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Arizona Diamondbacks 2018 minor league awards

By Benjamin Chase

PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 24: Yoshihisa Hirano #66 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a ninth inning pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field on September 24, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. Dodgers won 7-4. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - SEPTEMBER 24: Yoshihisa Hirano #66 of the Arizona Diamondbacks delivers a ninth inning pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field on September 24, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. Dodgers won 7-4. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /
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Arizona Diamondbacks
OAKLAND, CA – MAY 26: Socrates Britto #19 of the Arizona Diamondbacks bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the seventh inning at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on May 26, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Hitter of the Year: Socrates Brito

Level(s): AAA Reno, MLB Diamondbacks
Stats: Minors: .318/.383/.540, 114 G, 478 PA, 34 2B, 5 3B, 17 HR, 15 SB, 44/104 BB/K; Majors: .175/.227/.250, 24 G, 44 PA, 1 HR, 3/9 BB/K

The Arizona Diamondbacks have seemingly been waiting on Socrates Brito for a half decade. One of the few potential major league players in the farm system 2-3 years ago, Brito has had eyes on him for many Diamondbacks fans who saw him atop the team’s prospect rankings.

The issue is that Brito is really more of a fourth outfielder that does a lot of things okay, but doesn’t really do any one thing well. His PCL-aided numbers were still quite solid, and he filled up the stat sheet enough to earn the nod as the top bat in the system for 2018.

Runners-up

The best holdover prospect by quite some ways (though recent IFA signees may challenge for the #1 overall slot in the system), Jazz Chisholm has been a guy with a ton of potential for a few seasons since signing out of the Bahamas. In 2018, he fulfilled that potential, hitting a combined .272/.329/.513 with 23 doubles, 25 home runs, and 17 steals. Chisholm has some swing and miss to work through still, but he should open 2019 at AA at 21, which puts him on pace to open 2020 in Arizona.

A mammoth first baseman, Kevin Cron actually hit less home runs in the PCL in 2018, but he focused on rounding out his game, hitting .309/.368/.554 with 28 doubles and 22 home runs. He could be a quad-A player that struggles to find a major league home, but Cron has been a very impressive performer in the upper minors that could do well in the right place where he’d get a job at the starting job.

After 7 seasons with the Cardinals organization, Ildemaro Vargas signed with the Diamondbacks as a minor league free agent before the 2015 season. He’s worked his way up the farm system and had a brilliant year of hitting in 2018 with Reno, hitting .311/.358/.445 with 31 doubles, 10 triples, 7 homers, and 10 stolen bases.

Rudy Flores has really stalled in the Diamondbacks organization. In his 7th season in the organization, he spent his third year in the upper minors, hitting .281/.381/.468 with 25 doubles and 17 home runs for AA Jackson.

Catcher Daulton Varsho missed some time over the 2018 season, but when he was on the field, he was a joy to watch. Varsho is a rare catcher in his level of athleticism at the position. On the season, Varsho played 83 games, hitting .294/.367/.475 with 13 doubles, 4 triples, 12 home runs, and 19 stolen bases over 354 plate appearances.

The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Zack Shannon in the 15th round this past June. Based on his pro debut, they may have gotten a steal. Shannon was assigned to Missoula in the advanced rookie Pioneer League, and he did nothing but rake, hitting .354/.439/.677 in 54 games, bashing 17 doubles and 14 home runs and driving in 55 runs.

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