The Astro have named their MVPs for the season at each level of their affiliates. So here they are:
Round Rock – Mark Saccamanno
Corpus Christi – Drew Sutton
Salem – Mark Ori
Lexington – Eric Taylor
Tri Cities – Phil Disher
Greeneville – Kyle Greenwalt
Dominican Summer League – Miguel Arrendell
Venezuelan Summer League – Carlos Quevedo
How good of a predictor of future success is winning this award? Let’s look at the last two years and see where they are now.
Round Rock
2007- Cody Ransom – Signed a minor league contract with Yankees in the off season. He has appeared on 17 games so far for the Yankees this year after spending most of the season at AAA.
2006 – Joe McEwing – Signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox. He spent the whole season at AAA and retired in January 2008. He is now a hitting coach in the Charlotte Knights (AAA- White Sox)
Corpus Christi
2007 – Ray Sadler – Split the year with CC (33 games) and RR (93 games). Power numbers still pretty good, strike out numbers still pretty bad.
2006 – Josh Anderson – Spent much of 07 in RR and was traded for Oscar Villareal. He has appeared in 23 games so far for the Braves this year, hitting .292.
Salem
2007 – Mitch Einertson – Promoted to CC this year. He hit only .221 in the first half of the season but then spent some time on the DL. When he returned, he was on fire. He hit .350 in the 36 games after he come off the DL. Will be 23 when the season begins next year.
2006 – Beau Torbert – He bounced between CC and RR in 07. He was solid but not spectacular and was caught in the numbers game when camp broke in 2008. He played for the Sioux Falls Canaries this season putting up descent numbers (.324/.568 SLG/.382 OBP). He ranked 5th in batting average and 4th in HR & RBI. He lead the league in Slugging. He also got to cross the plate with the walkoff winning run in the league championship game. I expect him to make a return to affiliated ball in the spring.
Lexington
2007 – Jordan Parraz – Had a solid season in Salem. Was an on base machine reaching base in 38 straight games which was the longest streak in the minors this year. He will turn 24 during the off season.
2006 – Eli Iorg – Had a great start to his 07 season but then was injured and lost for the season. Spent 08 in CC where he was adequate but not remarkable. Will turn 26 during spring training next season.
Tri Cities
2007 – Brandon Barnes – Like Einertson, had a rough start. Actually calling it rough is being generous. He hit .098 in April and was sent back to Extended Spring. He came back and worked on digging out of the hole he found himself in. He brought his average up to .241 but his power numbers disappeared after leading the league in Tri Cities. He will be 23 next May.
2006 – Jordan Parraz – See above.
Greeneville
2007 – Leandro Cespedes – Went to Lexington for 2008 and had more strike outs than innings pitched (137 to 130) but gave up more hits than IP (138 to 130) as well. Also had trouble keeping the ball in the yard (19 homers surrendered). Will turn 22 next April.
2006 – Ronald Ramirez – Was injured for much of 07 and had a rough 08. In time split between Tri & Lex, he only it .198 and made 23 errors in his 58 games in Lexington. I expect him to be released this off season.
DSL
2007 – Henry Villar – Solid season at Greeneville in 2008. He went 3-6 with a 4.41 ERA but struck out 65 in 65 1/3 innings. He will turn 22 next May.
2006 – Jose Duran – Had an unremarkable US debut with Greeneville in 07. In 08, he started at Tri Cities and earned a promotion to Lexington. At Lex, he appeared in 11 games and had an ERA of 1.66. He needs to keep his walks down (combined 20 in 50 2/3 innings)
VSL
2007 – Jhonny Medrano – Assigned to Greeneville but blew out a knee before he got to play in a game. I was told, he would have been the best player by far on the Greeneville roster.
2006 – Ricardo Bonfonte – Assigned to Greeneville for 08 and had a solid season at SS. He played in 43 games and gave up only 9 errors. Only struck out 14 times in 138 at bats. He will turn 20 during the offseason.
So what does being name MVP mean? It means you had a good year. It is not a predictor of future success. Lance Berkman is the only former Minor League Affiliate MVP on the Astros Roster.