WTHB Presents the 2014 Bobby Awards

It's time to hand out the postseason Bobby Awards to a few deserving players and coaches for their 2014 seasons. I will start with the more serious awards and follow with the not-so-serious ones. The envelope please ...

Full Season Starting/Tandem Pitcher of the Year: LHP Tommy Shirley
RHP Nick Tropeano was under serious consideration for the honor, as was LHP Josh Hader, but in the end I was extremely impressed with what Tommy Shirley accomplished this season and I wanted to give him some special acknowledgment for that. For the first three months of the season, Shirley appeared in 17 games (13 starts) for Corpus Christi and managed a 1.88 ERA and a 0.927 WHIP in 86.1 innings pitched during his first season pitching against Texas League hitters. He held batters to a .201 batting average and walked only 17 batters while striking out 78. Once he was promoted to Oklahoma City in July, he had a tough couple of starts before settling in the rest of the way. He allowed 11 earned runs in his first two outings, but then allowed only four in the next 11. Shirley was moved to the bullpen after three starts presumably due to the fact that his previous high in innings was 75.1. He ended the season with a 2.53 ERA, a 1.099 WHIP, and 32 walks to 100 strikeouts in 117.1 innings. And in those 10 relief appearances, he stranded all but one of 11 runners he inherited! I look forward to seeing what I've heard alternatively called his "Invisiball" or "Bugs Bunny Fastball" on a major league mound in the not so distant future.

Tommy Shirley - March 2013

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Full Season Relief Pitcher of the Year: RHP Tyler Brunnemann
This one really wasn't a hard choice at all. Brunnemann simply dominated in his time at Quad Cities and more than held his own after his promotion to Lancaster in early August. In 33 bullpen appearances between the two venues, he had a 1.90 ERA and a 0.892 WHIP in 61.2 innings of work. He walked 15 batters and struck out 69. He held batters to a .183 batting average for the season. Also, if my hand-kept records are correct, I am showing that of 25 inherited runners, only 8 went on to score. He was also named MVP for the just completed 2014 California League Championshp Series. Not bad for a 40th round draft pick! (Oh, and he wears high socks.)

Tyler Brunnemann - September 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Full Season Player of the Year: CF Brett Phillips
I am an unabashed fan of Brett Phillips as a player and as a person, but going in to the season, I never really thought that he would be in the mix for my Player of the Year, much less the winner. But what he accomplished this season showed off all his tools. He hit for average, got on base at a good clip, had excellent power numbers, exhibited speed on the basepaths and showed off his canon of an arm in centerfield. It was a truly incredible season. For the season, he hit .310/.375/.529 with 29 doubles, 14 triples (yes, you read that correctly), 17 home runs, 68 RBI, 23 stolen bases and had 17 outfield assists. Yeah, that happened. [Full Disclosure: I was somewhat torn between Phillips and Conrad Gregor and I turned to trusty co-author of WTHB, Dustin, and asked him what he thought. He gave Phillips the edge by "the thinnest possible razor-thin margin." After putting all the numbers down on paper, I definitely agreed.]

Brett Phillips - September 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Short Season Pitcher of the Year: RHP Troy Scribner
This was undoubtedly one of the hardest categories for me. Under serious consideration were the fine seasons of RHP Agapito Barrios, RHP Erasmo Pinales, RHP Elieser Hernandez and RHP Joe Musgrove. But in the end, I went with Scribner's sheer dominance. Scribner made a couple of spot appearances in Corpus in April (2-0 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.200 WHIP) before returning to Extended Spring Training. He was then assigned to the Short Season A Tri-City ValleyCats where he was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.962 WHIP in 10 starts. Scribner was promoted to Quad Cities for his final five starts and had mixed results at the higher level, but for the season he ended with a 10-3 record, a 2.09 ERA, a 1.102 WHIP, and walked 27 batters while striking out a whopping 102 in 81.2 innings pitched.

