ROME EMPERORS’ OWEN MURPHY EARNS SAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS

(Media release from the Rome Emperors):

The South Atlantic League on Monday announced their weekly award winners which included Rome’s Owen Murphy who struck out 10 over seven one-hit innings in Winston-Salem this past Thursday.

The former 20th overall pick in the 2022 MLB First Year Player Draft, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning before a leadoff triple killed the bid. That would be the Dash’s only baserunner against Murphy who now sports the best WHIP in the South Atlantic League with a 0.63 mark through four starts. Murphy’s 10 strikeouts brought his season total up to 37, tying Wilmington’s Andry Lara for the most strikeouts in all of High-A.

Murphy is the first Emperor in 2024 to be in receipt of a weekly award. 2023 winners included: Daniel Martinez, Hunter Riggins, and AJ Smith-Shawver. At age 20, Murphy is 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his first full season of High-A baseball. He’s scheduled to start game two of the series against Hickory, set for Wednesday at 11:00 am.