PORTLAND, Maine -- The Eastern League is pleased to announce that Portland Sea Dogs right fielder Bryce Brentz has been named the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of May.

Brentz, who entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the fifth best prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization, batted .388 (38-for-98) with nine doubles, five home runs, 18 runs scored, 11 RBIs, a .439 on-base percentage and a .633 slugging percentage in 26 games during the month.

The 23-year-old reached base in 23 of the 26 games he played in during the month and had 10 multiple hit games, including a pair of games in which he went 5-for-5. The first of his five-hit games came on May 13 in a 7-4 loss at Trenton which kicked off a streak of eight straight at-bats in which he collected a hit. He followed that up with another five hits in a 7-2 victory at Harrisburg on May 31.

With those performances Brentz became the first player in franchise history to have two five-hit games as a member of the Sea Dogs. He is also the first Eastern League player to have two five-hit games in the same season since Altoona's Melvin Dorta and Connecticut's Ben Copeland accomplished the feat during the 2009 season.

The 6-foot, 190-pound slugger led all Eastern League players in batting average (.388) and OPS (1.072) during May and also ranked among the monthly league leaders in hits (38, T-2nd), on-base percentage (.439, 3rd), slugging percentage (.633, 3rd), extra-base hits (14, T-3rd), total bases (62, 4th), doubles (9, T-6th), home runs (5, T-6th) and runs scored (18, T-9th).

Brentz, who is hitting .300 with 13 doubles, seven home runs, 27 runs scored and 20 RBIs in 53 games with Portland this season, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the supplemental portion of the first round of the 2010 draft as the 36th overall pick after hitting .348 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs during his junior season at Middle Tennessee State University.

Bryce Brentz's Stats - May 2012
G // AVG // AB // H // 2B // 3B // HR // RBI // R // SB // BB // SLG // OBP
26 // .388 // 98 // 38 // 9 // 0 // 5 // 11 // 18 // 0 // 7 // .633 // .439

Bryce Brentz's Stats - 2012 Season
G // AVG // AB // H // 2B // 3B // HR // RBI // R // SB // BB // SLG // OBP
53 // .300 // 200 // 60 // 13 // 1 // 7 // 20 // 27 // 1 // 14 // .480 // .352