2035 Minor League Players of the Year

[JayA]

MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LF Lucas Fullerton, Youngstown Thunder (AA)

With apologies to Aaron Lawrence, who was acquired from Kentucky near the trade deadline and promptly came in and posted a .272/.340/.390 slash line in 40 games, the Madison Malts are honoring outfielder Lucas Fullerton as their 2035 Minor League Player of the Year. At 21 years old, Lucas spent the entire season in AA playing for the Youngstown Thunder where the lefty had a .344 OBP, while hitting 24 home runs, stealing 20 bases, and accounting for an org-leading 58 extra base hits. A former fourth round draft pick out of Mundelein, Illinois, Fullerton quickly ascended the minor league hierarchy, reaching AA in just his second full season and really settled in to his role this year, playing primarily in left field while also manning right field when needed. While he has struggled to connect at times, striking out 136 times this year, the rest of his game is rock solid. Malts General Manager Jay Amado envisions him becoming a regular player in the major league organization in the coming years.

MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR

SP Todd Miller, Middle Bass Vinters (A)

22-year-old Todd Miller took home the organizational award for minor league Pitcher of the Year after posting outstanding numbers in A-ball for the Middle Bass Vinters. After being called up early in the season, Miller quickly moved from a reliever role where he pitched four games into a starting pitcher role. In 24 total games (20 starts), he went 11-3 with a 1.19 WHIP, 2.58 ERA, and 95 strikeouts for the Vinters. The New York City native who came into the organization as a 2031 sixth round draft pick had a slow start to his career, not appearing in a game until 2033. After two seasons of struggles, he found his groove this year on the back of three plus-plus pitches, led by a nasty changeup. While he is never going to wow you with his velocity or movement, Miller's craftiness and ability to keep the ball in the park (0.1 HR/9 and .254 BABIP) make him a valuable asset for a team looking to build around defense. The hope with Miller is that this will accelerate his career; the team plans to play him in AA next season where expectations will be high after his 2035 campaign.

[Hitmen]

New Jersey’s 2035 Minor League Hitter of the Year:
1B Steve Ricks; Ricks is a leader and captain of Hi-A Crooners. While the Crooners finished middle of the pack this season, Ricks made sure to put in the work and contribute in every way possible with a .314/.408/.522 slash line; 35 doubles, 17 HR, 64 RBI, and even 25 stolen bases. He made sure to lead by example for his team and do it all, but it still wasn't enough this year.

New Jersey’s 2035 Minor League Pitcher of the Year:
SP Russ Rhodes; took home honors this year as the Minor League Pitcher of the year putting up an impressive 12-6 record and 2.94 ERA with a 8.6 K/9 ratio. Camden made it to the playoffs this season with the help of Rhodes, however they were not able to get out of a grueling Wild Card round against the Youngstown Thunder. The experience should help the lanky lefty continue to grow for the Hitmen.

Historical NJ Winners:
Minor League Hitter of the Year
2034: RF Gelana Naybet (WIL)
2024 - 2033 - WIL: Researching the Archives
2020 - 2023: Researching the Archives
2019: SS Matt Thurman (AAA)
2018: 1B Carlos Rea (AAA)
2017: 3B Terry 'Lump Lump' Lovell (AAA)
2016: SS Matt Thurman (Hi-A)
2015: 3B Alberto Rodríguez (AA)
2014: 2B José Mateo (AAA / AA)
2013: RF Cliff Jones (NJ / AAA / AA)
2007 - 2012: Researching the Archives

Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2034: SP Yub Issa (WIL)
2024 - 2033 - WIL: Researching the Archives
2020 - 2023: Researching the Archives
2019: CL Júlio 'Tapper' González (AAA)
2018: SP Dusty Garland (AAA)
2017: SP William Kelly (Hi-A)
2016: MR Sebastián Valentín (AAA)
2015: CL Glenn Martin (AA)
2014: SP Claude Risk (AA / Hi-A)
2013: SP Jonathan Peña (AAA / AA)
2007 - 2012: Researching the Archives

[KenH]

2035 Hitter of the Year: 1B Jesus Romero

While the Florida front office likes to pretend we know what's going to happen, Jesus Romero's intractable rise through the Florida farm is nothing short of extraordinary. Signed as an older IFA in '33, Romero got the starting job in Port Sudan immediately and never relinquished it. While Romero's game is not the traditional power hitting 1b, he still managed to wallop 11 this year in Mexicali. His spray chart is also very consistent, planting balls all over the field. Romero's rise even led some analysts to considered him a front-runner to take injured van Wondel's spot on the main squad, despite being in A-ball at the time. While that obviously did not happen, there can really be no doubt of Romero's emergence as a premiere 1B prospect. He solidified his claim in the rankings with an exemplary performance in the AAA playoffs, slashing an absolutely ludicrous .429/.474/.629.

