Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Batter’s Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year

Batter’s Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year

Hearty congratulations to Alexis Rios, our 2003 Batter’s Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year.

Alexis Rios had a simply spectacular 2003 season with New Haven in the AA Eastern League. His exploits have been recounted over and over again here at Batter’s Box, and are fully summarized over at Rios’s Blue Jays Farm Report page. Rios was the MVP of the Eastern League, a finalist for Baeball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, and won the Eastern League batting title. Rios led the Ravens to the EL’s Northern Division crown.

Rios’s numbers were terrific all around. His .352 batting average and 181 hits were not only the best in the Eastern League, they were the top figures in all of AA. His .402 on-base percentage and .521 slugging percentage placed him in the top five in his league both categories. In the meantime, he patrolled centerfield with great efficiency.

2003 proved to be a magnificent explosion onto the national stage by Alexis, one that he continued in winning the RBI crown in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he hit an eye-popping .348/.392/.684 for league champions Caguas, and finished second in both batting average and home runs. The winter league season began after our vote, but it showed that the confidence of the Batter’s Box readers was far from misplaced - he hit more home runs in a 39-game winter season than he did in 127 games at New Haven. There can be no doubt that Rios is still improving, still growing.

Despite his amazing season, picking Rios was not necessarily obvious. Though he received a majority of the votes cast, Rios was part of a very strong field of candidates, including second-place finisher Guillermo Quiroz, Rios’s teammate at New Haven and one of the game’s top catching prospects. The names in this vote bode well for the team’s future.


Voting Breakdown
 
Alexis Rios, New Haven        56%
Guillermo Quiroz, New Haven   19%
Vito Chiaravalloti, Auburn     6%
David Bush, Dunedin/New Haven  6%

Others receiving votes : Jason Arnold, New Haven/Syracuse; Jamie Vermilyea, Auburn/Dunedin; Gabe Gross, New Haven/Syracuse; Jesse Harper, Dunedin.

Congratulations to all the players and thanks to all the voters.

Posted by Craig B on Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 03:42 AM EST.

Batter’s Box Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year | 7 comments | Create New Account

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_Dean - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 03:51 PM EST (#78400) #

Vito is a surprise but I guess the award was for minor league player of the year and not necessarily prospect of the year. I think Rios is an excellent choice as is recognition of Quiroz. They are both very highly regarded prospects and are expected to contribute in the near future.

Craig B - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 03:56 PM EST (#78401) #

As one of the small minority who voted for Vito, let me say that it was indeed for Minor League Player of the Year, and not for "top prospect" or anything like that. Vito did play in a short-season league, but he dominated his league in a way that Rios or Quiroz did not, though both were certainly among the EL's five best players.

_Dean - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 04:22 PM EST (#78402) #

When comparing the ages of Rios & Vito and their respective leagues, Rios blows away Vito's accomplishments.

Craig B - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 04:47 PM EST (#78403) #

This isn't a prospect poll, I'm picking a Player of the Year. Let me use my own damn criteria. I think Vito had a better year because he won more ballgames for his team (given the length of the season).

A's accomplishment isn't greater than B's equal or better accomplishment just because he's younger. He may be a better player because he's in a tougher league, true, which is something I'm sure a lot of people thought of when picking Rios or Quiroz. Quite deservedly so, just not my criteria. Any of the guys who received votes would have been a deserving winner, they were all terrific.

_Dean - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 05:07 PM EST (#78404) #

Vito is a year older than Rios, playing three steps down, playing 1st base. Stats are great, I just looked at where they came from and agreed with Rios coming out on top.

_Roger Davis - Wednesday, February 18 2004 @ 08:53 PM EST (#78405) #

http://www.immune25.tv
We're lucky we had three guys, Rios, Vito & Quiroz considered for Player of the Year based on their fantastic performances. Most other clubs would drool over having even ONE of them.

To R, V & Q; congratulations gentlemen you are all worthy of being winners in my opinion.

_Oggman - Thursday, February 19 2004 @ 03:11 PM EST (#78406) #

Rios had a fantastic year, but that walk rate scares me a bit. A guy who displays such power in Winterball should have an OBP better than 44 pts higher than his AVG.

That being said, in Winterball they might not pitch around players as much as the majors, as people there are trying to earn jobs and want to blow people away.

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