The 2017 Minor League Baseball Awards Team

The minor league baseball regular season has come to a close. Who were the top performers?

Minor league baseball is deep in its playoff season right now, but the regular season brought out incredible performances from players that were expected to do well and many who were not. Today, we’ll look at the best statistical performers in the minor leagues in 2017!

We will start with the “team” of the year, which player was the best at each position in the minors in 2017 (based primarily on stats, not on prospect status), and then finally the pitcher of the year and the player of the year. All of these reviews for this post are based on the numbers each player put up in the 2017 season, not their status as a prospect. We will have later posts on the top prospects for each affiliate league this month, leading into other posts this fall and winter on the top prospects for each team, the top prospects at each position, and the top prospects overall in baseball.

Let’s start with the minor league leaders:
AVG (min. 300 PA): Bo Bichette, 19, Toronto Blue Jays, low-A/high-A, .362
AVG (min. 100 PA): Donovan Casey, 21, Los Angeles Dodgers, Rookie/Advanced Rookie – .408
OBP (300): Yandy Diaz, 25, Cleveland Indians, AAA – .454
OBP (100): Ryan Noda, 21, Toronto Blue Jays, Advanced Rookie – .507
SLG (300): Garrett Cooper, 26, Milwaukee Brewers/New York Yankees, AA/AAA – .634
SLG (100): Casey Golden, 22, Colorado Rockies, Advanced Rookie – .660
OPS (300): Garrett Cooper, 26, Milwaukee Brewers/New York Yankees, AA/AAA – 1.057
OPS (100): Mason Martin, 18, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rookie – 1.087
R: Garrett Hampson, 22, Colorado Rockies, high-A – 113
H: Ronald Acuna, 19, Atlanta Braves, high-A/AA/AAA – 181
2B: Ryan Mountcastle, 20, Baltimore Orioles, high-A/AA – 48
3B: Franchy Cordero, 22, San Diego Padres, AAA; Jorge Mateo, 22, New York Yankees/Oakland Athletics, high-A/AA – 18
HR: A.J. Reed, 24, Houston Astros, AAA – 34
RBI: Christian Walker, 26, Arizona Diamondbacks, AAA – 114
TB: Austin Hays, 21, Baltimore Orioles, high-A/AA – 310
SB: Wes Rogers, 23, Colorado Rockies, high-A – 70
HBP: Brett Cumberland, 22, Atlanta Braves, low-A/high-A – 41

G: Logan Kensing, 34, Detroit Tigers, AAA – 66
GS: Five with 29
IP: Shane Bieber, 22, Cleveland Indians, low-A/high-A/AA – 173 1/3
W: Zack Littell, 21, New York Yankees/Minnesota Twins, high-A/AA – 19
CG: Brian Keller, 23, New York Yankees, low-A/high-A; Shawn Morimando, 24, Cleveland Indians, AAA – 4
SV: Pedro Beato, 30, Philadelphia Phillies, high-A/AAA – 33
K: Alec Hansen, 22, Chicago White Sox, low-A/high-A/AA – 191
ERA (min. 100 IP): Jon Duplantier, 22, Arizona Diamondbacks, low-A/high-A – 1.39
ERA (min. 25 IP): Carlos Ramirez, 26, Toronto Blue Jays, AA/AAA – 0.00
WHIP (100): Connor Grey, 23, Arizona Diamondbacks, short-A/low-A/high-A/AAA – 0.87
WHIP (25): Jhon Romero, 22, Chicago Cubs, Rookie/short-A/low-A – 0.62
BB/9 (100): Shane Bieber, 22, Cleveland Indians, low-A/high-A/AA – 0.5
BB/9 (25): Jim McDade, 24, San Diego Padres, short-A/low-A – 0.4
K/9 (100): A.J. Puk, 22, Oakland Athletics, high-A/AA – 13.2
K/9 (25): Tyler Bashlor, 24, New York Mets, high-A/AA – 15.2
K/BB (100): Shane Bieber, 22, Cleveland Indians, low-A/high-A/AA – 16.2
K/BB (25): Jim McDade, 24, San Diego Padres, short-A/low-A – 18.75

Now, we’ll get into our awards. First up, the men to don the tools of ignorance, the catchers:

Next: Catcher

Victor Caratini, 23, Chicago Cubs, AAA

Caratini played just 83 games in the minor leagues this season, but he still accumulated 326 plate appearances, which was enough for his .342/.393/.558 line to carry him to the top at the position.

