2024 Minor League Players of the Year

[Alleghenies]

WV Minor league players of year:

Hitter: 1b Ron Copeland

Ron beat out top propect Carlos Garcia for the to hitter of the year for West Virginia. His final line was .308/.386/.492. The team chose him not just because his numbers were higher than Garcia's, but because he was also more consistent. While May he only had an OPS of .616, the next lowest was .736 and after that they went .905, .924, 1.147, 1.162. In the postseason he hit .286/.327/.429 and finshed 3rd in NAFTA A BCL Outstanding Hitter Award. Signed on as a free agent in 2023, Ron has shown he can control the plate, now the challenge will be if he can do it in the higher leagues.

Pitcher: SP Marcos Alcorta
In the history of PEBA, I am willing to bet there has never been a better pitched season than Marcos Alcorta had. We will go month by month to backup that statement. In April Marcos made 2 appearances and both were starts going 9.2 innings and giving up 0 ER. Then May rolled around and he was given 5 starts before he was sent to the pen. Why was he sent to the pen? Well the team wanted to see how well he could close out games. Before we forget his May stats, in 6 appearances he went 32.1 innings with an ERA of 1.39. So June rolls in and in his first 11 appearances out of the pen he racks up 10 saves before being inserted back into the starting rotation. In June he racked up 25 innings and had an ERA of .72. The team then decided that he would be a starter for the rest of the year (wise choice). In July he started 5 times going 30.1 innings and ended up having an incredibly ridiculous ERA of 1.19. Then came August and on August 11, the greatest thing that can ever happen to a pitcher, happened to him, yes a PERFECT GAME. In his 5 starts in August his ERA was 1.03 in 35 innings. The final month of the season September only allowed him 3 starts due to the way the schedule is because of the earlier playoff start. How did he do you ask? Well in his 3 starts he managed to go 20.3 innings pitched with an ERA of .89. Marcos finished the season with a record of 14-1 and 10 saves with an ERA of 1.00 in 152.2 innings. Yes you read that right, an ERA of 1.00 with a total 22 starts and 12 relief appearances. To top it off in 3 starts during the postseason he went 3-0 with an ERA of 1.45. He was so good he broke the game and not only won pitcher of the year, but won hitter of the year too (with 0 AB's).

[Denny]

• PS Minor league hitter of the Year RF Shane Willis (AAA)
• PS Minor League Pitcher of the Year SP Edgardo Guerra (AA)

A first round pick of great promise out of Barbe HS back in 2021, Willis spent his first few years putting in his dues in Low-A Lanai'i City; then in 2024 everything suddenly clicked and he rocketed through the Palm Springs system, going from High-A National City all the way to AAA Provo by year's end. He amply rewarded the faith which the Codgers brain trust had shown in him, hitting like a dervish at every level. There was even some thought given to calling him up to the big club for September. While that never came to fruition, he is expected to be a big-league contributor in the very near future.


On the pitching side, Guerra torched opponents in AA this year as he led Edmonton to a division title. Discovered by Codgers scouts in Mexico way back in 2019, Guerra made 29 starts this year, winning 17 and losing 6. He threw 181 innings, fanned 236, allowed 122 hits and 41 walks, while holding opposing teams to a .188 average as he logged an impressive 2.19 ERA. It's no wonder he also received the 2024 Pacific Alliance Outstanding Pitcher Award. Guerra is starting 2025 in AAA Provo but there is a chance we might see him in the salmon and green before the year is out.

Historical PS Winners:
Palm Springs Minor League Hitter of the Year
2024: RF Shane Willis (AAA)
2023: No selection
2022: LF Thomas Woods (AA)
2021: CF Chandler Pitts (AA)
2020: RF Tony Velázquez (AA)
2019: RF Felipe 'El Niño' Días (AAA)
2018: RF Felipe 'El Niño' Días (A)
2017: LF Troy Austin (AAA)
2016: RF Alexander O'Neal (AA)
2015: 1B David Lambert (AA)
2014: 2B Nick Dunlop (AA)

Palm Springs Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2024: SP Edgardo Guerra (AA)
2023: No selection
2022: SP Victor McKay (AAA)
2021: SP Juan García (A)
2020: MR Cleve Douglas (AAA)
2019: MR Joseph Lloyd (AAA)
2018: SP Bob Whitaker (AA)
2017: SP José Campos (AAA)
2016: CL Hisamitsu Suzuki (A)
2015: MR Larry 'Hulk' Taylor (AAA)
2014: CL Ed Emery (AA)

I too am going to steal Aurora's excellently formatted log of past winners. Now I just need to figure out the Palm Springers who've won in the past...
Edit: OK, mission accomplished. (Except for 2013, that is....I have no idea how Mike located Aurora's winners from that season, because I can't find any trace of MLPotY starting until 2014. )

[MikeB]

Johnson, Santana Earn Coqui Minor League Honors

Right fielder Clyde Johnson has been named San Juan's Minor League Player of the Year. Johnson's 31 home runs paced a Kingston's Sun squad that posted an 88-44 record atop the Intercontinental Division of the NAFTA (A). The 24-year old, who was an 8th round pick in 2021 hit .254 but with an OPS of .959 (.423 on-base percentage and .536 slugging), good for second in the league.

In a tougher competition, AA pitcher Juan Santana took home San Juan's Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award after posting a 14-5 record with a 2.57 e.r.a. for the Santurce Castillos of the Great Northern League. The 23-year old Santana also struck out 215 batters in 175 innings, including 10 games with over 10 Ks.

Santana beat out AAA reliever Jose Gomez (28 saves, 1.58 e.r.a.) and SS-A starters Steven Jackson (7-3, 2.13) and Victor Andres (9-4, 2.17). Andres was the Alaskan League Divisional MVP while Jackson won the Alaskan Championship Series MVP.