Short Season Relief Pitcher of the Year: RHP Derick Velazquez
There were also a number of fine seasons amongst the relief corps. In particular, RHP Aaron Vaughn and RHP Josue Uribe stood out. And RHP Eric Peterson's final month of the season was ridiculous (in a good way). But the hands-down winner was Velazquez. In 18 games for Tri-City, he was 2-1 with four saves, a 1.57 ERA and a 0.870 WHIP in 23 innings pitched. Only one base was stolen on his watch and he stranded 11 of the 14 runners he inherited. Oh, yeah, and he only walked two batters for his season while striking out 24.

Short Season Player of the Year: 1B A.J. Reed
Reed, the Astros 2nd round pick from 2014, hit the ground running in his first professional season. In 34 games at Tri-City, he hit .306/.420/.516 in 34 games and was promptly promoted to Quad Cities at the end of July where he played in an additional 34 games, hitting .272/.326/.528. In those 68 total games, he scored 43 runs; hit 20 doubles, one triple and 12 home runs; drove in 54 runs; stole two bases; and walked 30 times while striking out 54 times. In addition, he is an excellent defensive player! Unfortunately, I just missed Reed in my whirlwind tour of the Astros minor league ballparks this summer, but by all accounts, he is a truly special player. Another player under serious consideration for this award was a 17-year old Dominican player who earned a late promotion from the DSL to the GCL. 2B Frankeny Fernandez is still a bit rough around the edges, but what he was able to accomplish in his first season of professional ball was remarkable.

Defensive Catcher of the Year: Roberto Peña
Just put Peña down as a given to win this every year until he graduates to the major leagues. In 93 games catching in Lancaster this season, he had a .996 fielding percentage, 9.02 range factor and he caught 57% of would be base-stealers (that is not a typo). He is the most elite of elite catchers.

Offensive Catcher of the Year: Jamie Ritchie
Ritchie was actually on my short list for Short Season Player of the Year, but he was edged out since he didn't play in as many games as Reed. In 47 games for Tri-City, the 13th round 2014 draft pick hit .331/.455/.465 with 12 doubles, two triples and a home run. He even stole five bases, an uncommon occurrence for most catchers. And he walked (29 times) more than he struck out (26 times), an uncommon occurrence for most hitters regardless of position.

Postseason MVP (Player): 1B Tyler White and DH Chase McDonald
I was going to jokingly award this to Tyler McDonald or Chase White because I simply couldn't decide between the two. They had the two most potent bats in the JetHawks line-up in the post-season. Between the two players, they scored 10 runs, collected eight doubles and four home runs and drove in 12 runs in eight post-season games.

Postseason MVP (Pitcher): RHP Tyler Brunnemann
Until the final game of the California League Championship Series on Monday, I was leaning toward awarding this to Joe Musgrove for his fine work in the New York-Penn League series, but Brunnemann was named the MVP of the Cal League Finals for a reason. Coming into the fifth inning of Monday's game with two runners on and no outs, Brunnemann retired the next three batters without allowing a run across. And he went on to pitch a total of three hitless innings with six strikeouts to earn the win. All told, Brunnemann appeared in five games with a 1.35 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP and stranded all eight runners that he inherited. Case closed.

Comeback/Breakthrough Pitcher of the Year: RHP Chris Devenski
To say that Devenski had a tough year in 2013 is a bit of an understatement. He struggled mightily at Lancaster (7.88 ERA and 1.819 WHIP) and was demoted to Quad Cities where he started to figure things out again, but still ended the season with a 6.60 ERA and a 1.592 WHIP. Fast forward a season and his success at Lancaster (4.11 ERA and 1.070 WHIP) led to his promotion to Corpus Christi in early July. There he put up a 3.92 ERA and a 1.234 WHIP in his final 10 appearances. Quite the turnaround!

Comeback/Breakthrough Player of the Year: 1B/DH Chase McDonald
For McDonald, the 2014 improvements represented a nice breakthrough for the 2013 12th round pick. McDonald had a solid season in 2013 (.245/.341/.413), but you just knew that he was capable of much more than that. In 2014, he showed that he was, indeed, capable of more as he put up a very nice .279/.363/.481 batting line with 25 doubles, 16 home runs and 67 RBI in 102 games at Quad Cities. He was rewarded with a promotion to Lancaster for the last game of the season and had a very nice postseason campaign.