2035 Pitcher of the Year: Hen-to Tse

Tse came by way of the fraught Joe Arnold trade. Once seen as a disaster (giving one of your key enemies one of your best pitchers on a deal lower than a backup left fielder AND a first round draft pick after the season?) the trade is now considered, at best, even. That is due to Tse truly coming into his own over the course of the 2035 campaign where he started for Beaufort, Chesapeake, and Florida. In true Streets fashion, they put it all on black and spun the wheel... it seems like this time, it worked out.

Past Hitters of the Year
2034 2B Michael "XXX" Roberts
2033 Rodrigo Martinez
2032 Jose "Smoke" Rios
2031 Pedro "King" Coronado
2030 Yosuke "Tofu" Morimoto
2029 Tiburcio Penela
2028 Jose Villareal

Past Pitchers of the Year
2034 P Miguel Boroa
2033 Sergio "Crash Test" Sanchez
2032 Edgardo "Sureshot" Trevino
2031 Edgardo "Sureshot" Trevino
2030 Miguel "Hot Streak" Serrano
2029 Carlos Valverde
2028 Luppe "Terrible" van Dam

[Underground]

2035 London Minor League Pitcher of the Year

SP Antonio Pena
Troy Rush did everything he could to earn this award in the final season of eligibility but Pena had other ideas. The lanky lefty had a stellar season in AA, earning a 13-7 record in 27 starts. He compiled an ERA of 2.87 and 210 strikeouts which was good for 2nd best in AA. Pena finished 4th in pitcher WAR in the league at 5.2. Batters facing Pena hit for just .197 on the season. I wanted to say this sort of came out of nowhere, but in reality Pena tore up single A last season as well and was probably in the top 3 of my minor league pitchers of the year for last year, so this is in fact a continuation of his minor league dominance. Pena features an elite fastball and slider combo with the ability to also throw a very good changeup. Long-term his control and movement might make it difficult for him to transition to being a PEBA starter but with top tier stuff he may prove to be a big time reliever.

2035 London Minor League Batter of the Year

1B Corey Navarro
The 2033 2nd round pick had a breakout season this year in his first single A season. Navarro batted .321/.396/.574 this year. He sent 27 balls over the fences and batted in an impressive 107 runs. His RBI total was good for 3rd in the league while his slugging % was good for 5th. This was a competitive battle between Navarro and his teammates Jose Gonzalez and Jose Garcia, as well as former 8th overall pick Zak Osmond (mostly in SSA this year). Ultimately Navarro was the only one that combined the average, on base %, and power numbers and also far and away led the pack in runs batted in. Fitting the standard mold of power hitting 1B/DH Navarro did play the entire season at 1B where he managed a .995 fielding pct with just 5 errors across 1076 innings. Navarro's performance slingshot him past AA straight to AAA where he will look to retain his POTY crown against Zak Osmond whose been promoted to AAA straight from SS-A.

Minor League POTY Record Roll (Winters Era)

Pitcher of the Year
2034: SP Rich Jones
2033: SP Rich Jones
2032: RP Dennis Bauer
2032: SP Jarred Erwin
2031: SP Luis Lopez
2030: SP Luis Lopez
2029: SP Norm Batstone
2028: SP Pete Blaquiere

Hitter of the Year
2034: 1B Rocky Nichols
2033: 1B Rocky Nichols
2033: 1B Rocky Nichols
2032: SS Ellis Thackwray
2031: LF Bob Brown
2030: LF Bob Brown
2029: 3B Arturo Rodriguez
2028: CF Rene Lems

[Dinosaurs]

Fargo Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Ji-chor Hwang (R)

Hwang was drafted in the 6th round of the 2034 draft out of high school. Hwang crushed 41(!) home runs in the Intercontinental Baseball Coalition rookie league over 368 PAs. His triple slash was an impressive .296/.397/.730 with a 1.127 OPS (204 OPS+).

Fargo Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Júlio Gaona (A)

Gaona was a scouting discovery that had his break out season in 2035 while repeating A ball. He saw his strikeout rate jump from 9.3 in 2034 to 10.1 this past season, and posted a 150 ERA+ and 4.7 WAR having started 26 games.

