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Pittsburgh Pirates 2018 minor league awards

By Benjamin Chase |
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Kingham #49 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on September 23, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Nick Kingham #49 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on September 23, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 19: Kevin Newwman #27 of the Pittsburgh Pirates fields a ground ball off the bat of Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning during the game at PNC Park on September 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 19: Kevin Newwman #27 of the Pittsburgh Pirates fields a ground ball off the bat of Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning during the game at PNC Park on September 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Pirates

As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.

After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!

Pittsburgh Pirates minor leagues

The Pittsburgh Pirates system saw more production from their upper minors players than from the guys who will likely end up on their top 10 list at the end of the season.

Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:

Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)

BA: Jack Herman .340
OBP: Jack Herman .435
SLG: Jonah Davis .612
OPS: Jonah Davis 1.010
R: Cole Tucker 77
H: Kevin Kramer 148
2B: Kevin Kramer 35
3B: Four with 8
HR: Will Craig 20
RBI: Will Craig 102
SB: Cole Tucker, Alfredo Reyes 35
TB: Kevin Kramer 234

W: Tyler Eppler, Cam Vieaux 13
G: Geoff Hartlieb 47
GS: JT Brubaker 28
IP: James Marvel 167 1/3
SV: Matt Eckelman 17
K: Mitch Keller 135
ERA: Scooter Hightower 1.99
WHIP: Beau Sulser 0.82
K/9: Yeudy Garcia 11.5
K/BB: Beau Sulser 15.75

Let’s look at the award winners…

Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Hitter of the Year: Jonah Davis

Level(s): advanced rookie Bristol
Stats: .306/.398/.612/1.010, 51 G, 241 PA, 15 2B, 6 3B, 12 HR, 6 SB, 27/59 BB/K

Typically, a draftee that season isn’t going to have time to put up enough numbers to establish himself as the top performer in a season. That was not the case for Jonah Davis when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him from Cal-Berkeley in the 15th round.

Davis was able to not only flash impressive defensive range in center field for Bristol, but he also put together a very complete offensive line. He hit for power, with 33 extra base hits in 51 games. He showed off his baserunning acumen with 6 triples and 6 stolen bases (though he struggled with stolen base success with 5 caught stealing).

Runners-up

Arguably the best offensive prospect in the system, Ke’Bryan Hayes is most well-known for his stellar defense at third base. He definitely added an offensive edge with his performance in AA in 2018, hitting .293/.375/.444 with 31 doubles, 7 triples, 7 home runs, and 12 stolen bases.

Kevin Kramer has struggled to establish himself since being drafted in the 2nd round in 2015 out of UCLA. He finally made his Pittsburgh Pirates debut this season after breaking through in AAA with Indianapolis, hitting .311/.365/.492, finally combining his power and speed as he hit 35 doubles, 3 triples, 15 home runs, and 13 stolen bases.

His defense was not great at shortstop in 2018, but Oneil Cruz showed very well at the plate at low-A West Virginia. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Cruz from the Dodgers in 2017 and saw him struggle to finish 2017 in West Virginia, but heading back there in 2018, he broke loose, hitting .286/.343/.488 with 25 doubles, 7 triples, 14 home runs, and 11 stolen bases.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 10: Clay Hollmes #68 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on August 10, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-10. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 10: Clay Hollmes #68 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on August 10, 2018 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Giants defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 13-10. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Clay Holmes

Level(s): high-A Bradenton, AAA Indianapolis, MLB Pittsburgh Pirates
Stats: Minors: 8-3, 23 G, 17 GS, 101 1/3 IP, 3.29 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 40/108 BB/K; Majors: 1-3, 11 G, 4 GS, 26 1/3 IP, 6.84 ERA, 2.01 WHIP, 23/21 BB/K

A big high school righty drafted in the 9th round in 2011, Clay Holmes lost the entire 2014 and much of the 2015 season to Tommy John surgery but has been making his way progressively up the system ever since his drafting.

In 2018, Holmes had some injury issues in the season, but when he was healthy on the mound in the minors, he was very good, striking out over a batter per inning in AAA. His time in the majors was not as pleasant due to significant issues with his command, but he should get another chance in 2019, whether that’s in the rotation or the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen.

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Runners-up

A 6th round pick out of Akron in 2015, JT Brubaker had a big season in 2018 across AA and AAA, tossing 154 innings and posting a 2.81 combined ERA along with a 1.26 WHIP, and 44/131 BB/K ratio.

Drafted out of Duke University in the 36th round in 2015, James Marvel has ascended the Pirates system like a superhero. In 2018, he actually pitched better after a late-season promotion to AA from high-A. In total, he tossed 167 1/3 innings, posting a 3.55 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 40/122 BB/K ratio.

Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 6th round of the 2016 draft out of Michigan State, big lefty Cam Vieaux made it up to AA in 2018 through excellent work on the mound. Overall, he pitched 144 1/3 innings, with a 3.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 35/124 BB/K ratio.

Next. Diamondbacks minor league awards. dark

The Pittsburgh Pirates finished with a solid 2018 season at the big league level, and they were able to see a few solid performances at the minor league level as well.

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