Pittsburgh Pirates: MVP For Each Minor League Affiliate Team

Bradenton Marauders – catcher Endy Rodriguez

Endy Rodriguez is this year’s most valuable position player for Low-A Bradenton. Everybody should know how high I am on this kid by now, but Rodriguez has backed it up on the field. He was traded from the Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates before the season started and I bet the they would like to take that trade back. The switch-hitting catcher has been nothing short of impressive this year for Bradenton.

He appeared in 98 games and had 377 plate appearances. He totaled 111 hits in which 46 were for extra bases. Of those 46 extra base hits, 15 of them were homeruns. He helped lead the team to a league championship with a clutch hit in the 9th inning to tie the game. I hope to see him in Altoona sometime next season.

Greensboro Grasshoppers – outfielder Matt Fraizer

Matt Fraizer is this year’s most valuable position player for High-A Greensboro. Even though Fraizer ended up playing in Altoona to finish the year, he had over 300 plate appearances with Greensboro and it only seemed fair to give him this honor.

This was a tough decision because there were so many impressive players on this team. Nick Gonzales and Jared Triolo come to mind and should get honorable mentions as well. Fraizer was drafted in the 2019 draft. He was the Pirates 3rd round selection.

With Greensboro, he had 95 hits in which 37 of them were for extra bases. He slashed .314/.401/.578 and had an OPS of .979. He also led the team in homeruns with 20 before getting called up.

Fraizer finished the year batting .306 with a combined 23 homeruns with Greensboro and Altoona. Look for this kid to make a big jump next year. You may even see him in PNC Park if he continues to swing a hot bat.