Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Pitcher, Player Of The Year Winners Named

The Pittsburgh Pirates handed out a pair of minor league awards on Wednesday

Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates named their 2019 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. The team also handed out their 2019 Minor League Player of the Year Award. The recipients of these awards were James Marvel and Mason Martin.

In 28 starts between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis this season Marvel made 28 starts. Marvel logged 162 1/3 innings in these 28 starts allowing 10 home runs to go with a 7.0% walk rate and a career best 20.7% strikeout rate. This led to Marvel posting a 2.94 ERA and a 3.56 FIP in his 28 minor league starts.

Marvel’s performance led to him earning a September call up. So far Marvel has made a pair of MLB starts for the Pirates and he has experienced mixed results. Marvel allowed just 2 runs in 5 innings of work in his first start, however, last time out against the Cubs he was tagged for 7 runs on nine hits and two home runs allowed in just 4 innings of work.

While Marvel has struggled thus far at the MLB level he should make another start or two before the end of the season. Also, he will have an opportunity to earn a spot on the Pirates pitching staff in 2020.

As for Martin, the former 17th round pick burst onto the scene in a big way this season. Between Low-A Greesnboro and High-A Bradenton, Martin slashed .254/.351/.558. The 20-year-old first base man walked at a 12.2% clip, posted a 161 wRC+, his ISO was .304, and he slugged 35 home runs to go with 32 doubles.

2020 will be a big year for Martin. Odds are he will start the season at Double-A Altoona. This is despite the fact he’ll still only be 20-years-old when the season begins. If he can improve on his 30.2% strikeout rate at Double-A while continuing to hit for power or even if he continues to strikeout at a high rate but keeps hitting for power, then he could establish himself as one of the best power hitting prospects in baseball.