2029 Minor League Players of the Year

[Underground]

Bakersfield Minor League Players of the Year

Offense in the 2029 Bakersfield farm system was at a premium. While debatable, the front office has selected SS Guillermo Colón as the 2029 Bear Cub Hitter of the Year. He was promoted to AA for the year and spent his entire season providing excellent defense (+3.6 ZR, 4.28 RF) and an all around reliable bat to the tune of a 120 OPS+, 30 SB, and 5.2 WAR. Colón was one of GM Dan Vail's earliest acquisitions, and will need to continue to excel to prove he was worth trading rookie phenom RF Antonio Garcia (5.3 WAR) to the London Underground.

Several Bear Cubs turned in excellent 2029 campaigns, including notable snubs SP George Farleigh (AAA, 158.0 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 5.0 K/BB, 2.84 FIP) and SP George Hann (AA, 171.2 IP, 0.97 WHIP, 3.1 K/BB, 2.95 FIP). Winning this year's Bear Cub Pitcher of the Year, however, is AA/AAA standout SP José Ortíz. A 2028 first round pick, Ortíz has stormed through the farm system and is already in AAA. José spent most of the year in AA accruing 1.9 WAR in just 66.1 IP with a 0.86 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, and 8.4 K/9. Once promoted to AAA, Ortíz actually improved several metrics including posting 11.4 K/9 and only 1.5 BB/9 (7.86 K/BB), though some bad luck shoved several others downward. With three plus-plus pitches, Ortíz looks poised to make his PEBA debut sooner rather than later.

Bear Cubs of Yesteryear:

Hitter of the Year:
2029: SS Guillermo Colón (AA)
2028: 1B Clyde Stinton (AAA)

Hitter of the Year:
2029: SP José Ortíz (AAA)
2028: SP George Farleigh (AAA)

I must say Garcia has far outpaced my expectations, he had a breakout season in London! Hopefully Colon's breakout is coming for you.

[Ghosts]

I must say Garcia has far outpaced my expectations, he had a breakout season in London! Hopefully Colon's breakout is coming for you.

I'll say! I figured he would do well with a chance, but wow he blew away expectations. Seems like he'll be an anchor piece for years to come in London.

[DougO]

I decided to include my Minor League award winners as part of a new PEBA podcast. Here is episode one of the new Okinawa Shisa podcast, Open Mouth/Close Mouth.

Hope you enjoy.

Open Mouth/Close Mouth S1, E1; Evil Evas/Extensions?/Minor Awards

Minor League Hitter of the Year, catcher, Claudio Lara (AA)

Minor League Pitcher of the Year, starter, Shou Saitou (SA)

[Vic]

The Scottish minor league hitter and pitcher of the year awards:

Minor League Hitter of the Year: Tony Barrón, CF, Maui Mahi-Mahi. Barrón is, arguably, the best position player prospect in what laughably passes for the Scottish minor league system, and he played like it. Barrón slashed .282/.346/.499 on the season, and led the team in batting average, HRs (17), RBIs (64), OBP (.389), Slugging (.499), OPS (.844), Runs (48) and, well, the list goes on. He was signed as an international free agent in 2028, and seems to be living up to his promise. Barrón also won the Hawaiian League Platinum Stick Award at CF.

Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Keiji Honda, RP, Inverness Highlanders. Even though Honda spent 6 weeks on the Injured List with a sore shoulder, the 2028 first round draft pick came back strong to post a 1.25 ERA in 57.2 innings of relief, with 46 Ks and 22 walks. He pitched mostly in middle relief for the Highlanders in an effort to keep his workload under control. Scottish brass see him as a key member of the bullpen in the not-so-distant future.

[Fishermen]

Hartford Minor League Hitter of the Year: CF Ryan Brown (AAA)
The top WAR of Hartford's entire minor system, Brown has been nothing but amazing this year. After going back to AA in 2028, Brown returned to AAA in 2029 hungry than ever. Brown played solid defense on the toughest outfield position and put on a show for the fans by mercilessly smashing 36 balls out of the park. Fact check, only one other AAA players had double digit homers with 10.

Hartford Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Wing-Kit Da (AA)
A rising star in the Harpoon farm system, Da was promoted from A to AA after 11 starts to fill in for a starter. Little did anyone expect Da to pithc better in the AA than A. He was 3.66 ERA with 2-4 in the A and finished the year with 9-4 and 2.25 ERA in AA after 17 starts. Let's not forget about his impressive 0.96 WHIP too. His total WAR for the year was 3.8, the highest among Hartford minor league pitchers by a mile.

[P.S. I should give Wing-Kit Da the nickname "Da Vinci", Da Wing-Kit -- Da Vinci, good enough]

[Arroyos]

Yuma's Minor League Players of the Year

The story behind their selection was already posted, here.

