Tri-City ValleyCats infielder Brad Zunica and Southern Illinois Miners left-hander Gunnar Kines have won this week’s Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. These awards are chosen by Pointstreak, who is the official statistical provider of the Frontier League.
This is Zunica’s first time winning the Player of the Week award and the second weekly honor for Tri-City this season, after Josh Hiatt claimed the Pitcher of the Week award July 19. Zunica led the league this week with twelve hits, including two doubles and a league-best three home runs, and picked up seven RBIs. He hit .500 in six games, also the best in the league this week, and helped the ValleyCats go 5-1.
The 25-year-old is in his first season in the Frontier League, after playing earlier this season in the organization of the San Diego Padres. He was drafted by the Padres in the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft and spent the last six seasons in the organization. He is currently hitting .386 on the season and has registered 44 hits, 22 RBIs, 8 doubles, and 8 home runs so far.
This is Kines’ second Pitcher of the Week award this season and the third of his career after he earned the honors July 12. Teammates Kaleb Schmidt and Michael Austin have also claimed the award for the Miners this year. In his start against Gateway on Wednesday (8/4), Kines took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and worked seven shutout innings. He allowed just one hit and two walks and recorded a career-high twelve strikeouts in the 12-0 win over the Grizzlies.
Kines is in his fifth season in the Frontier League, spending the other four seasons in the league with the Schaumburg Boomers. The 28-year-old played in the organizations of both the Miami Marlins and New York Mets and recently spent time in the Australian Baseball League. He is currently 2-3 with a 3.92 ERA and sixty strikeouts in fifty-five innings pitched this season. He has allowed just thirteen walks on the season.
Pointstreak provides the league with its statistical software and in game scoring applications. They aim to deliver “fast scores and cool stats to players, parents, fans, scouts and media.” For more information on Pointstreak products visit them at www.poinstreaksolutions.com or www.pointstreak.com.
The Frontier League of Professional Baseball is an official Partner League of Major League Baseball and the largest of its kind in professional baseball. The Frontier League features 16 teams and has moved over 1,000 players to MLB Teams in its 29-year history. Please visit www.frontierleague.com.
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher (Brad Zunica), Southern Illinois Miners (Gunnar Kines)
