PAPILLION, Neb. – Minor League Baseball announced the Pitcher and Player of the Week honors for each of the respective Player Development Leagues and Omaha Storm Chasers infielder Devin Mann was named the International League Player of the Week for his performance the week of April 29 through May 5.
The native of Columbus, Indiana led the league with a .467 average (7-for-15), .579 on-base percentage and 1.446 OPS, while ranking second in slugging percentage (.867) during Omaha’s series win over the Iowa Cubs. 4 of Mann’s 7 hits went for extra bases, with 3 doubles and 1 home run, to go along with 4 walks and 5 runs scored. He reached base in all 5 games he played in the series, including three 2-hit games and a 3-walk game, to stretch his team-high on-base streak to 18 games, the longest such streak among active International League players.
Through 22 Triple-A games this season, Mann is slashing .301/.420/.493 (22-for-73) with the Storm Chasers, with 8 extra-base hits (3 home runs) and 14 runs batted in. He leads Omaha in on-base percentage (.420) and ranks third in average (.301), slugging (.493) and OPS (.913), as well as runs scored (19). The infielder has reached base in 19 of 22 games played this season for the Chasers, with hits in 14 games.
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of the University of Louisville in 2018, Mann was traded to the Royals in August 2023 with INF Derlin Figueroa in exchange for LHP Ryan Yarbrough. While in the Dodgers organization, Mann was recognized as a California League Player of the Week in May 2019, the California League Player of the Month in June 2019 and post a Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star that year, playing for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. All 59 games Mann has played in the Kansas City system have come at the Triple-A level with Omaha, with a .813 OPS since the trade.
Mann is already the second Storm Chaser to win an International League weekly award this year after catcher Logan Porter was recognized for his efforts for the week of April 8 to 14. With just one weekly award winner in 2023, the Storm Chasers last had multiple Players of the Week recognized in 2022 when Vinnie Pasquantino (May 23-29) Freddy Fermin (August 22-28) and Brent Rooker (September 19-25) all were honored that season as a Player of the Week.
Right-handed starting pitcher Chayce McDermott of the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A, Baltimore Orioles) was the International League’s Pitcher of the Week, as he threw 6.2 hitless innings with 11 strikeouts on Friday May 3 as the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter for the Tides over the Nashville Sounds.
