Mejia, Machado headline class of 2019 top players, pitchers at Royals affiliates
Infielder Erick Mejia and right-handed pitcher Andres Machado, who starred for Triple-A Omaha this season, are among the selections as the Kansas City Royals' Minor League Players and Pitchers of the Year.
Mejia, Machado and all the other selections will be at Kauffman Stadium on Friday for Futures Night. They will participate in a pregame autograph session and then will be honored in an on-field presentation before the Royals-Twins game.
The selections:
OMAHA (AAA)
Player of the Year: Erick Mejia, IF, 24. He hit .271, led all Royals farmhands with 83 runs and 134 hits and paced the Storm Chasers in games played (128), batting average (.271), total bases (189), doubles (22) and RBIs (63). He finished second on the team with 19 stolen bases. The Royals called him up Sept. 1 and he made his big-league debut Sept. 5.
Pitcher of the Year: Andres Machado, RHP, 26. He posted a career-best 2.89 ERA in a team-high 44 relief appearances and held opponents to a .218 batting average.
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (AA)
Player of the Year: Khalil Lee, OF, 21. He batted .264 with a .363 on-base percentage and 53 stolen bases (third in all minor league baseball) in 129 games.
Pitcher of the Year: Brady Singer, RHP, 23. In his first pro season, Singer went 12-5 with a 2.85 ERA in 26 starts across two levels to lead all Royals farmhands in wins. The 18th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Singer dominated over his last nine starts of the season for the Naturals, going 5-2 with a 1.96 ERA. He was selected to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
WILMINGTON (A+) – 2019 Carolina League Champions
Player of the Year: Brewer Hicklen, OF, 23. He ranked among the Carolina League leaders in stolen bases (39, first), runs (70, third), triples (seven, tied for third), home runs (14, tied for fourth), on-base percentage (.363, sixth), slugging percentage (.427, sixth) and OPS (.790, sixth).
Pitcher of the Year: Kris Bubic, LHP, 22. He went 11-5 and led Royals minor leaguers with a 2.23 ERA and .199 opponents’ average in 26 starts across two levels. Bubic led all of minor league baseball with 185 strikeouts. The 40th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Bubic was selected to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
LEXINGTON (A) – 2019 South Atlantic League Champions
Player of the Year: Jeison Guzman, IF, 20. He hit .253 in his first full season above rookie ball, collecting 35 extra-base hits and 15 stolen bases in 121 games.
Pitcher of the Year: Jon Heasley, RHP, 22. He went 8-5 with a 3.12 ERA and .222 opponents’ average (both third best in the South Atlantic League) and 120 strikeouts in 25 games.
IDAHO FALLS (R) – 2019 Pioneer League Champions
Player of the Year: Michael Emodi, C, 23. Emodi hit .331 with a .410 on-base percentage and .663 slugging percentage in 45 games for the Chukars. He ranked among the Pioneer League leaders in doubles (18, fourth), extra-base hits (32, fourth), home runs (12, tied for fifth) and RBIs (45, tied for sixth).
Pitcher of the Year: Derrick Adams, LHP, 22. Adams had a 2.54 ERA in 18 relief appearances and did not allow a home run over 46.0 innings in the hitter-friendly Pioneer League.
BURLINGTON (R)
Player of the Year: Vinnie Pasquantino, IF, 21. In his pro debut, Pasquantino hit .294 and led the Appalachian League in home runs (14), extra-base hits (33), total bases (125) and RBIs (53) while ranking among the league leaders in slugging percentage (.592, second), OPS (.962, second) and runs (43, tied for second).
Pitcher of the Year: Adrian Alcantara, RHP, 20. He posted a 2.47 ERA with a .152 opponents’ average and 57 strikeouts for Burlington this season.
SURPRISE (R)
Player of the Year: Jimmy Govern, IF, 22. In his pro debut, Govern led the Arizona League in on-base percentage (.492) and OPS (1.120) and ranked among the league leaders in doubles (17, tied for second), walks (34, tied for second), batting average (.365, third), extra-base hits (26, tied for third), slugging percentage (.628, fourth) and total bases (98, fourth).
Pitcher of the Year: Emilio Marquez, LHP, 21. He went 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA, .217 opponents’ average and 63 strikeouts (tied for third in the Arizona League) for Surprise.
DOMINICAN 1 (R) – 2019 Dominican Summer League Champions
Player of the Year: Jean Ramirez, OF, 18. He hit .329 with a .395 on-base percentage in 53 games and led the team in with 53 hits and 28 RBIs. Ramirez also stole 29 bases, sixth most in the Dominican Summer League.
Pitcher of the Year: Luis De La Rosa, RHP, 17. He went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA, 52 strikeouts and just seven walks in 12 appearances (11 starts) and did not allow a home run in 38.2 innings.
DOMINICAN 2 (R)
Player of the Year: Wilmin Candelario, IF, 18. He hit .315 with a .396 on-base percentage, a .505 slugging percentage and 11 stolen bases in 49 games. Candelario also tied for fourth in the Dominican Summer League with eight triples.
Pitcher of the Year: Luis Cepeda, LHP, 18. He went 5-3 with a 2.37 ERA, 61 strikeouts and only six walks in 12 starts between both Dominican League squads.
