Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Curve Announce Season Awards

The Pittsburgh Pirates are not going to make the playoffs, but the Altoona Curve are in their league.  Here are the season awards for the Altoona Curve.

Entering the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates most intriguing minor league affiliate to watch was the Double-A Altoona Curve.  The team was loaded with a lot of top talent including top prospects Mitch Keller and Ke’Bryan Hayes.  They went along with a handful of other top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.  The Curve lived up to the preseason expectations and are about to enter the playoffs after winning their division.

With that being said, the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate has announced their team’s regular season awards.  These awards are Most Valuable Player, Pitcher of the Year, Defender of the Year, Unsung Hero, Fan Appreciation Award, and Teammate of the Year.

Most Valuable Player

The Altoona Curve announced that first base prospect Will Craig as the team’s Most Valuable Player.  Craig, of course, was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2016. The first baseman finally tapped into the raw power that he was projected to have when he was drafted.  He leads the Pittsburgh Pirates minor leagues with 20 home runs on the year.  Furthermore, he leads the Pittsburgh Pirates minors in RBIs with 98.  On the year Craig finished with a .245/.316/.448 slash line with 28 doubles and three triples.

Many players could have been considered for this award.  Ke’Bryan Hayes had a breakout season and has established himself as one of the top third base prospects in baseball.  Meanwhile, Bryan Reynolds hit over .300 on the year in Altoona.  Even Jason Martin, who played half the season at Altoona, could have been an option as he made a huge impact in his time at Double-A.

Pitcher of the Year

The Altoona Curve Pitcher of the Year went to former Michigan State Spartan Cam Vieaux.  The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Vieaux in the sixth round of the 2016 draft.  The lefty actually split the season between High-A and Double-A this year, making 10 starts with Bradenton and 15 with Altoona.  In his 15 starts with the Curve, he posted a 3.59 ERA with 72 strikeouts and 17 walks. It is interesting that Vieaux received the award over Agrazal, who posted a lower ERA in more starts at the Double-A level.

Defender of the Year

The Defender of the Year for the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate went to Ke’Bryan Hayes.  This should not be surprising, as Hayes won the Minor League Gold Glove for third base last year when playing for High-A Bradenton.  So Hayes once again had a really solid season at third base.  This year he only made 6 six in 975.2 innings at third base.  Compared to last year, this was an improvement when he made eight errors in 950.1 innings for the Marauders.

The other awards were more or less non-statistical awards. The Unsung Hero Award went to utility man Jordan George.  The 26-year-old played multiple positions including first base, third base, and corner outfield. The Fan Appreciation Award went to 2014 first round pick Cole Tucker.  This award goes to the player who works well with the fans, especially kids. The last award was Teammate of the Year, which was given to Logan Ratledge.