Caratini was originally drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2013 out of junior college, and he’s always hit well, but it’s the improvement in his defense that has really turned heads in the last two seasons. Traded to the Cubs in 2014, Caratini now finds himself in an organization where he could struggle to find at bats unless Willson Contreras continues to struggle to keep himself out of Twitter trouble.

Caratini could end up a solid trade piece for the Cubs this offseason as they look to replace Jake Arrieta, who will most likely leave in free agency.

Others in consideration: Mitch Garver, 26, Minnesota Twins, AAA; Austin Allen, 23, San Diego Padres, high-A; Aramis Garcia, 24, San Francisco Giants, high-A/AA

While a small group, the trio here is quite good, to say the least. Garver is up with the major league club and has shown his legit power already. Garcia has made huge strides this season and likely will be on the fast track to sharing time with Buster Posey in San Francisco. Allen is the one to watch here with legit 20+ home run power and a surprising ability behind the plate to frame and move laterally for a guy playing back there at 6’4″ tall.

Next: First Base

Ryan McMahon, 22, Colorado Rockies, AA/AAA

McMahon has been a guy with mixed reviews for a number of years now. He has employed a very long swing and his conditioning was even called into question at points. To his credit, McMahon made a huge effort that many scouts noted in the Arizona Fall League in his swing to cut down the path to the plate and still use his big follow through after the swing to utilize his huge power.

McMahon’s increased work in conditioning allowed him to slide over from 3B to 2B for 39 games this season, though he did spend the majority of his season at first base, which makes him the selection here. He was able to put up a line of .355/.403/.583 with 39 doubles, 4 triples, 20 home runs, and 11 stolen bases.

With multiple spots open at the major league level in 2018, McMahon could impact the Rockies lineup starting on opening day next season.

Others in consideration: Christian Walker, 26, Arizona Diamondbacks, AAA; Rhys Hoskins, 24, Philadelphia Phillies, AAA, Frank Schwindel, 25, Kansas City Royals, AA/AAA, Jonathan Rodriguez, 27, Minnesota Twins, AA/AAA

Hoskins had a solid minor league season, but he’s absolutely exploded at the major league level, even arguably out-hitting Giancarlo Stanton since he’s come up to the major league level. The other three are truly guys that aren’t exactly “prospects”, though some in Kansas City have wondered about Schwindel possibly taking over if Eric Hosmer leaves as he’s just in his second season playing first base full time after splitting his first few years between first and catcher.

Rodriguez could be one of the rare guys that leaves the Cardinals farm system and gets better as he had a career year with the Twins, primarily at their AA affiliate, leading the Twins system in a host of offensive categories, including home runs, with 22.

Next: Second Base

Scott Kingery, 23, Philadelphia Phillies, AA/AAA

Kingery had good bloodlines with a father who was a major leaguer, and he was a well-regarded collegiate player for the University of Arizona, but no one saw his 2017 season coming.

Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 draft, Kingery hit for gap power and flashed excellent speed his first two seasons, as evidenced by his 2016 season, when he hit .281/.335/.388 with 36 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, and 30 stolen bases.

Instead, Kingery was the minor league home run leader almost all the way until the halfway point of the season. Now, some of that was in part due to his playing at Reading, but he moved up to AAA Lehigh Valley, which is nowhere near the launching pad that Reading is, and he still managed 8 home runs in just 63 games.

Overall, Kingery not only hit .304/.359/.530 with 29 doubles, 8 triples, 25 home runs, and 29 stolen bases, he also flashed plus-grade defense at second base, leading to an offseason when the Phillies may need to make a decision about what to do up the middle as J.P. Crawford has already reached the major leagues and Kingery is going to be ready quickly if not already at opening day 2018, yet the Phillies currently have two fairly young and fairly productive middle infielders in Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez.

Others in consideration: Willie Calhoun, 22, Los Angeles Dodger/Texas Rangers, AAA; Tony Kemp, 25, Houston Astros, AAA

The second base crop this season didn’t really produce a lot of guys with overwhelming stats, but it was notable to see Kemp pop up again on this list. Many thought that Kemp could someday force Jose Altuve off second base when Altuve was still establishing himself in the major leagues, but obviously, Altuve has grown into a superstar, and Kemp has stalled out after having a monster 2014, when he hit .316/.411/.449 with 30 doubles, 8 triples, and 8 home runs, while also stealing 41 bases. His numbers this season weren’t quite to that level, but they were impressive all the same, with a .329/.375/.470 line with 10 homers and 24 steals, but most impressive, he had a 35/43 BB/K ratio over 552 plate appearances. I don’t see Kemp having a big future in Houston, but with that kind of performance, he should be able to force his way into a trade somewhere.

