Hitter/Pitcher of the Year

[jay87shot]

Who do you think are the systems hitter and pitcher of the year.

Hitter

Boeve, Arienamo, Pratt, Collins, Adams, Black

Pitcher

Yoho, Hunt, Henderson, Misi, Kuehner

Did I miss anyone?

I think I would lean Arienamo and Yoho but it is hard to go against Boeve.

[wiguy94]

9 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

Who do you think are the systems hitter and pitcher of the year.

Hitter

Boeve, Arienamo, Pratt, Collins, Adams, Black

Pitcher

Yoho, Hunt, Henderson, Misi, Kuehner

Did I miss anyone?

I think I would lean Arienamo and Yoho but it is hard to go against Boeve.

Adams and Hunt. Boeve not even hitting 350 PA this season will hurt him and Yoho being a RP hurts him.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

If you just go by the numbers, KC Hunt and Luis Pena should be the winners

[wiguy94]

15 minutes ago, ClosetBrewerFan said:

If you just go by the numbers, KC Hunt and Luis Pena should be the winners

Pretty sure Complex players get their own awards

[biedergb]

Adams or Areinamo are likely hitters top two based upon stats and importance to the team. I agree outside the DSL, no one else comes close to production, outside of maybe Bitonti.

Hunt, Henderson or Yoho top 3. Hunt is impressive rise but not as much pure stuff.  Henderson with an equally impressive rise with struggles at AAA.  Yoho is “just” a reliever, but man what incredible stuff and performances.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Hitter will probably go to Adams or Pratt (prospect status plays a role), but among full season players, Adams’ top competition probably should be Ernesto Martinez. He definitely won’t get it, but you could make a convincing case for him to at least be in second.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Also, while Hunt and Henderson are deserving, I would like to say Shane Smith at least deserves mention. Starting for the first time in full-season ball, he posted a sub-3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and nearly 10 K/9 as a starter and finished with the lowest xFIP of any pitcher with at least 70 innings in the Southern League.

[jay87shot]

43 minutes ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Also, while Hunt and Henderson are deserving, I would like to say Shane Smith at least deserves mention. Starting for the first time in full-season ball, he posted a sub-3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and nearly 10 K/9 as a starter and finished with the lowest xFIP of any pitcher with at least 70 innings in the Southern League.

Good point, forgot Smith on my list

[Joseph Zarr]

As per absolute usual,

Not a soul even mentions RHP Manuel Rodriguez?

I know it's Single-A. BUT...even without astounding K numbers he had a ridiculous season. Third in the entire org in xFIP. If he's not injured in August and only pitching 2.0 inning stints in his two outings just off the IL, he pitches over 100 innings in his age 18 season. Sub 1.00 WHIP. Rarely walks a batter - 77:10 K:BB ratio in 94.0 IP is ludicrous for an 18-year-old (yes, I know he turned 19 on August 8th). In 10-of-17 regular season GS (I'm not counting his 2.0 IP in his first 'built it up' spot start off the IL) he pitched 5 2/3 innings or more. All of those as an 18-year-old. I continue to be shocked at how often he is overlooked. He is a 'just knows how to pitch' weapon who continually defies what one would expect given modern perspectives on what makes a starting pitcher successful. His extremely likely jump to High-A next year is definitively one of the most exciting bylines of the 2025 season for me. Given his age, that jump to the Midwest League can be extremely daunting for a hurler. Rodriguez will be a fascinating case study for this given his pitching style and tools. 

Anywho, carry on. 

[biedergb]

7 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Not a soul even mentions RHP Manuel Rodriguez?

You know I would have - but compared the others (rapid ascension up multiple levels) it was hard to put him there yet. But next year.... Yes please next year 🤞 I hope he makes that conversation with a bunch of others like Letson, Woodward, Birchard and others who have the chance to move up quickly.

