Jedidiah Stephen Has a Tremendous 1st Week of July for the Aberdeen Ironbirds

New York-Penn League notebook
News & notes for the week of June 30
By Nick Cammarota / Special to MLB.com

Aberdeen shortstop Jedidiah Stephen shares the league lead with five home runs. (Danny Wild/MLB.com)
Aberdeen IronBirds (Baltimore Orioles)
THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The IronBirds plummeted to last in the McNamara Division after being tied for second last week. Aberdeen went 2-5, dropping their record to 8-11 -- four games out of first place.
WHO'S HOT: IF/DH Jedidiah Stephen catapulted himself to the league lead in home runs by belting four out of the park in his last five games. The Zanesville, Ohio, native hit all four in a series last week against Lowell. The first came Wednesday, which he followed with two on Thursday and another on Friday. ... LHP Cole McCurry was impressive in a 4-2 win against Lowell on Wednesday, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out seven over six shutout innings.

WHO'S NOT: CF Kyle Hudson had two hits last week, lowering his average from .280 to .216. ... LHP Jacob Smith was the only IronBird to struggle against Lowell's floundering offense, surrendering eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings Friday. His ERA shot up roughly four points to 9.95.

STEPHEN'S SAVIOR: As if Jedidiah Stephen's power display wasn't impressive enough, his second home run Thursday should silence the doubters. Trailing by two runs with one on and two out, Stephen crushed an offering from LHP Daniel Butler over the fence to give the struggling IronBirds a much-needed walk-off win.

LESTER'S LARSONEY: Switch-hitting SS Calvin Lester swiped three bags last week without getting caught, upping his season total to a league-leading 10 stolen bases.