NSBB Minor League Player of the Year

[Tim]

Now that's the kind of case that I like to see made for someone's choice!

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Now that's the kind of case that I like to see made for someone's choice!

 

Why thank you. I figured a smear campaign would be necessary to overcome the biases of others. :D

 

In depth praise of Nolasco forthcoming.

[abuck1220]

Now that's the kind of case that I like to see made for someone's choice!

 

i agree...her chart clearly shows that hill > gallagher. :D

 

better control, a lot more k's, just as hard to hit. plus he jumped two levels, negating any concerns that he was too old for his level.

 

also, hill's last start (cg, 7 ip, 7 h, 1 er, 1 bb, 7 k's, w) is not included in her chart. so you win lovers should not that he has 11 wins even though he spent time w/ the big league club.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Here's your Minor League POY, the artist formerly known as Carlos Enrique Nolasco.

 

Why do you say?

 

At age 22, he's been dominating in the Southern League. He leads the league in K's, he's 5th in IP, 2nd in Wins, and 4th in ERA. He's been a consistently strong performer. His 3.15 ERA, 9.68 K/9, and 4/1 BB/K ratio all rank better than his robust career totals.

 

But honestly, what's a voting campaign without comparing yourselves to the candidates? Let's consider:

 

Nolasco v. Eric Patterson: Nolasco is the same age as Eric, and yet he's TWO LEVELS HIGHER in the minor league foodchain, and having stellar results at that age. Also note the fact that Nolasco is so good that he skipped Low A ball altogether.

 

Nolasco v. Brandon Sing: These two are at the same level, but Sing is TWO YEARS OLDER than Ricky. You want to know how well Sing did at AA when he was 22? 209/.256/.367/.623. Embarrassing, get him out of here.

 

Nolasco v. Rich Hill: Ricky is THREE YEARS YOUNGER than good old Rich Hill, who before this season had never even been to AA. Rich Hill at age 22? 2.07 WHIP with a 8.36 ERA at Boise. No contest here.

 

Nolasco v. Sean Gallagher: As has been stated before, Nolasco is so good that he never had to play in the low A Midwest league. Sure Gallagher's put up some nice numbers in Low A ball. But really, who hasn't? Justin Jones put up a great year at Lansing, now he's in obscurity, long gone for Nomar. Billy Petrick put up a fine season in A ball, now his arm is about to fall off. Andy Sisco had a good year at Lansing, then sucked it up at Daytona, and now he may never be a starting pitcher again. Jason Wylie dominated Lansing as a closer, now he has a 4+ ERA for Daytona 2 years later. The list goes on and on, pitching well in the Midwest league just doesn't cut it like doing it in AA. The Cubs obviously saw this and didn't demean Ricky's talents. Nolasco dominated a much higher level at a similar age appropriate-ness(that's a word). Let's see if Sean can make it to the big boys in AA before we anoint him with anything.

 

As anyone can clearly see, Ricky Nolasco is the most deserving candidate for Minor League POY. He's been doing it for years, dominating levels at a young age, and he deserves the respect of this award. Do the right thing, Vote for Carlos "Ricky" Enrique Nolasco!

[Beer Kaese]

Eric Patterson.

[rawaction]

I'm with you Rais, if Marshall hadn't got hurt....he would have had a good case.

 

Good case for Gallagher. Decent case for Nolasco, but Gallagher's been better.

 

I'll make a case for Eric later.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Decent case for Nolasco, but Gallagher's been better.

 

Pffft. My logic is undeniable.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'll make a case for Eric later.

 

I already changed my mind to Eric without you starting your case. :P

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

First, are we disqualifying players who have played a certain amount of time in the major leagues?

 

If not, let me make the case for Matt Murton.

 

The 23 year old from GA Tech has done it all.

 

Murton's numbers at AA West Tenn: 342/403/498. Add to that 8 HR and 18 SB in 78 games played.

 

Murton also proved that his minor league numbers were no fluke as he nearly replicated his rate stats in his major league cup of coffee going 339/415/464.

 

Since being sent back to Iowa, Murton is hitting 400/464/560.

 

There's not a player in the Cubs system that is playing that well.

 

You want to compare him to the other candidates? He's had success at a higher level than Patterson. He's younger than Sing and has proven he can maintain his success at a higher level. He's done more in his major league tryout than Cedeno and Hill. He's been more consistent than players like Harvey and Dopirak. He hasn't gotten hurt like Pie.