Next: Third Base

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., 18, Toronto Blue Jays, low-A/high-A

When looking at a .323/.425/.485 line with 13 home runs and 8 stolen bases, some would question the choice of Vlad Jr. at this spot, especially with arguably the strongest group of contenders of any position. However, Vladimir was one of the youngest players in full-season ball to open the season, yet he led full-season ball hitters in on base.

Guerrero has shown himself more than capable at third base, while not elite, and though his power is still working its way into games, he absolutely destroys balls in batting practice, and you see flashes of the power being the kind of skill that could be the lead tool in a superstar profile down the road.

The Blue Jays have a collection of sons of 1990s big leaguers, but Vlad Jr. is absolutely the cream of that crop.

Others in consideration: Michael Chavis, 21, Boston Red Sox, high-A/AA; Rafael Devers, 20, Boston Red Sox, AA/AAA; Nick Senzel, 22, Cincinnati Reds, high-A/AA; Miguel Andujar, 22, New York Yankees, AA/AAA

This is one of the groups with elite prospect-level talent that also produced exceptional numbers in the 2017 season. Devers continued his hitting once he got to the big leagues. If Senzel hadn’t have gotten hurt, there’s a good chance that he’s the choice here rather than Vlad, Jr.

The guy to watch of this group will be Chavis. Prospect hounds have been waiting on him to reach his potential for some time, and while he did hit a lot of the check marks in 2017, he’s still not reached all that his potential could provide, and if he does take that last step forward, it could get hairy with he, Devers, and Xander on the left side of the Boston infield.

Next: Shortstop

Bo Bichette, 19, Toronto Blue Jays, low-A/high-A

Bichette was a guy who slipped into the 2nd round in 2016 due to concerns about some of the pre-swing action he had at the plate and questions over where he’d fit on the diamond. Instead, he’s been a consistent hitter since he arrived with the Blue Jays, and he’s certainly shown well enough to stick up the middle in the infield if not at shortstop long-term.

Bichette in 2016 hit .427/.451/.732 in 22 games with the Gulf Coast League affiliate of the Blue Jays, tallying 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. He moved up to full-season Lansing this season, and he simply produced at a comparable level, flirting with .400 all season, hitting .384/.448/.623 in Lansing before being promoted to high-A Dunedin in the Florida State League.

Combined in the 2017 season, Bichette hit .362/.423/.565 with 41 doubles, 4 triples, 14 home runs, and 22 stolen bases. Most importantly, while Bichette did play a hair over a dozen games at second base, he spent the majority of this time (and all of his time at Dunedin) at shortstop, where he showed very well in his natural movements. His biggest issue was actually in his throwing, but he made progress in that area over the course of the season, which leads to thinking that he could certainly take another step forward in 2018.

Others in consideration: Fernando Tatis, Jr., 18, San Diego Padres, low-A/AA; Amed Rosario, 21, New York Mets, AAA; Brendan Rodgers, 20, Colorado Rockies, high-A/AA; Raul Mondesi, 21, Kansas City Royals, AAA

Mondesi had a job in KC to open the 2017 season at second base, but he simply couldn’t hit. Rosario went from one of the top-rated prospects in the entire game coming into the 2017 season to finishing the season showing his stuff at the big league level with the Mets. Rodgers hit a wall (and then was injured) when he first experienced an environment that wasn’t extremely hitter-friendly.

The guy to watch here is Tatis. It is truly crazy to consider that even with all of the White Sox moves in the last 12 months, before they started this rebuild, they had traded AWAY Tatis in the 2016 season before deciding to tear up the team in the 2016 offseason. He very well could end up a top 10 prospect in the game, which could possibly give the White Sox 3 top 10 prospects if he had been part of the organization still.

Next: Outfield

Ronald Acuna, 19, Atlanta Braves, high-A/AA/AAA

Mentioned in yesterday’s post on whether he should be called up, Acuna has experienced a crazy climb this season, going from a prospect that didn’t even make MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list preseason to a consensus candidate for the #1 overall prospect spot in this offseason’s lists.

Acuna is a legit center fielder that could be elite if moved to a corner. He has a rare blend of power and speed that is still developing on the power side, yet he was able to total .325/.374/.522 across three levels with 31 doubles, 8 triples, 21 home runs, and 44 stolen bases, all at age 19, getting better at every level.

