Welcome to awards season at Bus Leagues! Once again, we will have nine to hand out: Full-season, Short-season and Independent League Player, Starter and Reliever of the Year. These players are the best of the best of minor league baseball, except for the short-season starter I forgot to put on the ballot and didn’t realize until it was too late. Voting works like the college football polls. Voters selected five players from a list of 12, with a first place vote being worth five points, a second place vote being worth four and so on. Ties were broken by most first place votes. If neither had a first place vote, I look at who had the most second place votes and that continues down the line. If somehow ties still aren’t broken, I give Brian’s vote extra weight. Players not in the top five will not have ties broken.
The voters in the 4th edition of the Bus Leagues Awards include five experts: Chris Fee, Brian Moynahan and Andrew Rosin of Bus Leagues, Joshua Kummins of Boston Sports U18 and Craig Forde of the Boston Globe. I also voted. Here is a recap of the winners so far:
Indy League RP of the Year: Tom Boleska
Indy League SP of the Year: Jeff Duda
Indy League Player of the Year: Chris Nowak
Short-Season RP of the Year: Nick Sawyer
Short-Season SP of the Year: Taylor Guerrieri
Short-Season Player of the year: Mike Zunino
Full-Season RP of the Year: Matthew Stites
Full-Season Starter of the Year
FIRST
RHP Dylan Bundy, 19, Delmarva/Frederick/Bowie (Baltimore A/A+/AA)
23 GS, 9-3, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 103.2 IP, 67 H, 28 BB, 119 K
21 points (2 first place votes)
You couldn’t turn around without hearing about Bundy this year. As a 19-year-old he rocketed up three levels and pretty much dominated at all of them. Orioles fans even wanted him to pitch down the stretch for Baltimore. His 4.25:1 K-to-walk ratio is pretty nice. After facing him in his pro debut, Red Sox third baseman Danny Valencia told me, “He belongs here.” -Craig
I know someone’s not going to vote him as the pitcher of the year. And that is their prerogative, But they are frauds from the malebolge. Dylan Bundy’s the best of the best. BEST OF THE BEST. -Andrew
SECOND
RHP Jose Fernandez, 19, Greensboro/Jupiter (Miami A/A+)
25 GS, 14-1, 1.75 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 134 IP, 89 H, 35 BB, 158 K
20 points (2 first place votes)
That is to say that Jose Fernandez wasn’t great however. -Andrew
Another 19-year-old who had a spectacular season, albeit with far less pomp and circumstance than Mr. Bundy. That 0.93 WHIP is a thing of beauty. -Craig
THIRD
LHP Tony Cingrani, 22, Bakersfield/Pensacola (Cincinnati A+/AA)
25 GS, 10-4, 1.73 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 146 IP, 98 H, 52 BB, 172 K
15 points (1 first place vote)
This was a year of pitchers going from Class A to the show. Just a shame Cingani’s going to get the Dusty Baker treatment. -Andrew
Cingrani’s hair was on fire in short-season ball after being drafted last year, and no one was able to extinguish it in his first full season. He keeps proving himself at level after level, and he’s now a deserving big leaguer. -Scott
FOURTH
RHP Dan Straily, 23, Midland/Sacramento (Oakland AA/AAA)
25 GS, 9-7, 2.78 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 152 IP, 110 H, 42 BB, 190 K
12 points
A workhorse this year, his 190 strikeouts is what puts him in the top five. -Craig
Punched out a lot of hitters. A lot of hitters. -Andrew
FIFTH
LHP Sean Nolin, 22, Dunedin/New Hampshire (A+/AA)
18 GS, 10-0, 2.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 101.1 IP, 81 H, 27 BB, 108 K
9 points (1 first place vote)
I know everyone thinks that wins and losses are meaningless for a pitcher. But a 10-0 season is a 10-0 season no matter how you slice it. To pitch well enough all season long so that you don’t suffer a defeat is pretty damn sharp if you ask me. Oh, his other stats back up his ranking as well, noticeably his striking out 108 over 101.1 innings. -Craig
SIXTH
RHP Tyler Cloyd, 25, Reading/Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia AA/AAA)
26 GS, 15-1, 2.26 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 167 IP, 127 H, 41 BB, 113 K
8 points
Pitched exactly like a minor league veteran should. Very reliable arm on the Phillies farm this year. -Craig
As a Brewer fan, I know the slightly overaged pitcher can turn out valuable. Cloyd outranked some of the other nominees for me. -Andrew
SEVENTH
RHP Nathan Karns, 24, Potomac/Harrisburg (Washington A+/AA)
24 GS, 11-4, 2.17 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 116 IP, 70 H, 47 BB, 148 K
2 points
T-EIGHTH
RHP Hiram Burgos, 24, Brevard County/Huntsville/Nashville (Milwaukee A+/AA/AAA)
27 GS, 10-4, 1.95 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 171 IP, 128 H, 49 BB, 153 K
1 point
T-EIGHTH
RHP Rafael Montero, 21, Savannah/St. Lucie (A/A+)
11-5, 2.36 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 122 IP, 96 H, 19 BB, 110 K
1 point
Montero is an extremely fast riser in the Mets’ system, reaching high-A in 2012 after just signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. Although his innings were tightly managed, his rates are just as good as anyone’s this season. -Scott
T-EIGHTH
LHP Adam Morgan, 22, Clearwater/Reading (Philadelphia A+/AA)
26 GS, 8-11, 3.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 158.2 IP, 137 H, 39 BB, 169 K
1 point
T-ELEVENTH
RHP Cody Buckel, 20, Myrtle Beach/Frisco (Texas A+/AA)
23 GS, 10-8, 2.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 144.2 IP, 105 H, 48 BB, 159 K
0 points
T-ELEVENTH
LHP David Holmberg, 20, Visalia/Mobile (Arizona A+/AA)
27 GS, 11-8, 3.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 173.1 IP, 166 H, 37 BB, 153 K
0 points
Please join us Monday for the final award, the Full-Season Player of the Year.
