PEBA 2016 Minor League Players of the Year Awards

[Lions]

• Connecticut Minor League Hitter of the Year: 3B Craig Parker (AAA)
• Connecticut Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Luis 'Boy Scout' Gusmán (AAA)

I'm really not happy with how my hitters performed in the minors this year. Some of them were injured and others were playing at levels higher than they probably should've. That said, I do have some players moving through the system that could one day be solid big leaguers. Parker isn't one of them that I expect that to be true for, but he's hit very well in the minors, and has now earned this award for the second straight year. My stat guys love him, but my scouts hate him.

Gusmán is exactly the opposite of Parker. He's the type of player I want to see put up better numbers than he has. The short of it is that I did not want hiim to be winning this award. I wanted him to be contributing at the major league level. Even if he's not a RoY candidate, he couldn't hold his own against major league hitters in the first part of the season. He'll likely be in the majors to start the year next year, too. My scouts think he's as ready as he'll ever be.

[Paul Moots]

* Gloucester Minor League Batter of the Year - Éric Cartier - Cartier pounded AA pitching and was doing well enough in AAA that we added him to the ML roster in late August to add a bit of juice to the infield offense. Not a cinch to stay in the majors next year, but a good spring would make it likely.

* Gloucester Minor League Pitcher of the Year - Brian Watson - I don't know if Watson is a legit prospect - our scouts and OSA are pretty cool toward his prospects - but it's really hard to argue with his year (17-1, 3.07 ERA, 1.28 WHIP). He'll get his shot at AAA next year and we'll see.

[Denny]

Palm Springs' Minor League Hitter of the Year:

RF Alexander O'Neal (AA)

O'Neal was one of the Codgers' supplemental selections in 2015, and the USCBA Outstanding Hitter winner wasted no time making himself felt, hitting .307 for Lana'i City. This season he has flown up the minor league ladder; beginning 2016 at Single-A National City, he piled up 15 doubles and 19 HR to go along with a .311 batting average, forcing a mid-season promotion to AA Edmonton. He has continued his hot-hitting ways since his arrival in Canada, posting a .922 OPS for the Mall Ratz. Still just 22, O'Neal seems a sure bet to be wearing the salmon and green sooner rather than later.

Honorable Mentions
3B David Hunter (Hi-A)
SS Thom Wright (AA)
1B Juan Maldonaldo (AA)

We have quite a few quality hitting prospects at AA and below, making me hopeful the Codgers could be harvesting a good crop in a year or two.

Palm Springs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year

CL Hisamitsu Suzuki (Hi-A)

On the pitching side the award wasn't even close. Closer Suzuki, another 2015 supplemental round pick, had a stellar year for the Bankers in 2016, racking up 63 strikeouts in 43 innings and a gaudy 1.67 ERA. He delivered 27 saves as well while locking down late inning leads for the club, serving as a key cog in National City's epic run to take the 2016 Free Trade Throwdown. Suzuki's future looks bright.

Honorable Mentions
none

Seriously, virtually all the rest of our minor league pitching this year was either injured, newly acquired, or nondescript.

[Dinosaurs]

• Fargo Minor League Hitter of the Year: LF Nick King (AAA)
• Fargo Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Luis Hernández (AA)

[DanD]

• Arlington Bureaucrats' Minor League Hitter of the Year: DH Bryan Hennessey (AA-AAA)
• Arlington Bureaucrats' Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP Luther Jackson (AA-AAA)

DH Bryan Hennessey

.298/.363/.535
54 2B, 4 3B, 23 HR, 93 RBI, 83 R

Mr. Hennessey isn't really your traditional home run bashing DH, but he combines decent plate discipline with tremendous gap power. Between AA and AAA he posted a .898 OPS and tallied 54 doubles. He can also hit the ball out of the park if he needs to, socking 23 big flies in 2016. Bryan was called up for a cup of coffee in September, but it only lasted two pitches: The second pitch broke his wrist, knocking him out of action until 2017. He'll likely be invited to camp in the spring so that management can get an extended look.

SP Luther Jackson

11-9, 4.06 ERA, 1.23 WHIP

Jackson's combined numbers between AA and AAA are deceptive. He struggled a bit in his first trip to AAA, but was nasty with AA Hampton posting a 3.30 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in a very offense oriented league. He's a lefthanded thrower with a fastball in the low-90's with two plus off-speed pitches to complement it. If everything breaks his way, he should have a future as a back end starter or decent middle inning relief pitcher.

