Note: this is players of the year for each individual minor league team. Thus, a player needs to have been with one team for a significant portion of the year to be that team's player of the year. What consitutes a "significant portion of the year" is somewhat subjective.
ROCHESTER
Position Player: Aaron Bates hit .316/.408/.439, leading the team in OPS among players with at least 200 at-bats. Honorable mention: Jeff Bailey hit .252/.357/.442 with 15 home runs.
Pitcher: Chuck James was 3-2, 1 save, 2.30, 1.21 WHIP with 67 strikeouts in 62.2 innings (38 appearances). Honorable mention: Kyle Waldrop was 5-5, 3 saves, 3.87, 1.29 WHIP.
NEW BRITAIN
Position Player: Brian Dozier hit .318/.384/.502. He led the team in OPS and slugging and was second in batting average and OBP. Honorable mention: Joe Benson hit .285/.388/.495. He led the team in OBP, was tied for the team lead in home runs (16) and was second in slugging.
Pitcher: Liam Hendriks was 8-2, 2.70, 1.14 WHIP in 16 appearances (15 starts). He struck out 81 in 90 innings. Honorable mention: Tyler Robertson was 10-3, 16 saves, 3.61, 1.29 WHIP in 55 appearances. He struck out 88 in 89.2 innings.
FT. MYERS
Position Player: No one did all that well after Brian Dozier was promoted to New Britain, but we'll give it to Oswaldo Arcia, who hit .263/.300/.460, leading the team in OPS and slugging among players with at least 200 at-bats. Honorable mention: Aaron Hicks hit .242/.354/.368, leading the team in OBP.
Pitcher: Andrew Albers was 4-1, 4 saves, 1.55, 1.05 WHIP in 22 appearances (2 starts). He struck out 46 in 52.1 innings. Honorable mention: Matt Schuld was 4-1, 3.99, 1.30 WHIP in 70 innings. He appeared in 15 games, 11 of them starts.
BELOIT
Position Player: Jairo Perez hit .337/.413/.580 with 20 doubles and 15 home runs in just 276 at-bats. He also stole 11 bases. Honorable mention: Michael Gonzales hit .289/.371/.468 with 27 doubles and 15 home runs.
Pitcher: Jose Gonzalez was 5-3, 13 saves, 2.47, 1.16 WHIP with 63 strikeouts in 62 innings (48 apperances). Honorable mention: Adrian Salcedo was 6-6, 2.93, 1.17 WHIP. He struck out 92 in 135 innings (29 appearances, 20 starts).
ELIZABETHTON
Position Player: Eddie Rosario hit .337/.397/.670. He led the team in slugging, batting average, OPS, walks, home runs, runs, RBIs, and stolen bases (17 of 23). Honorable mention: Miguel Sano hit .292/.352/.637. He led the team in doubles and was second in most of the categories Rosario led.
Pitcher: Matthew Summers was 1-1, 6 saves, 0.87, 0.77 WHIP in 20 appearances. He struck out 36 in 20.2 innings. Honorable mention: Tim Shibuya was 8-2, 3.30, 1.10 WHIP in 13 starts. He struck out 70 in 73.2 innings.
GCL TWINS
Position Player: Phillip Chapman hit .308/.392/.442, leading the team in all three of those categories for players with over 100 at-bats. He also led the team in doubles and RBIs. Honorable mention: Stephen Wickens hit .245/.370/.340.
Pitcher: Angel Mata was 0-1, 1.46, 1.14 WHIP in 12 appearances (11 starts). He struck out 30 in 37 innings. Honorable mention: Luis Nunez was 5-0, 5 saves, 1.67, 0.90 in 16 appearances. He struck out 37 in 32.1 innings.
DSL TWINS
Position Player: Erick Gonzalez hit .286/.445/.392. He led the team in all three of those categories, plus runs, hits, doubles, total bases, and walks. Honorable mention: Adonis Pacheco hit .285/.364/.398, leading the team in triples.
Pitcher: Junior Subero was 3-4, 0.77, 0.96 WHIP in 12 appearances (10 starts). He struck out 49 in 46.2 innings. Honorable mention: Francisco Nunez was 9-1, 5 saves, 1.47, 0.76 WHIP in 20 appearances (1 start). He struck out 61 in 49 innings.
Rosario and Sano were 1-2 in their league in HRs and Rosario was named co-MVP with a guy who led the league in batting average at .350. Rosario had 21 and Sano 20 HRs. The league record is 24, so this would be like a major league team having two players with 50+ HRs.
A pitcher who threw only 62 2/3 innings for a AAA season as the club pitcher of the year is a sad commentary on the club's starting pitching. No offense intended to AMR.
Looking at the pitchers of the year for the whole system is a sad commentary on the state of pitching in this system. Other than Hendriks, the organization's best starting pitchers were either hurt or head cases.
That's what happens when your best pitching prospect proves TINSTAAPP.
TINSTAATPP
The Extra T stands for Twins
No offense taken. He's not a top prospect, but CJ's a cheap option that has performed well, shows a likelihood to improve, is major-league ready, and that the team lucked into when looking for filler in AAA. Once he showed what he was able to do this year, he looked to be a better option than guys who have been with the club all season, a potential strong (rather than mop-up) long-reliever, as he's pitched two innings often. Which also (along with his history as a starter) suggests that his splits aren't particularly severe, so he needn't be relegated to the Loogy role that Dunce should have nailed down if he joins the bullpen. (This isn't to diss the Loogy role, Dennys Reyes showed us what greatness out of that role looks like.)
Now he's likely to have been a better option than guys who will be on the roster all of next year.
If the team had a bonus of decent lefty relievers (which is possible, with Dunce potentially headed back that way, Doomsday, and Perkins), at least he would have been something worth holding onto as a small trade chip for a potential AAAA middle infielder or backup catcher or something.
His release was the breaking point at which I lost all faith in GMBS.
I think Duensing could be a solid reliever against right-handed batters. Perkins improved a lot, and pitchers in general do better in relief.
That the Twins's WGOM.org official Rochester Red Wings Pitcher of the Year, and Sethspeaks.net's official #4 relief pitcher in the Twins' minor-league system was released for nothing is a sad commentary on the club's roster management.