Atlanta Braves Announce Minor League Awards
Atlanta Braves Minor League Award Winners
The Braves announced their award winners for each level on Friday. I’ll be announcing my own minor league award winners in a couple of weeks, but let’s take a look at the team selections!
Pitcher and Hitter of the Year
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Player of the Year
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Dustin Peterson. A guy who had a great season in Carolina before the bus crash in 2015 really ruined his year, Peterson came back out and showed his excellent power potential at the plate for AA Mississippi. His final line in the regular season was .282/.343/.431 with 38 doubles, 12 home runs, and 88 runs batted in as well as playing elite defense in left field.
Pitcher of the Year – Patrick Weigel. Weigel spent most of his season with Rome and won the pitcher of the year award at that level as well. He was bumped up to AA Mississippi and recently spun a great playoff start there. His overall stat line on the regular season was 11-6 over 25 appearances, throwing 149 2/3 innings with a 2.47 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 55/152 BB/K ratio.
Gwinnett Braves
Player of the Year – Rio Ruiz. Ruiz made a swing adjustment at Missisippi to end his 2015 that he carried into this year and it showed. He also worked hard on his defense and has worked himself into an above-average defender, if not even a plus defender. His final line on the regular season was .271/.355/.400 with 24 doubles, 10 home runs, and 62 RBI.
Pitcher of the Year – Rob Wooten. Wooten’s versatility was vitally important for a Gwinnett pitching staff that had seeming constant turnover in personnel as pitchers were shuttled between Atlanta and Gwinnett. He made 35 appearances, 6 of them starts, throwing 73 innings with a 3.58 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 11/60 BB/K ratio.
Mississippi Braves
Player of the Year – Dustin Peterson. See above!
Pitcher of the Year – Robert Whalen. Whalen had knee surgery after 3 starts with the Braves following his midseason acquisition in 2015. He came back healthy for the first time in his career this year, and the results showed that he could be a monster on the mound. His great mound presence and pitch mix earned him a promotion to Gwinnett, where he pitched so well that he garnered an August promotion to Atlanta, but by then, he was already 30 innings beyond anything he’d ever thrown before in a season just coming off a full winter of rehab, so he was visibly exhausted on the mound compared to his minor league time. I’m excited to see what he can do in the bigs next season. His final minor league line between two levels was 7-6 over 21 starts with 120 innings thrown. He sported a 2.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 44/112 BB/K ratio.
Carolina Mudcats
Player of the Year – Keith Curcio. One of the most underrated prospects in the system, Curcio is a guy who does everything well, but nothing exceptional, so he often gets missed due to his steady performance. His final line for Carolina was .271/.352/.389 with 29 doubles, 8 triples, and 24 stolen bases, spending much of the season in the leadoff spot. He’s been promoted to Mississippi for their playoff run.
Pitcher of the Year – Matt Withrow. The brother of the big league reliever Chris Withrow, Matt was the most steady pitcher not just for the Mudcats, but arguably for the entire Carolina League as many were surprised that he was not selected as the pitcher of the year for the league, arguing that his team’s lack of success may have doomed him in the award. His final line was 9-6 over 25 appearances, throwing 120 2/3 innings with a 3.80 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, posting a 68/131 BB/K ratio.
Rome Braves
Player of the Year – Austin Riley. Riley had early season struggles with velocity and hard breaking stuff that he seemed to adjust in the second half of the season by moving his positioning in the box for better pitch recognition. His defense is still a significant concern as he made 30 errors in the regular season, and his 2 errors in a playoff game cost the Rome team a playoff win so far this postseason, but the bat has looked very good. His final stat line was .271/.324/.479 with 39 doubles and 20 home runs, driving in 80 runs.
Pitcher of the Year – Patrick Weigel. See above!
Danville Braves
Player of the Year – Ramon Osuna. A 14th round selection out of Walters State Community College in Tennessee this year. He came out of the gate very strong, but he did struggle some to end the season. Overall, his numbers were strong, with a .276/.342/.423 line, 12 doubles, 4 home runs, and 28 runs batted in.
Pitcher of the Year – Jhon Martinez. Martinez has worked his way slowly up the system since being a late signee (signed at 18) out of Venezuela. He was a stable member of the Danville rotation and gave them good innings every time out, making 12 starts, throwing 61 2/3 innings, with a 3.21 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 16/45 BB/K ratio.
GCL Braves
Player of the Year – Anthony Concepcion. Signed as a catcher, Concepcion has never played the position in the Braves system, playing 1B and corner outfield. He was a key cog in the middle of the GCL lineup this year, hitting .272/.358/.439 with 4 home runs, 5 stolen bases, and 36 RBI.
Pitcher of the Year – Kyle Muller. Muller was the one of the three early picks of the Braves in the 2016 draft that stayed at the GCL level all season, and he was rewarded with this selection due to his performance. He made 10 appearances, throwing 27 2/3 innings, with a 0.65 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, posting an incredible 12/38 BB/K ratio.
Next: Braves Minor League Database
DSL Braves
Player of the Year – Shean Michel. Michel is another Curacao product in the Braves system. He played so well in the DSL that he earned a promotion to the GCL. While not a power guy, he has exceptional speed and defense in center field. Combined between the two levels this season, Michel put up a .272/.336/.339 with 5 triples and 12 stolen bases, scoring 38 runs in 65 games.
Pitcher of the Year – Filyer Sanchez. DSL’s closer may be the best choice due to his performance, but there were a number of strong choices this season for this award. Sanchez pitched in 19 games, saving 5 of them, throwing 44 2/3 innings, with a 2.01 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, posting a 10/30 BB/K ratio.