Diamondbacks Archie Bradley Highlights MiLB Weekly Awards

Minor League Baseball’s weekly award winners feature some dominant pitching and heavy hitting from the previous week down on the farm.

From the International League all the way down to the South Atlantic League, there were performances in the minors worthy of attention. Luckily each league throughout the minors names their own players of the week, both on the hill and in the box.

Here we will take at look at each of the award winners and give some insight into their weeks and years to date. There are also some interesting tidbits about what could be on the horizon for certain prospects, former teammates in college that were both named Players of the Week, and a remarkable story of one Twins’ starter’s performance in his first game back from Tommy John surgery.

We’ll start off with the International and Pacific Coast Leagues, since they encompass the highest levels of Minor League baseball, and work our way down from there.

There are a number of different Major League teams that are represented on this list, so be on the lookout for some of your favorite teams and learn a little about the players that are on their way to the big leagues.

Next: Triple-A

 Astros  third base prospect J.D. Davis goes back-to-back

After becoming the first repeat winner of the award in the minors this season, Davis was the one to be featured in MiLB.com‘s post about each recipient. In that post, he mentioned that “It’s awesome to get acknowledged for the hard work I’ve put in, especially after the tough start I had.”

Davis takes home the honors on the offensive side from the Texas League, and Jordan Kipper from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim system gets the nod from the bump. With three Leagues in the running, I have put each League’s abbreviation next to the player’s name to help distinguish where each feat is being accomplished. The Eastern League is EL, the Southern League is SL and the Texas League is TL. Yes, it’s just that simple.

Matt Gage (SF, EL): 1-0, 8 IP, 1 hit, 1 HBP, 1 BB, 5 K.

Dwight Smith Jr. (TOR, EL): 11-for-23 (.478), 2 doubles, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 runs, 1 SB.

Jacob Faria (TB, SL): 1-0, 7 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER (solo homer), no walks, 11 K.

Jamie Westbrook (ARI, SL): 15-for-27 (.556), 4 doubles, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 6 runs, 2 BB.

Jordan Kipper (LAA, TL): 2-0, 16 IP, 1 SHO, 8 hits, 2 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 8 K.

J.D. Davis (HOU, TL): 13-for-32 (.406), 4 HR, 4 doubles, 9 RBI.

Davis is in an interesting position, which more specifically is a third baseman in the Houston farm system. Colin Moran was called up to the Majors and should get a fair shake as the Astros look for something that works for them. Down in Triple-A Fresno is the reigning PCL MVP in Matt Duffy, and on his own team Davis has had to watch as the Astros first pick in last year’s draft (#2 overall) Alex Bregman gets reps at his position.

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If the Astros are unable to turn things around before the trade deadline, they could be bringing in even more competition as the team sells off some of their impending free agents, but if Houston somehow finds a way to claw their way back into the playoff mix, Davis could see himself on the move in such a trade. Third base is a deep position, and one of the quartet of Moran, Bregman, Davis and Duffy would likely be on the move. Davis is in that weird middle ground where he is potentially the second-best long-term option behind Bregman, so he would bring in a fair return, but he is also slotted behind another talented player on the depth chart.

Only time will tell.

Kipper is an interesting name on this list, because even in an Angels system that is widely regarded as the worst in baseball, he failed to make their preseason top 30. Regardless of rank, Kipper has put up a solid 3.63 ERA with Arkansas. The downside for Kipper is that he has a home run per nine rate of 0.9, which is a bit higher than you’d like to see, and his strikeout numbers (29 in 57 innings) are nothing to write home about, especially when he has walked just about half as many (14) as he has sat down via the strikeout.

From what I’ve read on him, he forces a lot of weak contact with a sinker which he can seemingly command at will. Taylor Blake Ward of Inside the Halos says that Kipper has the potential to be a back-of-the-rotation option for the Angels down the road, and with Garrett Richards potentially out for the foreseeable future and Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson set to become free agents following 2016, Kipper could be pushed this season to prepare him for a possible look in the rotation for next year.

