Dodgers name top Minor Leaguers for month of April
by Dodgers Press Release
Posted: May 6, 2006
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Wednesday that Triple-A Las Vegas pitcher Chad Billingsley and third baseman Willy Aybar have been selected as the Pitcher and Player of the Month, respectively, as the club recognized its top Minor Leaguers for April, according to Terry Collins, director of player development.
"We're certainly excited about the way Billingsley and Aybar have started the season," said Collins. "They are both very talented players. It was a tough selection process, because we have a number of players in the organization that could have taken these awards. This reflects well on the great job our staff has done, and we expect our players will continue to get better."
Billingsley posted a 3-0 record and a 1.59 ERA in five April starts, also earning honors as the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for April 17-23. In 28 1/3 innings, he struck out 31 batters and yielded 16 hits and 10 walks, holding opposing batters to a .163 batting mark. He currently ranks first among all PCL pitchers with 40 strikeouts.
In the 51s season opener, Billingsley pitched five innings of a 7-2 Las Vegas victory and gave up two runs on four hits with three strikeouts, earning the win. He followed that on April 11 by going five innings, allowing three runs while fanning eight. On April 17, he earned his second win of the season, tossing 5 1/3 innings giving up only one run on three hits while striking out eight. In his fourth start of the year, Billingsley tossed five shutout innings, while striking out six. His third triumph came on April 28 when he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and pitched a solid eight scoreless frames, allowing one hit, one walk while striking out six.
The 21-year-old Billingsley was the Dodgers' first round pick in the June 2003 First-Year Player Draft out of Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio, and was ranked by Baseball America as the Dodgers' top prospect entering the 2006 season. In 2005, he was named the Dodgers' Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 13-6 in 26 starts for the Southern League champion Jacksonville Suns, striking out 162 batters in 146 innings pitched. He was also Pitcher of the Year in 2004.
In 24 April games, the switch-hitting Aybar batted .367 (36-for-98), collecting six home runs, seven doubles, 17 runs scored and 28 RBIs. He is currently first among PCL batters in hits (38), RBIs (29) and is tied for first with 63 total bases. He ranks ninth overall with a .349 batting average.
Aybar was signed as a non-drafted free agent in January of 2000 out of Bani, Dominican Republic. In his sixth season with the Dodgers organization, he made his Major League debut with the Dodgers on Aug. 31, 2005. In his 26 games in the Majors, he batted .326 with a homer and 10 RBIs.
