When Jorge Castillo graduated to the Eva rotation after an absolutely blazing start in AAA (9-1, 1.94ERA, 179ERA+ over 13 GS and 88.1 IP), the competition for Minor League Pitcher of the year was thrown wide open. Trujillo made sure that wasn't the case for long. He stepped up and firmly established himself as the top prospect, either pitcher or hitter, in the Shin Seiki organization. Trujillo simply dominated in 2027 as he continued his rise. His hot start (1.69ERA, 215ERA+, 3.3WAR over 11 GS and 79.2 IP) earned him a promotion to AAA. He kept delivering when he got there, dropping a strong stat line (2.71ERA, 128ERA+, 3.6WAR over 18 GS and 116.1 IP). His delivering a total of 6.9 WAR made him the obvious choice for the award. Trujillo now stands on the verge of the Eva's rotation. There is a case to be made for him to start the 2028 season there. But even if he doesn't begin 2028 season there, he seems poised to finish it there. The future looks very bright for the not yet even 23 year old Mr. Trujillo.
The upstart Park had another dynamite season in 2027, this time in AA. Skeptics had dismissed his strong (.303/.337/.911, 160OPS+ 40HR & 5.5WAR) 2026 season as somewhat fluke-y. After all, he was not a highly regarded prospect, having bounced out of three other systems before signing with SS. But even is scouts and skeptics haven't bought in yet (and they haven't), he continued to deliver at the AA level in 2027. His HR production dipped a bit, but his overall performance was even better than 2026 (.310/.383/.953, 175OPS+. 30HR & 5.7WAR). He will start at 3B in AAA in 2028 and have another chance to prove the doubting scouts wrong once again.
Historical SS Winners:
Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year
2027: 3B Chor-min Park (AA)
2026: SS SS Bryant 'Mjølnir' Yamada' Hawkins (AA)
2025: 2B Errol Landry (AAA)
2024: 2B Errol Landry (AAA)
2023: RF Rowan 'Bleeder' Stuart (SS-A)
2022: RF Rowan 'Bleeder' Stuart (SS-A)
2021: SS Torazo Kodama (SS-A)
2020: SS Torazo Kodama (SS-A)
2019: 2B Takane Chikafuji (A)
2018: 3B Kiyohisa Kudo (AAA)
2017: 1B Hidemichi Okubo (AAA)
2016: 2B Shihi Suzuki (AAA)
2015: 1B Mitsunari Suzuki (AAA)
2014: LF Ryozo Takeuchi (AAA)
Shin Seiki Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2027: SP Orlando Trujillo (AAA)
2026: SP Jorge Castillo (AAA)
2025: SP Soetsu Hirai (AAA)
2024: SP Soetsu Hirai (AAA)
2023: RP Millard Norman (SS-A)
2022: RP Juro 'Tempo' Sumita (SS-A)
2021: SP Arinori Mochizuki (AAA)
2020: SP Arinori Mochizuki (AAA)
2019: SP Hideyori Tanaka (A)
2018: SP Eitoku Tamura (AAA)
2017: SP Eitoku Tamura (AAA)
2016: SP Noboru 'Hack' Sakamoto (AAA)
2015: SP Koki Watanabe (AAA)
2014: SP Kawanari Masuda (AAA)
Notes for future reference: Prior to the LRS board being de-archived on 3-26-2019, I wasn't sure about several historical award winners. So I guessed when I originally posted the 2027 winners. I was able to get the answers once the LRS forum was de-archived. The winners I was unsure about are listed below, along with what my guess had been.
2019 - Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year: 2B
Takane Chikafuji (A) (guessed C
Dani Mendoza (SS-A))
2019 - Shin Seiki Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Hideyori Tanaka (A) (guessed correctly)
2018 - Shin Seiki Evas Minor League Hitter of the Year:
3B Kiyohisa Kudo (AAA) (guessed C
Kitahachi Mori (A) )
2018 - Shin Seiki Evas Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Eitoku Tamura (AAA) (guessed correctly)
2017 - Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B
Hidemichi Okubo (AAA) (guessed RF
Ogai Kato (A))
2016 - Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year: 2B Shihi Suzuki (AAA) (guessed correctly)