Manager of the Year: Lancaster's Rodney Linares
Linares managed his team to a first half Championship, dealt adeptly with the loss of one Astros top prospect to injury and with the highly public struggles of another top prospect, had a revolving door installed in the clubhouse because of promotions, injuries and one retirement, and then went on to win his second California League Championship title in three years with a team that had only a handful of players who started the season there.

Hitting Coach of the Year: Joel Chimelis of Quad Cities
Chimelis took a team largely comprised of players from the 2013 Tri-City team that had a batting line of .246/.322/.345 (as well as from the weak-hitting 2013 Greeneville team) and ended up coaching them to a .261/.340/.362 line in 2014. He oversaw great improvements from Brett Phillips, Jon Kemmer, Chase McDonald and others and ended up with a dozen or so of his players successfully graduating to the next level before the season was over.

Pitching Coach of the Year: Corpus Christi's Doug Brocail
Brocail was supposed to be a Special Assistant to the General Manager this season. And he was, but he also ended up taking on the Pitching Coach duties of the Hooks team when Gary Ruby fell ill. He gets this award not only for doing double duty, but because of the way he handled four pitchers who have not been considered top prospects in the system. Brocail recognized what Tommy Shirley had accomplished in Lancaster the prior year and built on that beautifully, resulting in Shirley's success and eventual promotion. He was able to coax from Jordan Jankowski the absolute dominance that emerged by season's end. And he successfully continued the development (started by Lancaster Pitching Coach Don Alexander earlier in the season) of Chris Devenski and Tyson Perez, each of whom opened some eyes by the end of the season. And, as he told me, he really had fun doing it (but don't tell his wife!).

Team of the Year: Lancaster JetHawks
California League Champions, Baby!!! 'Nuff said.

Now for some of the not-so-serious awards ~

Funniest Tweeter: Brian Holmes
Holmes is not quite as prolific a tweeter as Kenny Long (who I still miss for his frequent Tweets of the Day), but what he lacks in quantity, he makes up for in quality.

The California League, where cacti outnumber humans.
— Brian Holmes (@BHolmes130) May 17, 2014

Best Twitter Handle: Chris Cotton
Cotton is the reigning champion with his @58percentCotton handle.

Best Name in the Astros System: Frankeny Fernandez

I still miss Geronimo Franzua and Rayderson Chevalier, but Fernandez is a Frankenstein nickname waiting to happen!

Best Nickname in the Astros System: Ramon Laureano
In a nod to Ramen (Ramon/Ramen, get it?), the very serious looking Laureano has been christened "Noodles" by his teammates.

Ramon "Noodles" Laureano - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Name Most Likely to be Misspelled: RHP Brock Dykxhoorn
Dykxhoorn's name is also probably the most likely to be mispronounced as well, but he's Canadian so he'll always be gracious about any gaffes.

Most Likely to Give Up Baseball for a Career in Modeling: Lance McCullers
That is one photogenic young man!

Lance McCullers - September 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The Bridesmaid Award: OF Tanner Mathis
Last season, Mathis was a late addition at Lancaster prior to the postseason, but he never got into a game. This season he ended up on the DL in late August and had to watch the postseason from the dugout again. Next year, we hope that Tanner is finally a bride.

Best Mustache: Delino DeShields
This bushy caterpillar from DeShields just edges out Mike Hauschild's Fu Manchu.

Most Likely to be Misidentified as Amish: Brett Phillips
Seriously, take a look at his playoff beard in his picture at the top. Doesn't he look like he's out on Rumspringa?

Player Most Likely to Cause Road Closings: Chase McDonald
Since both of McDonald's postseason home runs at Lancaster landed on Avenue I, the City of Lancaster might need to put traffic controls in place when McDonald presumably returns there next season.

The Joey Tribbiani Award: Bryan Muniz
Just look at this picture. "How YOU doin'?"

