BASEBALL AMERICA MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The Best Minor League Baseball Player in the Country | Baseball Almanac

The Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award is considered the most prestigious honor given to a minor league player. It began in 1981 and has been awarded annually by Baseball America. Research by Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"This (winning the 2004 Minor League Player of the Year Award) is something that I hadn't expected, but is truly an honor. At the start of the year, my main goal was to go out and give my team a chance to win every time I took the mound. I share this award with all of my teammates, coaches and managers from this season and would like to thank the entire Rockies organization for all its support." - Jeff Francis on MLB.com (John Mossman, 12/09/2004)

Minor League Player of the Year Award

In Chronological Order / By Baseball America

1981 Mike Marshall (1) 1B Albuquerque (Dodgers)
1982 Ron Kittle (1) OF Edmonton (White Sox)
1983 Dwight Gooden (1) RHP Lynchburg (Mets)
1984 Mike Bielecki (1) RHP Hawaii (Pirates)
1985 Jose Canseco (1) OF Huntsville / Tacoma (Athletics)
1986 Gregg Jefferies (1) SS Columbia / Lynchburg / Jackson (Mets)
1987 Gregg Jefferies (2) SS Jackson (Mets)
1988 Tom Gordon (1) RHP Appleton / Memphis / Omaha (Royals)
1989 Sandy Alomar (1) C Las Vegas (Padres)
1990 Frank Thomas (1) 1B Birmingham (White Sox)
1991 Derek Bell (1) OF Syracuse (Blue Jays)
1992 Tim Salmon (1) OF Edmonton (Angels)
1993 Manny Ramirez (1) OF Canton-Akron / Charlotte (Indians)
1994 Derek Jeter (1) SS Tampa / Albany-Colonie / Columbus (Yankees)
1995 Andruw Jones (1) OF Macon (Braves)
1996 Andruw Jones (2) OF Durham / Greenville / Richmond (Braves)
1997 Paul Konerko (1) 1B Albuquerque (Dodgers)
1998 Eric Chavez (1) 3B Huntsville / Edmonton (Athletics)
1999 Rick Ankiel (1) LHP Arkansas / Memphis (Cardinals)
2000 Jon Rauch (1) RHP Winston-Salem / Birmingham (White Sox)
2001 Josh Beckett (1) RHP Brevard County / Portland (Marlins)
2002 Rocco Baldelli (1) OF Bakersfield /Orlando / Durham (Devil Rays)
2003 Joe Mauer (1) C Fort Myers / New Britain (Twins)
2004 Jeff Francis (1) LHP Tulsa / Colorado Springs (Rockies)
2005 Delmon Young (1) OF Montgomery / Durham (Devil Rays)
2006 Alex Gordon (1) 3B Wichita (Royals)
2007 Jay Bruce (1) OF Louisville / Chattanooga / Sarasota (Reds)
2008 Matt Wieters (1) C Bowie / Frederick (Orioles)
2009 Jason Heyward (1) OF Myrtle Beach / Mississippi / Gwinnett (Braves)
2010 Jeremy Hellickson (1) RHP Durham / Charlotte (Rays)
2011 Mike Trout (1) OF Arkansas (Angels)
2012 Wil Myers (1) OF Omaha / Northwest Arkansas (Royals)
2013 Byron Buxton (1) OF Fort Myers / Cedar Rapids (Twins)
2014 Kris Bryant (1) 3B Tennessee / Iowa (Cubs)
2015 Blake Snell (1) LHP Charlotte / Montgomery / Durham (Rays)
2016 Yoan Moncada (1) 2B Portland / Salem (Red Sox)
2017 Ronald Acuna Jr. (1) OF Gwinnett / Mississippi / Florida (Braves)
2018 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1) 3B New Hampshire / Buffalo / Dunedin (Blue Jays)
2019 Gavin Lux (1) SS Oklahoma City / Tulsa (Dodgers)
2020 No Winner Selected (x) -- COVID-19 Pandemic (n/a)
2021 Bobby Witt Jr. (1) SS Northwest Arkansas / Omaha (Royals)
2022 Gunnar Henderson (1) SS Bowie / Norfolk (Orioles)
2023 Jackson Holliday (1) SS Bowie / Norfolk (Orioles)
2024 Not Yet Awarded (x) -- --
Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year | Baseball Awards
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baseball almanac fast facts

In 1986, Gregg Jefferies won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award. The following year (1986) he won the award again. A unique honor not equaled until 1995 / 1996, by Andruw Jones.

A breakdown of Minor League Player of the Year winners by positions: Fifteen outfielders, seven shortstops, six right handed pitchers, four third basemen, three first basemen, three catchers, three left-handed pitchers, and one second baseman.

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