Austin Hays, 21, Baltimore Orioles, high-A/AA

The first player from the 2016 draft class to make the major leagues, Hays was a tremendous performer for Jacksonville University before falling all the way to the 3rd round in the 2016 draft. The Orioles recognized Hays’ maturity at the plate and assigned him directly to short season A-ball in the New York-Penn League, where he hit .336/.386/514 with 9 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, and 4 stolen bases in 38 games.

Hays has a traditional right field profile with excellent power and a big arm, but he also has the instincts in the outfield to handle center field right now. I would wager he’ll end up in right field in the major leagues, but that isn’t what the Orioles are worried about. They are overjoyed to see his progression in hitting .329/.365/.593 with 32 doubles, 5 triples, 32 home runs, and 5 stolen bases between high-A and AA in 2017.

Whether Hays opens in Baltimore in 2018 or finds his way back up later in the season, he should be impacting the Orioles lineup starting next season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7kwHnnD4sg

Franchy Cordero, 22, San Diego Padres, AAA

Originally signed as a shortstop, Cordero made the transition to the outfield in 2016, but no one would have imagined how his bat would play up once he made that move.

A guy who flashed five-tool potential as a shortstop, once he was moved off of shortstop, it really came to fruition as Cordero played elite defense in the outfield to go along with a .290/.344/.450 line across three levels in 2016 with 24 doubles, 16 triples, 11 home runs, and 23 stolen bases.

Playing in AAA with El Paso, Cordero put up even better numbers than his big 2016 season, hitting .326/.369/.603 with 21 doubles, 18 triples, 17 home runs, and 15 stolen bases in just 93 games. Cordero made a big splash at the big league level for a month with the Padres, but in the end his free swinging caught up to him, and he was sent back to AAA hitting .228/.276/.424 in his 30-game major league debut. He should get more chances between his blend of tools and his excellent defense.

Next: Other Outfielders Considered

DJ Peters, 21, Los Angeles Dodgers, high-A; Oswaldo Arcia, 26, San Diego Padres, AAA; Jose Siri, 21, Cincinnati Reds, low-A; Daniel Johnson, 21, Washington Nationals, low-A/high-A; Sam Hilliard, 23, Colorado Rockies, high-A; Taylor Trammell, 19, Cincinnati Reds, low-A; Willie Abreu, 22, Colorado Rockies, low-A; Daz Cameron, 20, Houston Astros/Detroit Tigers, low-A; Yonathan Daza, 23, Colorado Rockies, high-A; Monte Harrison, 21, Milwaukee Brewers, low-A/high-A; Jahmai Jones, 19, Los Angeles Angels, low-A/high-A; Victor Robles, 20, Washington Nationals, high-A/AA; Mike Tauchman, 26, Colorado Rockies, AAA; Derek Fisher, 23, Houston Astros, AAA; Eloy Jimenez, 20, Chicago Cubs/Chicago White Sox, high-A/AA; Brett Phillips, 23, Milwaukee Brewers, AAA; Jason Martin, 21, Houston Astros, high-A/AA; Noel Cuevas, 25, Colorado Rockies, AAA

There are a host of names here, so it’s near impossible to touch on them all. In general, it is notable just how many Colorado Rockies are on this list. I’m especially fond of the play of Willie Abreu, who played in hitter-friendly Asheville this year, which often skews hitter numbers, but he actually hit better away from home, and Yonathan Daza, who has an exceptional feel for contact. I mentioned on Twitter this year that Tauchman could be this season’s version of Mitch Haniger, who breaks out with excellent production this season after always showing gap power with his excellent speed before 2017.

The big prospects in this group are Jimenez and Robles, and Jimenez would likely have made my next three outfielders, but Robles on a statistic-only basis was along the lines of many others on this list like Trammell and Cameron.

Two guys to note for their 2017 performances in a breakout or break-through way include Jose Siri, who had the longest hitting streak in the minor leagues this season and finished with a .293/.341/.530 line with 24 2B, 11 3B, 24 HR, and 46 SB for an impressive line to watch as he moves up next season. The other break through was Monte Harrison, who has long been known for having quite possibly the best outfield throwing arm in all of baseball, not just the minor leagues. This season he finally matched the offensive production to his defensive prowess as he hit .272/.350/.481 with 28 doubles, 2 triples, 21 home runs, and 27 stolen bases between low-A and high-A.

Next: Starting Pitchers

Shane Bieber, 22, Cleveland Indians, low-A/high-A/AA

Bieber was a 2016 4th round pick by the Indians as a “senior sign” type, but the Indians would never have projected what they got out of Bieber so far. In his draft year, Bieber managed his pro innings after throwing almost 135 innings already for UCSB. He threw 24 innings in the NYPL, posting an outstanding 0.38 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, and a 2/21 BB/K ratio.

