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For Immediate Release

Wednesday, June 1, 2022


MARINERS ANNOUNCE MINOR LEAUGE AWARDS FOR MAY
RHP Connor Jones and RHP Bryce Miller named Co-Pitcher of the Month;
INF Robert Perez Jr. named Position Player of Month

SEATTLE, WA – Double-A Arkansas Travelers right-handed pitcher Connor Jones and High-A Everett AquaSox’s
right-handed pitcher Bryce Miller have been named Mariners Minor League Co-Pitcher of the Month for May, and
Low-A Modesto Nuts infielder Robert Perez Jr. has been named Mariners Minor League Position Player of the Month
for April.

Jones, 27, went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA (2 ER, 26.2 IP) in 4 starts with Double-A Arkansas in May. He limited opponents
to a .093 (8x86) average, while walking 14 and striking out 24 over 26.2 innings during the month. Among all qualifying
pitchers in the Minor Leagues in May, Jones ranked 1st in lowest opponents batting average (.093), 4th in ERA (0.68)
and 8th in WHIP (0.83). Jones was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week in back-to-back weeks, May 16-22 and
May 23-29. Jones threw a 7.0-inning no-hitter against the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the opening game of a
doubleheader on May 26. Throwing 88 pitches total, Jones allowed just 3 base runners, all on walks in the 3rd inning.
Amarillo did not hit a ball in the air against him with 8 outs coming via strikeout and the other 13 on groundballs. The
no-hitter was the first for the Travs since September 2, 2021 when Matt Brash (6.0 IP), Nate Fisher (2.0 IP) and
Dayeison Arias (1.0 IP) turned the trick. Dating back to the second inning on May 26 at Frisco, Jones has tossed 25.2
scoreless innings over 4 starts (May 6-c), including 3 consecutive starts tossing at least 7.0 innings and no runs
allowed. He tossed a career-high 8.0 innings and recorded a win vs. Northwest Arkansas on May 19 in the Travelers
5-0 shutout over the Naturals.

Jones was signed by Seattle as a minor league free agent on March 30, 2022. In 8 starts with the Travelers this
season, he is 2-2 with a 3.32 ERA (16 ER, 43.1 IP). He has limited opponents to a .192 (16x151) average, while
walking 24 and striking out 41. Among Texas League leaders this season, Jones ranks 3rd in lowest opponents batting
average (.192), 6th in WHIP (1.22), 8th in ERA (3.32) and 10th in innings pitched (43.1). Jones was selected by the
St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia. In 6
minor league seasons, he is 23-19 with 16 saves and a 4.26 ERA (187 ER, 294.2 IP) in 160 games, 51 starts.

Miller, 24, went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA (4 ER, 26.2 IP) in 5 starts combined between Low-A Modesto (May 4) and High-
A Everett (May 10-28). He combined to limit opponents to a .206 (21x102) average, while walking 5 and striking out
34 over 26.2 inning. Overall in 4 starts with Everett, Miller went 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA (3 ER, 21.1 IP), including tossing
16.1 scoreless inning, May 10-26. During this 3-game stretch he allowed only 9 hits, walked 0 and struck out 26. He
struck career-high out 9 batters in back-to-back starts, May 15 at Tri-City (6.0,3,0,0,0.9) and May 22 vs. Hillsboro
(5.0,4,0,0,0,9,HB). Among Northwest League leaders in May (min. 20.0 IP), Miller ranked 1st in ERA (1.27), 3rd in
strikeouts (31), 2nd in WHIP (0.89), 3rd in lowest opponent average (.198) and T12th in innings pitched (21.1 IP).

Miller was selected by Seattle in the 4th round (113th overall) in the 2021 MLB First Year Player Draft out of Texas
A&M University. The native of New Braunfel, Texas, Miller began the season rated as the 21st-best prospect in the
Seattle organization, but has moved up the rankings as the 10th-best prospect in the Mariners system by Baseball
America. MLB Pipleline currently ranks Miller as the 22nd-best prospect in the organization.

Perez Jr., 21 turns 22 on June 26, recorded 7 multi-hit games during May, batting .258 (25x97) with 21 runs scored,
7 doubles, 10 home runs, 26 RBI, 4 HBP, 10 walks and 2 stolen bases in 26 games with Low-A Modesto. In the month
of May, Perez Jr. led the California League with 10 home runs, while also ranking T1st in extra-base hits (17), 2nd in
RBI (26), 2nd in slugging percentage (.639), 3rd in total bases (62), T6th in runs scored (21) and 6th in OPS (.987).
Over a 13-game stretch, May 4-18, Perez Jr. hit .320 (16x50) with 13 runs scored, 4 doubles, 9 home runs and 21
RBI. During this stretch he hit 3 multi-home run games: May 5 at Fresno (2x5, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI), May 15 vs. Inland
Empire (3x4, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB) and May 18 at Stockton (2x3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, HBP, BB, SB). His 5 RBI on May
15 marked the 4th time in his career to record at least 5 RBI in a game.

Perez Jr. is batting .271 (45x166) with 38 runs scored, 9 doubles, 15 home runs, 42 RBI, 5 HBP, 24 walks and 4
stolen bases in 45 games with Modesto this season. His 15 home runs this season are currently T5th-most in the
Minor Leagues, while his 44 RBI rank 7th this season. Perez Jr. was originally signed by the Mariners as an non-
drafter International Free Agent on July 7, 2016 out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. In 5 minor league seasons, he is
batting .253 (305x1206) with 183 runs scored, 64 doubles, 3 triples, 49 home runs, 220 RBI, 122 walks and 12 stolen
bases in 318 career games. Baseball America ranks Perez Jr. the Mariners 29th overall prospect.

For more information, please contact the Seattle Mariners baseball information department in Arizona (623) 776-4800.
More information on Seattle’s roster is also available online at mariners.com. All Mariners news releases, game notes,
statistics and multimedia files are also available by visiting the Mariners Online Press Box at MarinersMedia.com.

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