage over his six starts, posting a 0.86 WHIP and a .162 opponent average. He struggled with walks, allowing 10 for the month, but managed to escape without too much damage. Alongside his success were three homeruns allowed, contributing to most of the runs he allowed to score. Despite these setbacks, Zobac was able to pitch around the mistakes and earn the win in each of his starts.
Zobac is finishing just his second season of pro ball and has already made a name for himself at the Double-A level. At 23 years old, he has little work to do next season to push his way up to Omaha. There are a slew of starting pitchers fighting to be the next promotion to the big-league rotation and Zobac figures to be in that mix. He has sat at a 3.48 ERA this season, matching his career number, and dropped his WHIP slightly to 1.10. His strikeout numbers aren’t otherworldly, but figure to improve with his pitch mix while further establishing his command. If he can avoid hard contact more often, he could be a candidate for a big jump in the prospect rankings.
Hitter of the Month
Javier Vaz is the best leadoff man in the system right now. What he lacks in power, he makes up for with a career .378 OBP. August was the second month of 2024 where Vaz looked unflappable at the plate. His slash of .302/.413/.372 is a bit underwhelming to the naked eye; just six extra-base hits over 86 at-bats isn’t going to light up the baseball world. He supplemented his OPS with 17 walks to just nine strikeouts in his 24 games. Vaz scored 15 runs and hit in another six, making himself responsible for 21 total runs in August.
Vaz is an interesting prospect and can easily get lost in the excitement of guys like Jac Caglianone or Blake Mitchell. His ceiling is lower than most top 30 prospects in the system and his floor is remarkably similar to a guy we’ve sent through our system before in Nicky Lopez. However, the lowest wRC+ he has posted at any level over three seasons is 118, and he’s struck out less than 15% of the time in any full season he’s played. He also has incredible bat-to-ball skills. On the right Royals squad, he is an Alcides Escobar type who can play 162 games at four or five positions. If the big-league squad remains competitive, he at least figures to contribute in similar ways to Jarrod Dyson or Terrance Gore in 2014-2015. He will always be a hitter ruled by BABIP, subject to streaks and limited power. He still deserves your attention, as he looks to break into Triple-A next season.
Image credit: Northwest Arkansas Naturals