The Indians assigned Bieber to low-A Lake County to open 2017, but he quickly showed he was ready to move up, and he moved up yet again before the end of the season. Working with a fastball that peaks around 90 MPH, Bieber used pinpoint command and control to overpower and befuddle hitters throughout the 2017 season. His combined line across three levels was a 10-5 record, 173 1/3 innings, a 2.86 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and an astonishing 10/162 BB/K ratio. His future may be maxed as a back-end starter, but his floor is very high with his control as well, as he is very likely to reach that ceiling.

Corbin Burnes, 22, Milwaukee Brewers, high-A/AA

One of the hot names coming into the 2016 draft, Burnes slipped to the 4th round due to some concerns about his signability coming out of St. Mary’s. The Brewers took that gamble, and they’ve been rewarded well so far. Burnes made 12 appearances for the Brewers Arizona Rookie League team and also their Midwest League team in low-A. He threw 35 2/3 innings, allowing a 2.02 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 18/41 BB/K ratio.

Burnes opened the 2017 season in high-A in the Carolina League, but after just 10 starts, he was so dominant that the Brewers simply had to move him up to AA Biloxi, and his performance was still elite. Overall, he posted a 1.67 ERA over 145 2/3 innings, with a 0.95 WHIP and a 36/140 BB/K ratio.

Burnes works with a moving fastball that works into the mid-90s, a hard curve, and a change, though he showed the ability to manipulate his fastball to change the movement on the pitch on the season, really giving his fastball 3-4 looks along with the change and curve.

Jon Duplantier, 22, Arizona Diamondbacks, low-A/high-A

After being ridden hard and put up wet in his college time at Rice, there were many who were unsure of Duplantier coming out of college, which caused him to fall to the 3rd round in spite of having a 1st round arm and pitch mix. The Diamondbacks chose not to throw him in the regular season, instead focusing on working with Duplantier on his delivery in fall instructs to help him be more consistent in his arm slot, one worry that led to shoulder injury in college.

Content that his revamped delivery would allow him to repeat his delivery more consistently, the Diamondbacks opened Duplantier with low-A Kane County. He split roughly half the season in low-A before getting a promotion to high-A Visalia in the California League, but that didn’t slow him down at all.

Duplantier saw his fastball add life in a more consistent slot, and he even saw another tick of fastball, peaking at 97 in games on the season, and his hard-breaking curve was near impossible to hit as Duplantier totaled a 12-3 record over 136 innings, with a 1.39 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 42/165 BB/K ratio.

Tyler Glasnow, 23, Pittsburgh Pirates, AAA

Glasnow was the big story of spring training as his impressive performances in the spring earned him a spot in the rotation, in spite of still struggling with his command at times.

That command blew up in the majors, leading to a 7.45 ERA and 1.91 WHIP before being sent down to AAA Indianapolis. The demotion was exactly what the towering righty needed. He posted his best walk rate of his minor league career, and he let his tremendous stuff lead the way over 15 AAA starts.

Glasnow had a 9-2 record in AAA with 93 1/3 innings thrown, posting a 0.95 WHIP and a 32/140 BB/K ratio. He will attempt to secure a spot in the Pirates rotation in September and going into 2018 once the International League playoffs are complete.

Zack Littell, 21, New York Yankees/Minnesota Twins, high-A/AA

It would seem that Zack Littell would be an unlikely guy to be featured this season, after being traded twice in the last 12 months, first from the Seattle Mariners to the New York Yankees, and then from the Yankees to the Twins. He’s not a guy with dominant raw stuff, but he’s more of an “attacker” on the mound.

Instead Littell is getting votes from some places for the player of the year in the minor leagues. What’s going on?!

Well, to be blunt, one of the favorite stats of “old school” stats folks, as Littell became the first pitcher in 25 years to have 19 wins in a season, and if you count the playoffs, he’s now achieved a 20-win minor league season, with only 1 loss on the year.

Littell works with three pitches that are graded as above-average, none a plus offering, but he does attack hitters with all three pitches. His final tally on the regular season was a 19-1 record over 157 innings, with a 2.12 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 41/142 BB/K ratio.

