Minor League Player of the Year Award

The 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.

"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

Year

Player Name (Quantity)

Position

Minor League Team (Affiliate Of)

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 / Tidewater (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 / Charlotte (Indians)

1994

Derek Jeter (1)

SS

Tampa / Albany / 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 (Reds)

2008

Matt Wieters (1)

C

Bowie (Orioles)

2009

Jason Heyward (1)

OF

Myrtle Beach / Mississippi (Braves)

2010

Not Yet Announced (10-2010)

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Year

Player Name (Quantity)

Position

Minor League Team (Affiliate Of)

Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award



In 1986 Gregg Jefferies won the 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 by positions: Ten outfielders, five right handed pitchers, three first basemen, two catchers, two shortstops, two left handed pitchers and two third baseman.

Do you agree with the choices? If you were a writer at "Baseball America" would you have chosen a different player from ANY of the seasons above? Share your opinions on Baseball Fever.