 

And RE: Shane Smith. yeah I spaced on him too. He is so close to Hunt. It is amazing how good Hunt's peripherals are : a K:BB ratio of almost 6 for the season. And recency bias - his start last night has swayed me.

[wiguy94]

Here are the Top 3 contenders for Pitcher of the Year 

1. K.C. Hunt - 102 IP, 2.03 ERA, 2.29 FIP, 2.32 xFIP, 35% K-rate, 6% BB-rate

2. Shane Smith - 90.2 IP, 2.98 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 2.89 xFIP, 30% K-rate, 8% BB-rate

3. Craig Yoho - 55.1 IP, 0.98 ERA, 1.25 FIP, 1.75 xFIP, 44% K-rate, 9% BB-rate

Here are some honorable mentions

Logan Henderson - 77.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 3.18 xFIP, 33% K-rate, 5% BB-rate

Tate Kuehner - 104.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 3.84 xFIP, 26% K-rate, 12% BB-rate

Brian Fitzpatrick - 70.1 IP, 2.69 ERA, 3.13 FIP, 3.39 xFIP, 26% K-rate, 8% BB-rate

Chad Patrick - 125.1 IP, 3.09 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 4.89 xFIP, 25% K-rate, 7% BB-rate

Manuel Rodriguez - 94.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 3.78 xFIP, 21% K-rate, 3% BB-rate

Jacob Misiorowski - 94.1 IP, 3.43 ERA, 4.12 FIP, 3.95 xFIP, 30% K-rate, 15% BB-rate

Nick Merkel - 77.2 IP, 3.48 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 3.51 xFIP, 26% K-rate, 10% BB-rate

[wiguy94]

Here are the Top 3 contenders for Position Player of Year

1. Luke Adams - 418 PA, .227/.443/.397, 154 wRC+, 27 XBH, 56 RBI, 28 SB

2. Ernesto Martinez Jr - 450 PA, .282/.364/.467, 146 wRC+, 45 XBH, 62 RBI, 18 SB

3. Mike Boeve - 342 PA, .338/.415/.471, 161 wRC+, 24 XBH, 36 RBI, 2 SB

Here are some honorable mentions

Cooper Pratt - 406 PA, .277/.362/.406, 126 wRC+, 26 XBH, 45 RBI, 27 SB

Jadher Areinamo - 467 PA, .301/.349/.442, 125 wRC+, 40 XBH, 68 RBI, 32 SB

Isaac Collins - 500 PA, .273/.386/.475, 125 wRC+, 49 XBH, 76 RBI, 24 SB

Yophery Rodriguez - 484 PA, .250/.343/.383, 117 wRC+, 36 XBH, 60 RBI, 7 SB

I didn't include Bitonti because I'm pretty sure that Complex level players get their own awards and Bitonti spent most of his season in the Complex league.

[Playing Catch]

I thought I'd wonder about Luke Adams here...

His getting hit 42 times is really, really weird. I have to believe he's wearing armor and rests his elbow on top of the strike zone? (Not really) I have to think he doesn't move? (Correct) Are they purposefully avoiding pitching him away? (Are A-ballers that precise?) Are we worried about his getting injured? (Yes) Does he wear a facemask? (No) Is anyone else worried about his weird, stiff, one-handed follow through with his swing? (The rest of the swing looks good, athletic).

[markedman5]

227 BA and a 443 OBA is pretty wild and doesn’t seem sustainable going forward? Has he had poor batted ball luck? 

[sveumrules]

12 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

227 BA and a 443 OBA is pretty wild and doesn’t seem sustainable going forward? Has he had poor batted ball luck? 

Adams has run low BABIPs (.292 and .280) at both his A ball stops the last two years. Pretty sure he has a very uppercut swing that results in a lot of easy flyball outs, so it might be something sticky in his profile.

Luke's 18.7 BB% was a big part of his OBP, but he also got beaned 40 times in the regular season so that element is likely to come down pretty drastically as he moves up the ladder.