MLB: Carolina League Names Hitter and Pitcher of the Year

While the hitting depth may have left a few options that presented as better candidates than Bradley, Clifton was a pretty solid overall choice, but let’s look at some of the other contenders. First, the leaderboard:
Wins – Sean Brady, Lynchburg and Jonathan Martinez, Myrtle Beach 12
ERA – Clifton 2.87
WHIP – Clifton 1.19
IP – Matt Kent, Salem 143
K – Jordan Stephens, Winston-Salem 136

Pitchers To Contend With Clifton

Though Clifton was the ERA and WHIP leader and a worthy choice, I’ll highlight a few other guys who may have also had an argument.

Jordan Stephens, RH, Winston-Salem Dash, Chicago White Sox organization
6-10, 3.71 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 131 IP, 44/136 BB/K
Drafted in the 5th round in 2015 out of Rice, Stephens was in his first year off of Tommy John surgery and didn’t get the coverage many would to bump earlier in the draft. However, his stuff is very good with a four-pitch mix, including a fastball in the 90-93 range, a very good curve, a slider, and a change that has taken a big step forward this season as he was skipped all the way to high-A after only throwing 17 2/3 rookie ball innings after the draft last season to help with his recovery.

Matt Withrow, RH, Carolina Mudcats, Atlanta Braves organization
8-6, 3.85 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 114.2 IP, 66/120 BB/K
The Braves took the hard-throwing Withrow out of Texas Tech in the 6th round of the 2015 draft, and many thought he’d become a bullpen guy due to his high velocity and a very solid slider and minimal experience starting in college. Instead, he’s started all but one of his 37 professional appearances thus far, and he’s been consistent in the Carolina rotation this year. The secondary stuff is still coming, but his fastball/slider and good size allows him to go deep into many games.

Erick Fedde, RH, Potomac Nationals, Washington Nationals organization
6-4, 2.85 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 91 2/3 IP, 19/95 BB/K
While Clifton had the league-leading numbers, Fedde was the better pitcher until he was promoted on August 7th. Clifton was the better full-season Carolina League pitcher, but Fedde was the guy that stood out from opening day until his promotion. He has struggled a bit since his promotion to Harrisburg, but his time in Potomac was extremely impressive for a guy likely to be a consensus top-100 prospect at the end of the year.

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Michael Kopech, RHP, Salem Red Sox, Boston Red Sox organization
4-1, 1.23 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 51 1/3 IP, 28/85 BB/K
While Fedde may have been the talk of the league from opening day, the guy who’s been the talk of a lot of minor league baseball since he came to Salem has been Kopech. Poor off-field behavior that ended up getting him hurt in a fight with a teammate cost Kopech half the season, and he finally arrived in Salem on June 23rd. Since then, his incredible velocity and wicked breaking stuff has been the talk of minor league baseball as he’s routinely topped 100 MPH, even after the 5th inning of games.