Next: Other Starting Pitchers Considered

Chance Adams, 22, New York Yankees, AA/AAA; Jack Flaherty, 21, St. Louis Cardinals, AA/AAA; Yonny Chirinos, 23, Tampa Bay Rays, AA/AAA; Thomas Eshelman, 23, Philadelphia Phillies, AA/AAA; Merandy Gonzalez, 21, New York Mets/Miami Marlins, low-A/high-A; Brent Honeywell, 22, Tampa Bay Rays, AA/AAA; Jen-Ho Tseng, 22, Chicago Cubs, AA/AAA; Andrew Albers, 31, Atlanta Braves/Seattle Mariners, AAA; Clark Beeker, 24, Minnesota Twins, low-A/high-A; Mike O’Reilly, 22, St. Louis Cardinals, low-A/high-A; Corey Oswalt, 23, New York Mets, AA; Gregory Soto, 22, Detroit Tigers, low-A/high-A; Alec Hansen, 22, Chicago White Sox, low-A/high-A/AA; Ryan Helsley, 22, St. Louis Cardinals, high-A/AA/AAA; Joey Lucchesi, 24, San Diego Padres, high-A/AA; Austin Sodders, 22, Detroit Tigers, low-A/high-A; Mike Soroka, 19, Atlanta Braves, AA; Alex Wells, 20, Baltimore Orioles, low-A; Rogelio Armenteros, 23, Houston Astros, AA/AAA; Steven Brault, 25, Pittsburgh Pirates, AAA; Zac Gallen, 21, St. Louis Cardinals, high-A/AA/AAA; Triston McKenzie, 19, Cleveland Indians, high-A; Michael Kopech, 21, Chicago White Sox, AA/AAA; Dane Dunning, 22, Chicago White Sox, low-A/high-A; Trevor Richards, 24, Miami Marlins, high-A/AA; Joey Wentz, 19, Atlanta Braves, low-A; Thomas Pannone, 23, Cleveland Indians/Toronto Blue Jays, high-A/AA; Jose Lopez, 23, Cincinnati Reds, high-A/AA; Forrest Whitley, 19, Houston Astros, low-A/high-A/AA; Jose Taveras, 23, Philadelphia Phillies, high-A/AA/AAA; Bryse Wilson, 19, Atlanta Braves, low-A; Tyler Mahle, 22, Cincinnati Reds, AA/AAA; Kyle Cody, 22, Texas Rangers, low-A/high-A; Ben Meyer, 24, Miami Marlins, low-A/high-A; JoJo Romero, 20, Philadelphia Phillies, low-A/high-A

So many names here to mention that really impressed this season with their performances. First I’ll mention my “next 5”, which would have been Jack Flaherty, Alex Wells, Forrest Whitley, Triston McKenzie, and Tyler Mahle. Flaherty and Mahle both worked their way to the major leagues in spite of being less regarded pitchers coming into the season. While neither likely projects as a front-line starter, they have the stuff to work at the back of a major league rotation. Wells is half of a pair of twin brothers pitching in the minor leagues (his brother Lachlan is with the Twins organization), and he had a monster breakout season, with only Shane Bieber showing more impressive command in my viewings this year. Whitley and McKenzie are two of the 5-10 most explosive arms I saw the entire season, and it will be difficult to keep either out of the top 30 prospects in the game when final lists get put together.

As far as teams with a collection of guys, the Braves had a number that made this list and a number more that didn’t quite make it but were strong thoughts (Luiz Gohara, Kolby Allard, Ian Anderson) along with strong prospects whose numbers weren’t as pretty (Touki Toussaint, Max Fried). The Tigers have really impressed with the collection of pitchers they have, with Sodders and Soto mentioned here (Soto would have been my #11 guy, so the first in my third group of 5), but they also have high-profile arms like Matt Manning, Kyle Funkhouser, and Beau Burrows, who all had very good seasons this year as well. The White Sox had excellent performances from the trio mentioned here, though their depth didn’t exactly bring up any other “new” names.

At the lower levels, the Philadelphia Phillies have amassed a very impressive group of arms, as the mentioned names here don’t even include the team’s best pitching prospect, righty Sixto Sanchez, who had a solid season, just not a season with “head-turning” numbers.

Next: Relief Pitchers

Nick Anderson, 26, Minnesota Twins, high-A/AA

Originally drafted by the Brewers in the 32nd round of the 2012 draft, Anderson never made an appearance in the Brewers system. The Twins signed Anderson out of independent baseball in August of 2015. He made just 9 appearances in 2015, but they were all excellent.

In 2016, Anderson pitched in low-A and high-A in the Twins organization, combining for a 2.65 ERA over 57 2/3 innings of relief, with a 0.95 WHIP and 16/75 BB/K ratio.

