The Braves announced their 2019 minor league players and pitchers of the year Sunday, headlined by No. 1 prospect Ian Anderson earning the organizational pitcher of the year honor.
The honorees were awarded on the field before Sunday’s game against the Nationals. The Braves recognized a player and pitcher from each of their minor-league affiliates, with Anderson getting the overall pitcher nod and outfielder Trey Harris earning overall position player of the year.
Anderson, 21, posted a 3.38 ERA with 172 strikeouts across the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He was a Southern League All-Star and struck out 147 batters over 111 innings, leading the league in strikeouts before his Triple-A promotion.
Regarded as the team’s No. 1 overall prospect, Anderson was also named Baseball America’s Braves prospect of the year. He’s expected to make his major league debut next season.
Harris, 23, hit .323/.389/.498 with 14 homers, 73 RBIs and 73 runs scored across three levels (131 games). Harris was taken in the 32nd round of last year’s draft.
In Double-A, outfielders Cristian Pache and Drew Waters were honored as co-players of the year. They are the franchise’s No. 2 and No. 3 overall prospects, respectively, and both could debut next season.
Pache, one of the best defensive outfielders in the minors, progressed offensively, hitting a career-high 11 homers and notching 47 extra-base hits in 104 games. Waters was named MVP of the Southern League, the youngest player to do such in 14 years, after hitting .319 and winning the batting title.
Their co-pitchers of the year were Anderson and break-out star Tucker Davidson, who owned a 2.03 ERA and 122:45 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 21 starts before a promotion to Triple-A.
Outfielder Rafael Ortega won Triple-A Gwinnett’s player of the year after he hit 21 homers with 58 extra-base hits. Ortega, a veteran journeyman, has been with the big-league club and already made an impact, including a game-winning grand slam against the Dodgers last month.
Bryse Wilson was named Gwinnett’s pitcher of the year after striking out 118 hitters in 121 innings. Wilson has bounced between Triple-A and the majors since making his MLB debut last August.
Here are all the Braves’ players of the year:
Organization: OF Trey Harris, RH Ian Anderson
Gwinnett: OF Rafael Ortega, RH Bryse Wilson
Mississippi: OF Cristian Pache and OF Drew Waters, RH Ian Anderson and LH Tucker Davidson
Florida: OF Trey Harris, LH Hayden Deal
Rome: OF Justin Dean, LH Dilmer Mejia
Danville: 1B Bryce Ball, RAH Ricky DeVito
Gulf Coast: OF Michael Harris II, RH Eudi Asencio
DSL: OF Deivi Estrada, RH Roddery Munoz
