MADISON, Alabama — The Rocket City Trash Pandas are proud to announce infielder Luis Aviles Jr. has been named the Double-A South Player of the Week for the week ending on July 11, 2021.
The honor is the first in the professional career of Aviles Jr. and marks the fourth league award of the season for Rocket City. Kyle Tyler (May 30) and Cooper Criswell (June 20) each were named Pitcher of the Week and David MacKinnon was named Player of the Month of June.
In his first homestand as a member of the Trash Pandas, Aviles Jr. put on a show against the Montgomery Biscuits. Over five games, he hit .400 (8-for-20) with six home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, a .520 on-base percentage, and a 1.400 slugging percentage. Last week, he led all of Minor League Baseball in home runs, tied for first in RBI, and ranked second in slugging percentage.
In his first home game, the former Milwaukee Brewers draft pick led off the bottom of the first with a home run on July 6, turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead with a two-run blast in the eighth, and nearly tied the game in the ninth, but his potential third home run hit the left field wall for a double.
The next night, Aviles Jr. accounted for all of the Trash Pandas’ offense. His fourth inning solo homer got the scoring started and he later drove in Ray-Patrick Didder with a double for his second RBI of the night in a 4-2 loss.
Thursday, July 8 was the most impressive showing for the shortstop. He began the bottom of the first with a solo home run to tie the game 1-1. Then with the game tied and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Aviles Jr. crushed a walk-off three-run homer to left, giving the Trash Pandas a much-needed 7-4 win.
On July 9, he extended his home run streak to four games with a two-run shot to left-center in the second as the Trash Pandas built a 4-0 lead in route to a 6-5 victory. He also recorded his third stolen base of the season.
His home run streak came to an end on Saturday night in an 0-for-3 performance with a walk and a run scored in a 5-3 loss.
In 16 total games for the Trash Pandas, Aviles Jr. is hitting .273 (15-for-55) with six home runs and 15 RBI. His began the season with Triple-A Salt Lake and played in one game for the Bees before spending most of June on the injured list. He joined Rocket City on June 22 and has been a mainstay in the lineup since.
Aviles Jr. signed with the Los Angeles Angels on November 17, 2019 and is playing in his first full season for the club. He previously spent the first seven seasons of his career in the Milwaukee Brewers system after being selected in the 30th round of the 2013 draft.
Aviles Jr. and Trash Pandas (28-30) hit the road to begin a six-game series with the Birmingham Barons on Tuesday night. First pitch from Regions Field is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio.