PEARL —  Mississippi Braves infielder Ozzie Albies and RHP Rob Whalen have been named Mississippi Farm Bureau Player and Pitcher of the Week. This is the second consecutive week that the pair has claimed such honors.
In seven games during the week, Albies posted a .448 batting average with a double, triple, homer and four RBI. He also swiped two bases. Albies is the Braves No. 6 prospect and also ranks among Baseball America’s Top 100 at No. 63.

In 33 games with the Double-A Braves this season, Albies is hitting .397 with eight doubles, three triples, two homers and 11 RBI. He’s hitting .556 against southpaws. Tagged the “Best Infield Arm” among Braves minor leaguers, the Curacao native started the season at Mississippi but went to Triple-A Gwinnett at the end of April.

In 56 contests, Albies was hitting .248 with 16 extra-base hits and 20 RBI before rejoining the M-Braves June 30. The shortstop was signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2013.
Whalen, 22, made one start and picked up the win this past week.

He held the Biscuits to one unearned run on five hits and two walks while striking out nine. The right-hander is 7-5 with a 2.20 ERA in 17 starts for the M-Braves this season. Opponents are hitting .221 against Whalen. In two outings during the month of July, Whalen is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. He was acquired by the Braves along with RHP John Gant from the New York Mets in exchange for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and cash on July 24, 2015.

The Mississippi Braves baseball team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Since the inaugural 2005 season, over 100 M-Braves have gone on to play in the big leagues.