[Evas]

SS 2034 Minor league hitter of the Year- DH António Gómez
Overall, Gomez was excellent again in 2035 in AAA (.323/.392/.531 in 324 PA) but especially dominant vs. RHP (.331/.402/.573 in 271 PA). That perforance earned him a AAA All-Star not and a chance to play in the 2035 PEBA All-Star Futures game. But more importantly, he earned himself a shot at the Evas' roster. He was decidedly mediocre in the regular season (.233/.292/.403 in 144 PA), but was a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs (.375/.412/.750 in 17 PA). Gomez is well positioned to make the 2036 PEBA roster out of camp.

SS 2034 Minor League Pitcher of the Year RP Félix González (AAA)
Acquired from Arlington at the trade deadline in 2030, FG is one of the few bright lights in SS system that has been ravaged by trades. Felix was nothing short of dominant in AAA in 2035 (367 ERA+ in 45.2IP). He struggled in a relatively brief stint in the bigs (76 ERA+ in 21.1IP). But with his excellent ability to keep the ball on the ground, he seems poised to have a productive PEBA career out of the pen, even if he likely will never be an elite arm.

Follow Up on 2031's winners:

• C\1B Manny Lara made his first PEBA All-Star game in 2035. He has officially arrived.
• SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi had a decent, but somewhat disappointing season in PEBA (92 ERA+, 2.8WAR, in 29 games started). He bounced between excellent and struggling month-to-month. The Evas are banking on him stabilizing more in 2036.

Follow Up on 2032's winners:

• LF Cris Krebs was terrible in 2035. His overall line was a mess (.224/.244/.316) and he wasn't even good vs. LHP (.227/.238/.325). 2036 will be a critical season for Krebs.
• SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.

Follow Up on 2033's winners:

• 1B/3B Scotty "The Grinch" Weeks came in to his own in 2035, posting a very solid line vs RHP (.232/.281/.522), blasting 34 HR, leading the SL in SLG, and making his first All Star game. Weeks should be around for years to come. The question is whether he will ever log more time at 3B. Playing a respectable 3B would make him one of the more impactful young players in the SL.
• SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.

Follow Up on 2034's winners:

• DH António Gómez - Won the SS Minor League Hitter of the year for the second straight year.
• SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.

Historical Winners:
Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year
2035: DH António Gómez (AAA)
2034: DH António Gómez (A)
2033: 3B Scotty "The Grinch" Weeks (A)
2032: LF Chris "No Trump" Krebs (AA)
2031: 1B Manny "Manimal" Lara (A)
2030: 1B Jeremy Craig (AA)
2029: C Connor Clavell (A)
2028: C Bob Peña (A)
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
2035: SP Félix González (AAA)
2034: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (AAA)
2033: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (A)
2032: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (SS-A)
2031: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (R)
2030: SP Takesi Ishikawa (R)
2029: SP Andrew Thornton (AAA)
2028: SP Sandy Garza (AAA)
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)

[Fishermen]

Gloucester Fishermen 2035 Minor League Hitter of The Year - Benigno Canseco (AA)
Benigno Canseco was an acquisition from Amsterdam Lions last year and he did not disappoint in his new uniform. He was a leader in and out of the field and was an excellent performer for a struggling Narragansett Seagulls team. He amassed a statline of .290/.347/.479, 12 HR, 59 R, 64 RBI, 21 SB, and 2.6 WAR in 120 games. While he might not be the most powerful hitter in the league, he was an elite extra-base hitter with 39 doubles (3th in AA) and 8 triples (2nd, tied) and always provide a scoring opportunity for the team whenever he's up there. His best performance and a must-feature for his highlight was the game at the night of August 19th against the Omaha Insurers. He went 4-for-5 and got the cycle done at the young age of 21. He doubled in the 1st, singled in the 2nd, then pulled a two-run home run to the left of the field before closing it up with an RBI triple in the 8th.

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Gloucester Fishermen 2035 Minor League Pitcher of The Year - Sergio Montanez (R)
First year playing out of WIL would be a tough task for many players, but not Montanez, who was one of the best players in the Duba's inaugural season. With 8-5, 3.29 ERA, 10.6 K/9 and 3.6 WAR, he was the ace starter of the team and the only one to had an overwhelming W-L number above 50%. Other starters all struggled around the 50% or worst. Montanez was ranked 5th in Ks in the IBC this season with 135 strikeouts to boot. His best performance was at the night of June 17th, 2035, in which he put up 8 innings of dominant pitching and the team won in a 10-0 blowout. The Khartoum Raiders couldn't hit anything off him and he struck out 13 of them with ease.

[Alleghenies]

WV minor league players of year (will edit with links shortly).