Bryan Muniz - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

The "Wild Thing" Award: RHP Gerald Benzant
With 15 hit batters and 18 wild pitches in 37.2 innings, Benzant reminds me of another pitcher who had a similar season a couple years back. Jandel Gustave, had 5 wild pitches and 21 hit batters in only 19.1 innings in 2011. Now he is one of the most exciting heat-throwing prospects in the Astros system. Let's see if Benzant can follow in his footsteps.

Best Overheard Conversation of 2014: Lancaster Pitching Staff
During early work one day in May, I was out taking pictures and overheard a very animated conversation among the Lancaster pitching staff regarding the existence of mermaids, Bigfoot and aliens. I won't out anyone, but one particular college-educated player was adamantly in the pro-mermaid camp.

Best Photobomb: Devonte German

Aaron Greenwood & Dean Deetz

Being Photobombed by Devonte German

July 2014 - Photo by Jayne Hansen

The Alleve Award: Tyler White
After holding the crown for two years, Matt Duffy finally stepped down as the hit-by-pitch leader in the Astros minor leagues. This year the "honors" go to Tyler White who was plunked 19 times. Duffy faded to fifth place with 12.

Armed and Dangerous, Part I: C Roberto Peña

Pena led the Astros system, by far, with his 57% caught stealing rate.

Armed and Dangerous, Part II: CF Brett Phillips

Phillips led the Astros minors in outfield assists with 17 in 130 games.

Armed and Dangerous, Part III: LHP Kent Emanuel

Emanuel picked off 12 baserunners this season.

The Workhorse Award, Part I: LHP Rudy Owens
Owens, after missing most of last season due to injury, pitched the most innings of any Astros minor leaguer in 2014 at 135. And he pitched another 5.2 at the major league level!

The Workhorse Award, Part II: RHP Jason Stoffel
Stoffel led the Astros minors in bullpen appearances ... by far! He pitched 64.2 innings in 54 outings.

The Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Award: Josh Hader, Chris Devenski and Troy Scribner
This trio tied with 10 wins each to lead the Astros minors.

The Mighty Mouse Award: Jamaine Cotton, Tyson Perez, Andrew Walter and Ryan Thompson

These four pitchers are all tied atop the Astros minor league leaderboard for most saves in a season with 12 each. Most impressive from this list is Ryan Thompson who accomplished the feat in 14 to 17 fewer games than the other three! And for those who don't get the Mighty Mouse reference, go here.

The Fireman Award: Kevin Chapman, Josue Uribe, Mitch Lambson, Jordan Mills and Jason Stoffel
Although Kevin Chapman led this list by stranding a whopping 79% of inherited runners, the other four were close behind. All five of these relief pitchers stranded 72% or more of the runners they inherited.

Most Likely to Outrun a Coyote: OF Delino DeShields

DeShields is definitely a roadrunner and is a three-time winner in this category with 54 stolen bases. Meep meep!

Walk Like a Man Award: 3B Rio Ruiz

Ruiz led the Astros system with 82 walks in 130 games.

The Wizard of Oz Award: OF Preston Tucker

There's no place like home and that's precisely where this wizard sent 94 players as he led the organization in RBI.

One for the Money: 2B Tony Kemp

Kemp led the Astros minor leagues in hits with 167.

Two for the Show: 3B Rio Ruiz and OF Teoscar Hernandez

This duo tied for most doubles in the system with 37 each.

Three to Get Ready: OF Brett Phillips

Phillips' 14 triples led the organization.

Go, Cat, Go: OF Preston Tucker

Tucker's organization-leading 24 home runs earn him a pair of blue suede shoes.

The Cyborg Award: RHP Jordan Jankowski

At the end of the season, Jankowski was relentless, striking out 38 batters in his last five outings (24 innings pitched), leading some to believe that Jankowski really is a Cyborg.

Most Remarkable Feat: IF Ronald Torreyes
Torreyes played in 27 straight games from August 1st through August 29th before finally striking out on August 30th. Wow.

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I wish I could have given an award to every player in the system after such a terrific year, but, alas, I finally ran out of time and ideas.