Windy City’s Justin Fogel, Evansville’s Alex Valdez Earn Weekly Awards

*** This release was prepared for the Frontier League on Aug. 10, 2026. You can read the original here ***

AVON, OH – With playoffs one month away, two hopeful contenders had winning weeks thanks in part to strong individual performances. Windy City ThunderBolts utility man Justin Fogel recorded seven extra-base hits in six games, drove in 11 runs, and posted a 1.744 OPS to earn Player of the Week. Meanwhile, Evansville Otters right-handed pitcher Alex Valdez pitched six scoreless innings out of the bullpen to claim Pitcher of the Week.

Windy City ThunderBolts utility man Justin Fogel recorded a hit in all six of his team’s games this week. He recorded one of the League’s best offensive performances of the season on Wednesday against the New York Boulders, going 5-for-5 at the plate with three doubles and a home run.

Fogel followed up his big day with another home run against the Boulders on Thursday. He stayed hot against the Tri-City ValleyCats, homering for the third-straight game in the series opener on Friday. Fogel ended his week with another two-hit game on Sunday, picking up a double and driving in another run.

Fogel is in his first season with the ThunderBolts. Windy City acquired him from the
Ottawa Titans on June 4. Fogel split his 2025 season between the Titans, the MLB Draft League’s Trenton Thunder, and the University of Memphis.

Evansville Otters right-handed pitcher Alex Valdez threw six shutout innings in relief
across four games to earn Pitcher of the Week. Valdez made his first appearance in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Joliet Slammers, striking out two over two scoreless innings.

Valdez pitched again on Thursday against Joliet and struck out another two batters
during a perfect eighth inning. He pitched another perfect inning on Saturday against the Washington Wild Things, striking out one. The Otters turned to Valdez again on Sunday, and he pitched another two perfect innings in a win over the Wild Things.

Valdez is in his third season with the Otters. He joined the team in July 2024 after
spending the previous two years with the American Association’s Kansas City Monarchs. Valdez also pitched for four seasons within the Arizona Diamondbacks organization from 2018 to 2022, reaching as high as Single-A with the Visalia Rawhide in 2021 and 2022.