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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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Rays announce minor league awards

Posted Sep 17, 2010 by Roger Mooney

Updated Sep 17, 2010 at 03:37 PM

The Tampa Bay Rays today named INF/OF Dan Johnson their Minor League Player of the Year and RHP Jeremy Hellickson Minor League Pitcher of the Year.  The Rays also announced one Most Valuable Player for each of their nine affiliates, as well as organization-wide awards for Best Baserunner, Best Defensive Player and Best Relief Pitcher.

This year’s winners will be honored during an awards ceremony prior to tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.  A pregame autograph session will be held on the right field line from 5:30–6:30 p.m. on Friday featuring many of the organization’s award winners.

The following players were named Most Valuable Player for their respective minor league teams:  INF/OF Elliot Johnson (Durham Bulls, AAA); RHP Alex Cobb (Montgomery Biscuits, AA); LHP Matt Moore (Charlotte Stone Crabs, A); INF Tyler Bortnick (Bowling Green Hot Rods, A); 1B Phil Wunderlich (Hudson Valley Renegades, SS-A); LHP Enny Romero (Princeton Rays, Rookie); RHP Pedro Silvestre (Gulf Coast League Rays); INF/OF Ariel Soriano (Dominican Summer League Rays); and OF Nahum Hernandez (Venezuelan Summer League Rays).

OF Desmond Jennings was named Best Defensive Player, while OF Ty Morrison was named the organization’s Best Baserunner and RHP Zach Quate was named Best Relief Pitcher. 

Dan Johnson, 31, hit .303 (103-for-340) for Durham with 30 home runs, 95 RBI, a .430 on-base percentage and .624 slugging percentage.  Despite being recalled to the majors on August 2, he led the International League in home runs, on-base pct. and slugging and was named IL Most Valuable Player and a mid- and postseason All-Star.  At the time of his call-up, he led all minor leaguers in RBI.  He paced the Rays system in home runs and RBI and ranked fourth in batting.  Since his promotion, he has appeared in 25 games for the Rays.

Hellickson, 23, spent most of the season at Durham and has had three stints in the majors.  Recently he was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and USA Today, Minor League Pitcher of the Year by Sporting News, and International League Most Valuable Pitcher.  For the Bulls, he went 12-3 with a 2.45 ERA (117.2-IP, 32-ER), allowing only 103 hits and 35 walks while striking out 123.  The Bulls went 17-4 in his 21 starts.  When he was first recalled on August 1, he led the IL in wins, ERA and strikeouts.  Hellickson started the 2010 All-Star Futures Game on July 11 at Angel Stadium and earned the win for the U.S. team.  Baseball America also named him the Best Pitching Prospect and Best Change-up in the IL, and at midseason rated him the top pitching prospect in the game.

Elliot Johnson, 26, was a mid- and postseason International League All-Star.  His .319 (136-for-427) batting average ranked tied for second in the IL and third in the organization.  The switch-hitter totaled 11 home runs, 56 RBI, 30 stolen bases (tied for fifth in the IL), 72 runs scored and a .375 on-base pct., while playing 109 games between shortstop, second base, left and right field.  He signed with the Rays as a non-drafted free agent on June 29, 2002 and has spent his entire nine-year career in the Rays organization.  He appeared in seven games in the majors in 2008.

Cobb, 22, went 7-5 with a 2.71 ERA (119.2-IP, 36-ER) for Montgomery in 23 games (22 starts).  He ranked fourth in the Southern League in ERA.  In 119.2 innings pitched, he struck out 128 batters while walking only 35.  His average of 9.51 strikeouts per nine innings led SL starting pitchers.  In the Rays organization, he finished fourth in ERA and tied for fourth in strikeouts.  Cobb was selected in the fourth round of the 2006 June Draft out of Vero Beach (Fla.) High School.

Moore, 21, led all minor leaguers in strikeouts for a second straight season, with 208, and established a single-season organizational record.  He became the first minor leaguer to eclipse 200 strikeouts since Francisco Liriano in 2005, and the first Florida State League pitcher to do so since 1971.  The FSL All-Star won four league Pitcher of the Week awards, was named Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Month in July and August, and was named a Minor League All-Star by Baseball America.  Moore went 6-11 with a 3.36 ERA (144.2-IP, 54-ER) in 26 starts for the Stone Crabs, holding opponents to a .210 batting average. 

Bortnick, 23, hit .303 (123-for-406) in 113 games for Bowling Green with eight home runs, 45 RBI, 32 doubles and 39 stolen bases, before earning an August 22 call-up to Charlotte, where he played 12 games.  He ranked 10th in the Midwest League in batting.  Combining both levels, he hit .295 with nine home runs, 54 RBI, 35 doubles and 41 stolen bases, which ranked tied for second in the Rays organization.

Wunderlich (pronounced WUN-der-lick), 21, ranked second in the New York-Penn League and second in the Rays system with a .330 (69-for-209) average.  The NYPL All-Star hit four home runs with 19 doubles and 36 RBI.  He was selected in the 12th round of the 2010 June Draft out of the University of Louisville.

Romero, 19, won the Appalachian League ERA title at 1.95 (69.1-IP, 15-ER).  He went 4-1 over 13 starts for Princeton with 72 strikeouts (third in the league) and a .204 opponents’ average (tied for third in the league).  Romero led the Rays organization with a 1.94 ERA, including one start for Hudson Valley at the end of the season. 

Silvestre, 20, went 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA (51-IP, 13-ER) in 13 games (five starts) for the GCL Rays.  He ranked third in the Rays system and sixth in the GCL in ERA and led the GCL in winning percentage (1.000).  It was the first season in the United States for the native of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.

Soriano, 18, hit .273 (63-for-231) with two home runs, three triples, 10 doubles, 33 RBI and nine stolen bases in 63 games for the DSL Rays.  He hit .296 (50-for-169) over the final two months of the season. 

Hernandez, 21, hit .380 (63-for-166) in 50 games for the VSL Rays with four home runs, 26 RBI, 14 doubles, 35 runs scored and 11 steals.  The VSL All-Star led the league with a .490 on-base percentage and ranked second in batting.

Jennings, 23, played 90 games in center field for Durham and eight games each in left and right field.  He compiled a .988 fielding percentage and had eight outfield assists.  Baseball America recently named him the Best Defensive Outfielder and Most Exciting Player in the International League, after earning the same honors in 2009 for the Southern League.  He is currently on the Rays active major league roster.

Morrison, 20, stole 58 bases (in 68 attempts) for Bowling Green, which led the Rays organization, ranked second in the Midwest League, and was the third-highest total of any minor leaguer in Rays history.

Quate (pronounced KWAIT), 23, led the Rays system with 25 saves (third in the FSL) and compiled a 1.49 ERA (72.1-IP, 12-ER) in 49 relief appearances for Charlotte.  He struck out 90 batters and allowed only 51 hits, 18 walks and two home runs.  He held opponents to a .199 average.  The FSL All-Star averaged 11.20 strikeouts per nine innings, third highest among FSL relief pitchers.