Next: High-A

Headline is too close to call

Each of the noted High-A performances were seemingly on par this week, with little separating one from the other. The New York Mets and San Francisco Giants each earned their second nod on the list with strong performances from Ricky Knapp and Steven Duggar, while Daniel Gossett proved that it is in fact possible to pitch well in the hitter-friendly California League.

Steven Duggar (SF, Cal): 10-for-27 (.370), 2 doubles, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 10 runs, 6 BB.

Daniel Gossett (OAK, Cal): 1-0, 7 IP, 2 hits, 2 BB, 9 K.

Manny Martinez (CWS, Car): 1-0, 2 games (both in relief), 2 hits, 2 BB, 9 K in 7 IP.

Yasiel Balaguert (CHC, Car): 8-for-26 (.308), 2 doubles, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 runs, BB, SB.

Ricky Knapp (NYM, FL): 1-0, 7 IP, 3 hits, 2 HBP, 4 K.

Casey Grayson (STL, FL): 16-for-27 (.593), 5 doubles, 5 RBI, 6 runs.

Baseball America has this to say about Duggar before the season began:

Duggar has plus athleticism and can really run, with speed that grades out as at least double-plus in timed dashes but plays more as a plus in games…has a plus arm as well. Despite a swing that has some length, Duggar demonstrates solid bat control and has an understanding of how to take a walk.

On Tuesday night in Visalia Duggar clubbed his seventh homer of the year on a 1-for-5 night that included a pair of strikeouts. For the season he is batting .293 with a .407 on-base percentage with 25 RBI in 40 games. The right fielder was selected in the sixth round of last June’s draft out of Clemson, and with his speed should be swiping bags left and right, but he is just 3-for-7 in stolen base opportunities this season.

Making an early claim to the next round of awards is Duggar’s teammate in San Jose, C.J. Hinojosa, who is 4-for-8 with 2 HRs, two RBI, two walks and five runs scored.

Duggar’s teammate in college, Daniel Gossett, had a hard time adjusting to the pros in 2015 with Lo-A Beloit, posting a 5-13 record to go along with a 4.73 ERA. Reports had him leaving his 90-95 mph heater up in the zone too often, which he appears to have be fixed as his walk rate has fallen from 3.2 to 2.7 while his strikeout rate has taken a major leap from 7.0 last season to 10.9 this season. He is sporting a 3-1 record and a 3.18 ERA in a League that is typically very difficult on pitchers.

Next: Lo-A

Last but not least

The Midwest League showcased a five inning performance form Fernando Romero in which he didn’t allow a hit, while Nestor Cortes in the South Atlantic League struck out twelve in his six innings of work. At the plate, Eloy Jiminez and Josh Fuentes put on their best Jackie Bradley Jr. impressions by going completely bonkers.

House That Hank Built

Here is how they earned their respective nods:

Fernando Romero (MIN, ML): 1-0, 5 IP, no hits, no runs, 4 K.

Eloy Jiminez (CHC, ML): 11-for-24 (.458), 4 HR, 7 RBI, 5 runs, 3 BB, SB.

Nestor Cortes (NYY, SAL): 1-0, 6 IP, 2 hits, BB, 12 K.

Josh Fuentes (COL, SAL): 16-for-27 (.593), 5 doubles, 5 RBI, 6 runs.

Because I would like to end this whole thing on a positive note, lets talk about the player from the team that could use the most uplifting news right about now.

Romero is the Twins’ 29th ranked prospect according to Baseball America and missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Want to know what makes his five innings of no-hit ball all the more impressive? It was his first game back since having the surgery. He threw 63 pitches, 43 strikes.

Best of luck to Romero moving forward! If you’re interesting in watching his next game on MiLB.tv, he is slated to start on Thursday evening for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, who will be in Burlington taking on the Bees.

Next: Robinson Cano leads decorated second base group

That’s it for this week. Hope that you enjoyed learning a little bit about some of the under-the-radar Minor Leaguers from around the country!