 

At three levels, Murton has consistently kept his OBP over 400. He's kept his BA over 300 and hit over 400 for awhile at every level he's played. He's a great all around baseball player and was one of the first minor leaguers to agree to do a Q&A for NSBB. He's got some kicking red hair and has become the poster child for why we need to get rid of Dusty Baker. What more could you ask from the guy?

 

The only way to disqualify Murton is if you want someone with less major league experience. If that's the case, Cedeno and Hill should be out as well. As it stands, choosing anyone but Murton makes this whole thing a farce!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

First, are we disqualifying players who have played a certain amount of time in the major leagues?

 

No. Personally, I won't vote for Cedeño or Murton because they didn't play as much as others like Patterson or Sing (it's not their fault for being promoted to the big leagues but having to sit on the bench, but what Patterson and Sing did is more impressive because they had more minor league ABs). I personally won't be considering major league stats because the award is for minor league accomplishments.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

First, are we disqualifying players who have played a certain amount of time in the major leagues?

 

No. Personally, I won't vote for Cedeño or Murton because they didn't play as much as others like Patterson or Sing (it's not their fault for being promoted to the big leagues but having to sit on the bench, but what Patterson and Sing did is more impressive because they had more minor league ABs). I personally won't be considering major league stats because the award is for minor league accomplishments.

 

Even without his major league numbers, Murton has put up a .400 OBP at every level this season. AA, AAA ? It doesn't matter to Annie! He gets the job done.

[Laura]

Nolasco v. Sean Gallagher: As has been stated before, Nolasco is so good that he never had to play in the low A Midwest league.

That's because Nolasco was toiling away in Boise his age 19 year.

 

By that reasoning, Gallagher is so good that he never had to play in Boise. :tongue:

 

Sure Gallagher's put up some nice numbers in Low A ball. But really, who hasn't? Justin Jones put up a great year at Lansing, now he's in obscurity, long gone for Nomar.

 

If Justin Jones year in Low-A was great, Gallagher's year is off the charts.

Yr Tm Age Org W L ERA  G  GS IP    H R  ER HR BB SO WP  h9  hr9  w9 k9 whip 
04 QC 19  Min 0 2 5.31  7  4 20.1 20 17 12  2 14 17  3  8.9 .9  6.2 7.5 1.67 
04 LA 19  Chc 3 3 3.78 15 15 64.1 62 33 27  6 22 59  4  8.7 .8  3.1 8.3 1.31 

 

Billy Petrick put up a fine season in A ball, now his arm is about to fall off. Andy Sisco had a good year at Lansing, then sucked it up at Daytona, and now he may never be a starting pitcher again.

 

Here's Petrick's year. Not as good.

 

Andy Sisco had a good year at Lansing, then sucked it up at Daytona, and now he may never be a starting pitcher again.

Here's Sisco's year (age 20). Very good year, worthy competition.

 

Jason Wylie dominated Lansing as a closer, now he has a 4+ ERA for Daytona 2 years later. The list goes on and on, pitching well in the Midwest league just doesn't cut it like doing it in AA.

 

BTW, here's Carlos Zambrano's year in low-A. Not as good as Gallagher's year -- Big Z was a year younger -- but he seems to have avoided the grim fate of the previous examples.

 

Of course, after that year in low-A, Big Z skipped right up to West Tenn, dominated, and went right on to Iowa. Apparently he didn't have much to prove in West Tenn.

 

The Cubs obviously saw this and didn't demean Ricky's talents. Nolasco dominated a much higher level at a similar age appropriate-ness(that's a word). Let's see if Sean can make it to the big boys in AA before we anoint him with anything.

 

Why would anyone demean Nolasco's talents?

 

Gallagher has pretty much pitched his way into recognition. He wasn't exactly a top-round golden-boy headed into the season.

 

As anyone can clearly see, Ricky Nolasco is the most deserving candidate for Minor League POY. He's been doing it for years, dominating levels at a young age, and he deserves the respect of this award. Do the right thing, Vote for Carlos "Ricky" Enrique Nolasco!

 

Link plz for tshirts! (nice job)

 

I actually haven't voted yet, because I'm waiting to see if anyone can sway my vote. 8)

[Tim]

Nominations are now locked. Please go to the Polls section and vote for your player of choice!

[Tim]

The NSBB Minor League Player of the Year has been determined and will be announced this weekend.

 

I want to take the time to thank everyone who participated in the inagrual process. It was a last-minute decision to do this and next year we'll improve the process. But I think that this still turned out pretty well and I can't wait to share the full results with everyone!