This season, Anderson took it to another level, splitting his time between high-A Fort Myers and AA Chattanooga, totaling a 1.00 ERA over 54 innings, with a 0.78 WHIP and a 10/57 BB/K ratio. Anderson works with sharp movement on his fastball and excellent control to help set up his breaking stuff. He could make a strong push for the Twins bullpen in 2018.

Dakota Mekkes, 22, Chicago Cubs, low-A/high-A

The 6’7″, 250-pound righty out of Michigan State was drafted in the 10th round in 2016 with concerns that his elite stuff that made him so difficult to hit in college would not play as well in pro ball. So far, that could not be further from the case. Mekkes pitched for the Arizona Rookie League and the short-season A-ball Northwest League in 2016, totaling a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 4/27 BB/K ratio over 20 innings.

Mekkes played across the Cubs low-A and high-A affiliates in 2017, totaling a 0.98 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 34/92 BB/K ratio over 73 1/3 relief innings. Mekkes’ fastball tops out with a rare 95, but he has excellent deception in his huge frame and gets tremendous movement on his pitches, using a 2-4 pitch repertoire depending on the length of the outing, which gives him an excellent chance of producing as a reliever as he continues up the minor league chain to the majors.

Gabriel Moya, 22, Arizona Diamondbacks/Minnesota Twins, AA

Moya was originally signed by the Diamondbacks out of Venezuela, but after multiple seasons in foreign leagues, he made his stateside debut as a starter in 2014, and it did not go well at all.

The Diamondbacks moved him to the bullpen, and it took him a year to adjust to the role, but once he did, he exploded through both A-ball levels in 2016, with a 1.55 ERA combined over 63 2/3 innings, with a 0.86 WHIP and a 17/82 BB/K ratio.

Moya was already dominating the Southern League with the Diamondbacks affiliate in Jackson before the Twins acquired him in a midseason deal and assigned him to their Southern League affiliate in Chattanooga. Moya has actually improved his performance, which is impressive, considering he had a 0.82 ERA at the time of the trade. Overall, Moya finished with a 0.77 ERA over 58 1/3 innings, saving 24 games and posting a 0.77 WHIP and 15/87 BB/K ratio.

Colin Poche, 23, Arizona Diamondbacks, low-A/high-A

Poche came out of Dallas Baptist known as a soft-tossing lefty college starter that would have a mixed chance to even get out of A-ball. Instead, Poche moved into the bullpen in 2017, and he’s found a home for his stuff by having his fastball tick up to right on 90 and using his other two average-ish pitches well against hitters to keep them off base.

Poche gets excellent extension with long arms in his delivery, allowing his stuff to appear that it’s coming in with higher velocity than its listed mark. He pitched across both A-ball levels in 2017, posting a 1.25 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and a 19/81 BB/K over 50 1/3 innings. He’ll face the test of the upper minors in 2018.

Next: Other Relievers Considered

Nate Griep, 23, Milwaukee Brewers, high-A; Shane Broyles, 25, Colorado Rockies, AA/AAA; Wander Suero, 25, Washington Nationals, AA/AAA; John Curtiss, 24, Minnesota Twins, AA/AAA; Seth McGarry, 23, Pittsburgh Pirates/Philadelphia Phillies, high-A; Tyler Cyr, 24, San Francisco Giants, AA; Bryan Garcia, 22, Detroit Tigers, low-A/high-A/AA/AAA; Hector Lujan, 22, Minnesota Twins, low-A; Ricardo Rodriguez, 24, Texas Rangers, high-A/AA; Pat Ruotolo, 22, San Francisco Giants, low-A; Preston Claiborne, 29, Texas Rangers, AAA; Jackson McClelland, 22, Toronto Blue Jays, low-A/high-A; Yeison Medina, 24, St. Louis Cardinals, low-A; Giovanny Gallegos, 25, New York Yankees, AAA; Dillon Maples, 25, Chicago Cubs, high-A/AA/AAA; Zac Houston, 22, Detroit Tigers, low-A/high-A; Mason McCullough, 24, Arizona Diamondbacks, high-A/AA; Austin Adams, 26, Washington Nationals, AAA; Edward Paredes, 30, Los Angeles Dodgers, AA/AAA; Ryne Stanek, 25, Tampa Bay Rays, AAA; Jimmy Yacabonis, 25, Baltimore Orioles, AAA; Carlos Estevez, 24, Colorado Rockies, AAA

A few teams stick out with multiple mentions as the Minnesota Twins ended up with two on the team along with two on here, and there are likely 2-3 more that could be mentioned here. The Detroit Tigers have made a habit of developing excellent relievers in the minor leagues recently, and they have a number mentioned here, along with a couple who ended up not making the list that are considered future major league pitchers. Last to mention is the presence of a number of Chicago Cubs as they are building their farm system with arms, as the system was in need of arms, both rotation and bullpen arms, and it is easier to develop the arms in the bullpen.

