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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Frederick, MD – The Carolina League has named Frederick Keys first baseman Brandon Snyder the Topps Player of the Month for August. The eight managers in the league voted on the award. Snyder led the league in hitting (.388) in August. In addition, he stroked seven doubles, three homers, drove in 18 runs, and had a .981 OPS in the month.

In addition Keys pitcher Brandon Erbe was named Pitcher of the Week in the Carolina League for the week of August 25^th to September 1^st. Erbe went seven innings shutout innings in Lynchburg on August 26^th with nine strikeouts to earn the honor. He didn’t allow a run in three of his five starts in August.

The Baltimore Orioles selected Snyder with the 13^th overall pick in the 2005 draft. A standout player at Westfield High School in Centreville, VA, Snyder was originally drafted as a catcher. Unfortunately, he dislocated his right shoulder and tore his left rotator cuff early in his career. The injuries forced him to move from behind the plate over to first base.

Finally healthy, Snyder’s bat has come alive the last two seasons. After being named the Orioles Minor League Comeback Player of the Year in 2007 while playing with the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds, Snyder headed to the Hawaii Winter League and won the circuit’s batting title. Snyder spent all of 2008 with the Keys, posting a stellar .315 batting average (second in the Carolina League).

Snyder becomes the second Key to be named the league’s Player of the Month in 2008. Former Frederick catcher Matt Wieters received the honor for May.

Erbe finished the season with back-to-back shutout efforts, finishing as the only Key to reach double digits in wins with ten. In his two years with Frederick he set the Keys all-time record for starts making 53, six more than any other Keys pitcher. Erbe started the fifth no-hitter in Frederick history going six innings before giving way to Ryan Ouellette and Fredy Deza on August 5^th against Salem. He finished the season second in the league in innings pitched (150.2) and first in strikeouts with 151 punchouts. He is the third Frederick Key to lead the league in strikeouts in the last four years joining Jim Johnson (2005) and David Hernandez (2007).

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