[Reg]

Minor League Batter: 3B Allen Chandler

Chandler seems to be learning the ropes and developing into a nice corner infielder. A close contender is C Jack Collins who was Chandler's teammate for part of the year. If Collins starts off hot next year then he will be fast tracked to AAA. McGrath the two time winner of the award suffered through a couple of minor injuries and despite jacking 25 home runs never got his average up. He played 10 games for the PEBA team and hit 3 home runs in 10 games. If he has a good spring he could earn himself a roster spot.

Minor League Pitcher: SP Ryan Lee

Not a great year for pitchers in the organization, but a solid showing by Lee at both AAA and AA nets him the honors this year.

[Arroyos]

Tough choices for the Yuma management. After some confusion in the front office about WHO should make this decision (in the continued absence of the GM—who is still convalescing at Camarillo State Hospital), the office staff voted among themselves. The first round of voting resulted in a tie for Hitter of the Year: Kivalina RF Rob Murphy, who led the Bowheads into the Alaska League Playoffs, and Salton Sea 3B Juan Ortiz, who was named the 2016 NAFTA Outstanding Hitter.

After some insidious threats were made and a five gallon jug of Colorado River Water was spilled across one secretary's desk (accidentally, of course), a final vote was taken.

• KIVALINA BOWHEADS Minor League Hitter of the Year: RF ROB MURPHY (SS-A)

After the water was cleaned up and apologies made for rude remarks, everyone agreed they could agree on the franchise's best young pitcher, a young man who led the Calgary club to the Great Northern League championship (the Stampede went 6-0 in the playoffs).

• CALGARY STAMPEDE Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP CHRIS HARRIS (AA)

[klewis]

• Florida Minor League Hitter of the Year: CJuan Hernández (AA)
• Florida Minor League Pitcher of the Year: CLForrest Major (AA)

Will provide write up later to elaborate...

[Hitmen]

• New Jersey Minor League Hitter of the Year: SS Matt Thurman (Hi-A)
• New Jersey Minor League Pitcher of the Year: MR Sebastián Valentín (AAA)

News on why these two lucky players got picked this year will be followed up on shortly.

[Maulers]

Manchester Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Louis Crocker (AA-AAA)

Manchester Minor League Pitcher of the Year: SP William Ferguson (AAA)

[Cole]

• Kalamazoo Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Júlio Martínez (A/AA)
  
  Júlio showed his talent as a pure hitter in 2016 by hitting .354/.418/.570 with 16 homeruns over 305 ABs with the single-A Nampa affiliate. He also spent time in AA this past season, posting a .299/.354/.368 mark through 117 at bats. The 21-year-old will look to continue on in 2017 and also hopes to find that power stroke and begin slugging the ball more at the AA level.
  
  As a native of Michigan, Júlio is looking forward to advancing through the ranks and getting the chance to play for the hometown Badgers.
  
  "I'm just trying to get better everyday, that's my goal. This award is great and it shows all the hard work I put in is paying off," he says.
  
  • Kalamazoo Minor League Pitcher of the Year: CL Thomas Holcomb (AA)

Holcomb has bounced around from the bullpen to the starting rotation throughout his college and professional career, but he felt right at home this year as the closer for Kalamazoo's AA affiliate in Hamilton.

Holcomb pitched exclusively out of the bullpen this year, converting 30 of 33 save chances, pitching in 65.2 innings, limitin opponents to a .221 batting average and posting a 2.19 ERA.

His nasty sinker/slider combination and his pure stuff make him project well for a future role in Kalamazoo's bullpen. He will likely be given the opportunity in 2017 spring training to break camp with the team.

"I had a great year and I'm glad to be honoured," Holcomb said. "The coaches in Hamilton have been great and everytime I took the hill I thought I was going to get the job done. It's a confidence I haven't had before and I can't wait to keep it going next year."

[John]

• Kentucky Thoroughbreds Minor League Hitter of the Year: 1B Jaime Espinoza (AA-AAA)
• Kentucky Thoroughbreds Minor League Pitcher of the Year: CL Leonard "Cotton" Snyder (AAA)

Player histories now reflect minor league awards bestowed by you. Congratulations to this year's winners!