A few individual players that really impressed me this season would include Bryan Garcia, who ascended four levels with the Detroit Tigers system this season. Garcia moved all the way from low-A to AAA in the Tigers organization, posting a 2.13 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 17 saves, and a 22/78 BB/K ratio over 55 innings. Ryne Stanek made the full-time conversion to the bullpen in 2017, and he was very good with Durham, posting a 1.21 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 16/60 BB/K ratio over 44 2/3 innings.

The guy who has a great story that will be fun to follow is Edward Paredes. Paredes was originally signed by the Mariners out of the Dominican Republic, and after struggling with the Mariners organization, he was let go after a difficult 2011 season. He spent time in the Dominican, was signed by the Indians, threw just 6 games for their AA club in Akron in 2013, and then pitched the next three seasons in independent ball before the Los Angeles Angels signed Paredes in 2016 and saw him throw well in AA. The Dodgers picked him up over the winter, and he was absolutely untouchable in the minors this season, putting up a 2.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with a 18/66 BB/K ratio over 44 relief innings before getting called up to the Dodgers to make his big league debut at age 30. In 9 games with the Dodgers thus far, Paredes has yet to issue a walk and has a 0.96 WHIP.

Next: Pitcher of the Year

Jon Duplantier

With a few different excellent options, this really was not a hard decision as Duplantier has been dominant from start to finish of the 2017 season. To put an incredible start forward as Visalia was pushing for a possible playoff spot all the way until the final game of the season. Duplantier took the ball and threw 5 innings, allowing a run on 5 hits and a walk, striking out 9 hitters, but the game was lost in extra innings.

Watching Duplantier talk about his injury adding perspective to life and to what baseball means in his life really gives you an insight into why this guy is so highly spoken of by scouts that I talk with. Duplantier is someone who has come through tough times and is still willing to be coachable and make changes to what he does.

Duplantier came to pitching late, and the crazy part is that even as a guy who put up a 1.39 ERA over 136 innings this season, he could absolutely be still improving as a pitcher as he’s still at the same level of experience as a pitcher as most guys are as high school upper classmen. The rest of the National League West may be very disappointed to hear that news.

Duplantier will face the test of the upper minors in 2018, and it will be interesting to see how he handles that!

Next: Player of the Year

Ronald Acuna

Acuna is one of the guys who reminds evaluators why you can never discount a guy with true five tools that’s only knock has been injury. Acuna never truly struggled coming into 2017, but his prospect ranking was all over the board on a national level, from being off to the top 100 of MLB Pipeline to being within the top 40 of Baseball Prospectus’ list.

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Acuna actually struggled coming out of the gate in Florida this season, and there were some rumblings then that his significant amount of playing consistently from the point he returned in August 2016 from injury until the point of opening day, basically playing baseball straight through what is typically a rest and recovery period for most players could be hurting him at the plate.

Acuna’s father played in three organizations from 1999-2006, never getting higher than AA, but he obviously passed on the love of the game and the quality genetics to his son. He also encouraged him to fight through his toughest of times. So after a game against Fort Myers in mid-April where Acuna struck out 4 times in 5 plate appearances, bringing his season line to .209/.261/.349 with a rough 3/18 BB/K ratio over his first 47 plate appearances of the season.

He went on a tear that lasted through the rest of his time with Florida, finishing the level with a .333/.380/.556 line and even drastically lowering his strikeout rate, with a 5/22 BB/K ratio in 79 plate appearances before he earned his first promotion on the year.

Acuna simply got better at every level on the season, with an .814 OPS in high-A, an .895 OPS with AA Mississippi, and then a .940 OPS as one of the few teenagers in all of AAA.

While the decision of who will be the #1 overall prospect this winter will involve Acuna and have some debate, there is simply no debate on who had the best performance in the minor leagues this season. It’s Acuna, and it’s not even really close.

Next: Braves Fans Should Be Patient On Acuna

Just to remind everyone, that is a video of young Acuna doing a showcase before he was signed by the Atlanta Braves. Acuna will finally turn 20 years old in December this season, and there is a strong possibility that he could open the 2018 season in the outfield of the Atlanta Braves.

So what do you think? Do you agree with all of the choices? Were there guys that were missed? Comment below!!