Batter: F Zhao-dao 'Furball' Lew #3
Mansfield Mohicans (WV) GBB AAA

Pitcher
P Min-zhong Lou

[Denny]

Palm Springs Minor League Player Awards 2035

• PS Minor League Hitter of the Year LF Curt Darrah (A)
• PS Minor League Pitcher of the Year SP Tsugiharu Kamimura (A)

Palm Springs' Minor League Hitter of the Year for 2035 is left fielder Curt Darrah. Profiled as a paragon of prodigious power prior to the 2034 amateur draft in which Palm Springs snapped him up in the second round, Darrah has without a doubt delivered on that promise. The Sarnia Canada graduate immediately started cranking home runs upon arrival in Lana'i City in 2034, and if anything he has dominated even more completely in 2035. Promoted to High-A National City, he blasted a league-leading 47 home runs, was selected to the 2035 North American Farm Team Affiliation All-Star Game, won the 2035 NAFTA A BCL Platinum Stick Award at CF, and finished 2nd in 2035 NAFTA A BCL Outstanding Hitter Award voting. Darrah is a natural left fielder, but the native of Hawkesbury, Ontario has been spending time in center field as well, demonstrating a flexibility which should stand him in good stead if he makes his way to the major leagues--and at the rate he is socking dingers, that seems to be simply a matter of time.


Palm Springs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2035 is National City starter Tsugiharu Kamimura. Hailing from Nagoya in Japan's Aichi Prefecture, "Mr. Cool" was picked by the Codgers in the first round of the 2031 amateur draft after an impressive career at Kochi High School. As a teen it took him some time to find his footing in the professional world, but it all started coming together in Asmara in 2033, highlighted by his striking out 15 batters in a single game. From that point he began rapidly moving up the ranks, and this season was dominant, winning 15 games while racking up 151 strikeouts with a 2.77 ERA, being selected to the 2035 North American Farm Team Affiliation All-Star Game, and finishing second in 2035 NAFTA A BCL Outstanding Pitcher Award voting. The sky seems the limit for this promising youngster; Mr. Cool is red hot!

Historical PS Winners:
Palm Springs Minor League Hitter of the Year
2035: LF Curt Darrah (A)
2034: RF Matthieu Sicco (SS-A)
2033: 1B Vincente 'Dragonslayer' Gallardo (AAA)
2032: SS Benjamin Gentileschi (A)
2031: 1B Vincente 'Dragonslayer' Gallardo (A)
2030: LF John Martínez (AA)
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
2035: SP Tsugiharu Kamimura (A)
2034: SP Ángel Reyna (SS-A)
2033: SP César González (AA)
2032: SP César González (A)
2031: SP Gerard 'Superfly' Peterson (AAA)
2030: SP Graham Caswell (AA)
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)

[Wind Dancers]

Toyama 2035 Minor League Batter of the Year: LF Reggie Raines (SA)
The newest Raines gets the nod for the 2nd year in a row after a stellar season in Single-A Takaoka. Raines hit .285/.404/.582 with a .986 OPS bolstered by 35 HRs & 110 RBIs. "The Heir" is showing a resemblance to his father, but taking that next step up into the PEBA won't be easy.

Toyama 2035 Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Zhong-yan 'Doogie' Ke (AA)
'Doogie' had a solid season in AA where a sharp improvement in his pitches saw his strikeout number climb. Ke is on pace for a spring call-up.

Historical Toyama Winners:
Toyama Minor League Hitter of the Year
2035:LF Reggie Raines (A)
2034:LF Reggie Raines (SA)
2033:1B Won Ch'oe (R)
2032:SS Bernardo 'Smug' Rodriguez (R)
2031:C Kevin Newton (AAA)
2030:C Kevin Newton (AA)
2029:LF David Trujillo (AAA)
2028:LF David Trujillo (A)
2027:CF Pedro 'Tiger' Alvarez (AA)
2026:LF Ramiro Salinas (AAA)

Toyama Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2035:SP Zhong-yan 'Doogie' Ke (AA)
2034:SP Alfredo 'Destiny' Vargas (AAA)
2033:RP Hong-yeol Chong (AAA)
2032:SP Jeroen Smit (AAA)
2031:SP Sa-yoor Ch'oe (AAA)
2030:SP Daniel Hernandez (AA)
2029:SP Todd Gustafson (AA)
2028:SP Silvio Bolt (AA)
2027:SP Mike Miller (AA)
2026:SP Felipe Morán (AAA)

[Lions]

• Amsterdam Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Tai hoi 'Sommelier' Hsiao (AA)
• Amsterdam Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Brian 'Moon Skunk' Rouhan (AAA)

[Akira]

Neo-Tokyo Minor League Hitter of the Year: C Jose Rincon (AAA) 11 HR/.310 BA/3.9 AR
Neo-Tokyo Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Yasunari Kimura (AAA) 11 W/2.91 ERA/140 K/3.9 WAR