The two winners were:

P José Tojeira, Kivalina Bowheads, SS-A
First over-all pick in the 2029 rookie draft.

2B Mathieu Bouchard, Kivalina Bowheads, SS-A

[Borealis]

From: The Office of the Commissioner
To: The Yuma Bulldozer Organization
Re: Mathieu Bouchard

Sirs,

We would like to respectfully point out that your appointment of Mr. Bouchard as your Minor League Hitter of the Year does not meet the Leagues formal requirement of being a member of the organization as of Opening Day, April 2, 2029. We request that you make another selection.

Thank you,
Harry Castle
Commissioner
Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance

[MikeB]

San Juan Minor League Players of the Year

WALLY GLASSER, Kingston (A) & Santurce (AA) – Glasser has been in the San Juan minor league system five years but until this season he hadn’t looked like the first round pick he once was. He was the only player in A ball this season to hit .300, capturing the Amber Waves batting title at .306. He also posted a posted a .375 OBP with 25 steals, 14 doubles and 14 home runs and led the Amber Waves in WAR (6.4). During a stint at Santurce (AA), he hit just .235 but stole another 10 bases. He only turned 23 in August.

SEONG-CHAE SOMUN, Kingston (A) and Santurce (AA) – Somun posted 15 wins in 17 decisions to lead the Amber Waves League while his 1.71 e.r.a. was good for second. Both are Kingston records. He finished third in the Amber Waves Outstanding Pitcher Award, an honor he captured in the Alaska League (SA) last year. For San Juan's Minor League Pitcher of the Year, he edged teammate Jesús Luna (13-4, 1.78). Both pitchers came off San Juan’s international team last year, after turning 20 and dominated SA ball. The higher competition in A ball failed to hinder either. Somun also got three starts in AA, going 1-1 with a 1.50 e.r.a.

[Denny]

Palm Springs Minor League Player Awards 2029

• PS Minor League Hitter of the Year 1B Connor Burrell (SS-A)
• PS Minor League Pitcher of the Year CL Julian Barnes (A)

Palm Springs' Minor League Hitter of the Year for 2029 is first baseman Connor Burrell. Drafted in 2026 and later released by the San Jose franchise before being signed to a minor league free agent contract by the Codgers in 2027, Burrell started his career as a Codger slowly, getting just 23 at-bats his first year with Lana'i City. When 2029 rolled around, though, it was another story; he quickly settled in as the everyday first baseman for the Pineapples, and smacked 10 home runs, 52 RBIs and had an OPS of .901. His performance garnered him an appearance in the 2029 Surf and Snow Amalgamation All-Star Game, and at season's end finished third in 2029 SS-A HL Outstanding Hitter Award voting. Still just 21 years old, Burrell will assuredly be moving up the minor league ladder sooner rather than later.


Palm Springs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2029, Julian 'Dragon' Barnes, was a standout closer this year at High-A National City. The native of Livermore, California was selected by the Codgers in the second round of the 2024 amateur draft from Palm Beach Gardens High School. He was a dominant force in the late innings for the Bankers, racking up 29 saves to go along with a 1.38 ERA, and finished second in the 2029 NAFTA A BCL Reliever of the Year Award voting. It seems likely that Barnes will be burning batters in Edmonton next year; there is no limit to how high this Dragon can fly.

Historical PS Winners:
Palm Springs Minor League Hitter of the Year
2029: 1B Connor Burrell (SS-A)
2028: 2B Pablo Ortíz (AAA)
2027: 2B Pablo Ortíz (AAA)
2026: 2B Reuben van Driel (AA)
2025: No selection
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
2029: SP Julian 'Dragon' Barnes (A)
2028: SP Ash Thompson (A)
2027: SP Víctor Andrés (AAA)
2026: SP Bob Riddle (AA)
2025: No selection
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)

[Maulers]

MAN Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Harrison Jesty
MAN Minor League Pitcher of the Year: P Alfredo Diaz

[KenH]

FLA minor league hitter of the year: Tiburcio Penela (AA)
FLA minor league pitcher of the year: Carlos Valverde (A)

Signing as an unheralded international free agent, Penela soon burst onto the scene, putting up gaudy numbers primarily in Beaufort but also taking his talents to Ocean City and demolishing AAA pitching for a few weeks. All-in-all, Penela posted an obscene 41 homeruns, 105 RBIs, and 168 hits. The future for Penela is bright!

Similar to Penela, Carlos Valverde was somewhat of a surprise for the the Featherheads deal makers. Signed in the fifth round, Valverde rewarded the high draft selection with 3 starts with over 10 strikeouts, including one 15 strikeout performance that was paired with a no-hitter. Valverde's future is a little more shrouded in mystery, but he definitely made his impression on scouts and fans alike.