Minor League Baseball: 2016 Gold Glove Winners

Although we often talk about the 162 games in 183 days that Major League players go through, we should not forget the extremely similar battle minor leaguer’s have. They do have shorter seasons, but that is not to take away from the difficulty of their jobs.

As the Minor League Baseball season ended recently, award season has begun to take shape. To recognize the hard work and dedication of these athletes, the Gold Glove awards were awarded yesterday.

The Gold Glove Award process is different in the Minor Leagues then the Majors because there are only two leagues in the big leagues. Because there are so many leagues in the minors, only one award is given out per position, not two or more. Because of this, the recipients of these awards truely are the best at their postion throughout the Minor Leagues.

Minor League Baseball President & CEO Pat O’Conner spoke about the nine winners, “These nine players were truly the finest in the field this summer and it is my pleasure to honor them with a Rawlings Gold Glove Award®.These players displayed extraordinary skills at their positions this season, and on behalf of Minor League Baseball, I congratulate them on this outstanding accomplishment.”

To be eligible to receive the Rawlings Gold Glove Award, players must have participated in one of the 10 domestic-based, full-season leagues, and shown outstanding defensive skills. The Rawlings Gold Glove Award® was re-introduced to Minor League Baseball in 2011 after an almost 50-year hiatus.

Let’s now take a look at these nine players, and what makes them so great in the field.

Matt Skole of the Syracuse Chiefs took home the Gold Glove as a first baseman. This award did not come easy to the 27-year old left-handed hitter. On a freak play at first base during the 2013 season, Skole injured his elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery; he missed the entire season.

He posted a .999 fielding percentage in 97 games with Syracuse. The sixth-year pro out of Georgia Tech University, Skole made only one error in 874 chances at first base. Skole was selected by Washington in the fifth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Moving onto the second base gold glove winner, Joey DeMichele was the only repeat winner from last year. The Birmingham 2B registered a .990 fielding percentage in 122 games. The fifth-year pro out of Arizona State University recorded 579 total chances and was a part of 88 double plays. The 25-year old was selected in the third round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

DeMichele shows his real value in the field, as he did not hit well during 2016. His batting average was .233 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI. Even though he did not play well at the plate, fielding adds a massive amount of value to the Chicago White Sox prospect.

Pensacola Blue Wahoo’s Zach Vincej was recognized as the best shortstop in the minors. The 37th round pick out of Cincinnati in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He recorded a .991 fielding percentage in 105 games for the Blue Wahoos. The 25-year old was the only shortstop in the MiLB with a fielding percentage above .985. He also had 423 total chances and turned 54 double plays as the catalyst of the infield.

Unlike DeMichele, Vincej hit quite well this season with a batting average of .281 and an RBI total of 47. This aided the Blue Wahoos effort in winning the Southern League South division with an 81-59 record. He was certainly a major help for that team.

At third base, the award goes to Carlos Rivero of the Reno Aces. He posted a .987 fielding percentage in 110 games at the hot corner for the Aces. Rivero made just two fielding errors in 234 chances this season. The 28-year old was originally signed from Venezuela by the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent on May 30, 2005.

Rivero has only had seven plate appearances in the Major Leagues, therefore he has spent most of his career in the Minor Leagues. Of his 10-plus years in the minors, 2016 was one of Rivero’s best seasons as he hit .277 with 19 home runs.

Backstop Jose Trevino posted a .998 fielding percentage in 100 games behind the plate for the California League champions High Desert Mavericks. As the best catcher in the minors, Trevino posted 102 assists and a whopping 950 total chances. No other catcher in the top 25 in fielding percentage had more than 780 total chances. He also threw out 47 of 98 potential base stealers. The 23-year old Trevino was selected by Texas in the sixth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Oral Roberts University.

Out of all the Gold Glove winners, only one posted a perfect fielding percentage. Pitcher James Naile of the Midland Rockhounds had that perfect percentage on 48 chances over 156 2/3 innings pitched. In 2016, he pitched for Class-A Beloit, Class-A Stockton, Double-A Midland and Triple-A Nashville. Naile, a second-year pro out of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, was a20th round choice in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft for the Oakland Athletics.

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Although it is far too early to say whether or not this success in the field will have any affect on their careers going forward, it certainly does not hurt to have the Minor League Baseball Gold Glove on the resume. With an added focus on defense lately, these performances may earn these minor leaguers another look.