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

Archie Bradley Earns 4th Player of the Week award of his pro career

Out in the Pacific Coast League, Bradley showed the Arizona Diamondbacks that he may be worthy of more than just the occasional spot start for the big league club after posting a solid eight innings of work on Saturday. Joining Bradley in the Pacific Coast League award circle this week is Mets middle infielder T.J. Rivera.

Out in the International League, Reds righty Daniel Wright took home the award on the pitcher’s side while the Twins received some good news for once with Adam Walker getting the nod for best offensive performance.

Here is a look at their weeks:

Bradley (ARI): 1-0, 8 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 3 BB, 9 K.

Wright (CIN): 1-0, 9 IP, 3 hits, 1 run (unearned), 1 HBP, 8 K.

Rivera (NYM): 17-for-28 (.607), 3 doubles, triple, HR, 12 RBI, 8 runs, 2 BB.

Walker (MIN): 7-for-20 (.350), 5 HR, 7RBI, 5 BB, 1 IBB.

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You may know Bradley as the pitcher that was hit in the face with a 115 mph rocket off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez at the beginning of last season. Bradley is setting out to be more than just a footnote in baseball history, however. He has made two starts with the D-Backs this season, in San Francisco and in Colorado, and has combined to toss 10.1 innings for an ERA of 7.84. His 10.4 K/9 rate leads the PCL.

Arizona will need some pitching help this season, and Bradley’s name should be atop the short list of players vying for a spot on the 25-man roster.

Further, his fastball is coming in harder this season, up to 93.7 in the Majors compared to 92.2 mph a year ago. According to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook (on sale now!) Bradley “hides his heater well, and the pitch gets on batters quickly.”

Next: Double-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!