Welcome to awards season at Bus Leagues! Once again, we will have nine to hand out: Full-season, Short-season and Independent League Player, Starter and Reliever of the Year. These players are the best of the best of minor league baseball, except for the short-season starter I forgot to put on the ballot and didn’t realize until it was too late. Voting works like the college football polls. Voters selected five players from a list of 12, with a first place vote being worth five points, a second place vote being worth four and so on. Ties were broken by most first place votes. If neither had a first place vote, I look at who had the most second place votes and that continues down the line. If somehow ties still aren’t broken, I give Brian’s vote extra weight. Players not in the top five will not have ties broken.
The voters in the 4th edition of the Bus Leagues Awards include five experts: Chris Fee, Brian Moynahan and Andrew Rosin of Bus Leagues, Joshua Kummins of Boston Sports U18 and Craig Forde of the Boston Globe. I also voted. Here is a recap of the winners so far:
Indy League RP of the Year: Tom Boleska
Indy League SP of the Year: Jeff Duda
Indy League Player of the Year: Chris Nowak
Short-Season RP of the Year: Nick Sawyer
Short-Season SP of the Year: Taylor Guerrieri
Short-Season Player of the Year
FIRST
C Mike Zunino, 21, Everett (Seattle A-)
29 G, 133 PA, 29 R, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 10 2B, .373 BA, .474 OBP, .736 SLG
19 points (2 first place votes)
There were a lot of Florida Gators drafted and playing in the short seasons this year and none stood taller than the Mariners catcher of the future. -Craig
How far ahead of the Short season leagues was he? He went to AA and didn’t skip a beat. -Andrew
SECOND
3B Joey Gallo, 18, Arizona Rangers/Spokane (Texas R/A-)
59 G, 260 PA, 53 R, 22 HR, 52 RBI, .272 BA, .412 OBP, .660 SLG
16 points (1 first place vote)
That is a TON of power and production from an 18-year-old…just remarkable numbers. -Craig
How far ahead of the Short season curve was Mike Zunino? Gallo hits 22 homers and I didn’t rank him first. -Andrew
THIRD
CF Andrew Aplin, 21, Tri-City (NY) (Houston A-)
44 G, 196 PA, 38 R, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 20 SB, .348 BA, .441 OBP, .537 SLG
13 points (2 first place votes)
Something about watching this guy swing the bat that makes you think he is destined for bigger and better things. -Craig
FOURTH
1B Saxon Butler, 22, Staten Island (Yankees A-)
36 G, 162 PA, 29 R, 10 HR, 35 RBI, .296 BA, .370 OBP, .620 SLG
11 points (1 first place vote)
This is all I have to say about Saxon Butler: he tied for the league lead in homeruns despite being promoted to Charleston on August 1 and not even playing in a short season league for the last month of the season. Maybe it was just a fluke run by a low draft pick, maybe not, but it sure was dominant. -Brian
FIFTH
SS Addison Russell, 18, Arizona Athletics/Vermont (Oakland R/A-)
39 G, 178 PA, 38 R, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 11 SB, .390 BA, .452 OBP, .648 SLG, 1.100 OPS
9 points
I always think of Addison as a girl’s name, even though the three that I can think of offhand are all guys. (I’m pretty sure Bill Simmons has an All-Star team for names like this.) Russell didn’t stay in short-season long, but that’s only because like Butler and Aplin, he proved he didn’t belong there – which is pretty freaking impressive for an 18-year-old kid. -Brian
While his destination in the infield is still up for debate, it’s clear that he really, really hit in his pro debut. In just 55 games, he nearly had double digit doubles, triples and home runs, and he was an efficient and effective basestealer. Oakland drafted him sooner than most expected, but he showed why. -Scott
SIXTH
CF David Dahl, 18, Grand Junction (Colorado R+)
67 G, 306 PA, 62 R, 9 HR, 57 RBI, 41 XBH, 12 SB, .379 BA, .423 OBP, .625 SLG
8 points
The Pioneer League is slanted toward hitting, but it’s obvious that Dahl’s pro debut was very successful. He hit in 27 straight games for the new affiliate in Grand Junction, and the Rockies hope he can help rebuild a team coming off their worst season in franchise history. -Scott
SEVENTH
1B Dan Vogelbach, 19, Arizona Cubs/Boise (Cubs R/A-)
61 G, 283 PA, 39 R, 17 HR, 62 RBI, 21 2B, .322 BA, .410 OBP, .641 SLG
6 points
Mashed a lot of homers and a bunch of doubles. -Andrew
Fans on Twitter seem to love Vogelbach a lot, and he certainly impressed after finally making his pro debut this year. While he may have a tough time staying in the field, he has big power and has a chance of hitting his way to the bigs. -Scott
T-EIGHTH
SS Dorssys Paulino, 17, Arizona Indians/Mahoning Valley (Cleveland R/A-)
56 G, 250 PA, 47 R, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 11 SB, .333 BA, .380 OBP, .558 SLG
4 points
One year younger than Gallo and one slot below him, but just making it to Low-A at the tender age of 17 is a feat that stats simply do not relay. -Craig
Youth, spelling his name with a lot of s’s, he’s the total package. -Andrew
T-EIGHTH
CF Jeremias Pineda, 21, GCL Red Sox, GCL Twins (Boston R, Minnesota R)
52 G, 208 PA, 28 R, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 23 SB, .365 BA, .406 OBP, .469 SLG
4 points
Maintained his top-notch Rookie-league numbers despite being traded to the Twins during the season. -Craig
Great bit of hitting this season. -Andrew
T-TENTH
1B Wade Hinkle, 22, Orem (Anaheim R+)
72 G, 325 PA, 62 R, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 21 2B, .338 BA, .443 OBP, .586 SLG
0 points
T-TENTH
OF Max Kepler, 19, Elizabethton (Minnesota R+)
59 G, 269 PA, 40 R, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 7 SB, .297 BA, .387 OBP, .539 SLG
0 points
T-TENTH
3B Patrick Kivlehan, 22, Everett (Seattle A-)
72 G, 316 PA, 46 R, 12 HR, 52 RBI, 14 SB, .301 BA, .373 OBP, .511 SLG
0 points
Please join us tomorrow for the full-season Reliever of the Year.
