The St. Louis Cardinals announced today their selections for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for July, with Memphis Redbirds (AAA) outfielder Randy Arozarena and Johnson City Cardinals (Rookie) right-hander Michael YaSenka, a 2019 draftee, taking the honors.
Arozarena, 24, whose start to the 2019 season was slowed by injury, put together a solid all-around month in July, batting .360 (34-for-94) with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs and 14 RBI in 25 games with a 1.018 OPS. The right-handed hitting Cuba native has combined to hit .354 with 9 HR’s, 50 runs scored and 41 RBI in 73 games between Springfield (AA) and Memphis this season.
Since joining Memphis in mid-June, Arozarena is batting .379 with 6 HR’s and 26 RBI in 45 games, with his batting average and 1.030 OPS ranking among Pacific Coast League Top-5 leaders if he’d had enough qualifying at-bats. The 5-11, 175-pound Arozarena was signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted free-agent on August 1, 2016 and was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month once previously (May, 2017 – Palm Beach).
YaSenka, 21, was drafted by the Cardinals in the 17th round this past June out of Eastern Illinois University, and he’s quickly moved to the front of the Johnson City starting staff, going 2-1 with a 0.56 ERA in seven games (five starts). The 6-2, 205-pound YaSenka has fanned 37 batters (T7th in Appalachian League) in 30.2 innings pitched, including a season-high 10 in a 7.0-inning complete game win over the Kingsport Mets on July 24.
YaSenka was 1-2 with a 0.64 ERA in five starts during July, striking out 32 in 28.0 innings, allowing just five walks and two earned runs.
