Tommy Hanson and David Francis Honored with MiLBY's

by gondeee on Oct 28, 2008 11:54 AM EDT in Braves Minor League News

The 2008 Minor League Baseball Yearly Awards, which I guess are now officially being called the MiLBY's, are being announced this week. First up are the best single game performances. Tommy Hanson wins for best single game performance, not for his 14-strikeout no-hitter in double-A, but for his opening day start in class-A advanced Myrtle Beach in which he struck out 13 while facing one over the minimum through five no-hit innings. Hanson was beat out for the award in double-A by another Tommy; Tommy Everidge drove in 10 runs with three homeruns while going 4-for-5 on May 26th. Really, that's more impressive than a no-hitter at double-A?

Another up and coming young pitcher for the Braves, 2008 12th-round pick David Francis, won the award for best single-game performance for class-A short-season. In David's third professional start he struck out 16 in a combined seven-inning no-hitter.

"This is kind of surreal," Francis said when told he'd won the MiLBY. "I didn't know there were awards for stuff like this."

You and me both kid.

There are more awards coming the rest of the week. Best Reliever is up tomorrow and Craig Kimbrel has a chance at winning an award there for his work at Danville or Rome. Best Starter is announced on Thursday, and certainly Hanson could see another award fall into his lap for his work at Myrtle Beach. The awards finish up Friday with Best Hitter, where Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward certainly have a shot.

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While I love Freeman and Heyward, Matt Weiters is by far and away the best hitter in the minors. Although they could possibly take the single A award…not that I did any research in finding their competition, though.

by soup du jour on Oct 28, 2008 1:20 PM EDT reply actions

I’d agree about Wieters, he’d be hard to argue against. But you’re right, Freeman and Heyward have a chance at the A ball award, thought within their own league Mike Stanton kind of pops out off the top of my head. 39 homers is a lot.

by cbwilk on Oct 28, 2008 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't see how you can pass Stanton for that award...

he’s got more raw power than anyone in the minors at any level. Everything else needs work, but man is that kid strong.

by BraveBronco0121 on Oct 28, 2008 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

The scary thing is, when you see him in person, you realize he could get stronger. He’s like 6’6" and actually pretty skinny. He looks like a wide receiver more than anything and you could imagine him adding 30 pounds of muscle to his frame. He could definitely be something special.

by cbwilk on Oct 28, 2008 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions

On that note

I can’t think of many hitters I’ve ever seen in the big leagues who are that tall. It’s a lot of strike zone to cover.

by BraveBronco0121 on Oct 28, 2008 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Richie Sexton is 6’7" and we know how that’s turned out. But a lot of guys are pretty big. Chipper’s a tall 6’3" and guys like Ryan Howard (6’4"), Joe Mauer (6’5"), Matt Holliday (6’4"), Josh Hamilton (6’4"), Justin Morneau (6’4"), Miguel Cabrera (6’4"), and Adam Dunn (6’6") have had a fair amount of success as taller players. Heck, Dale Murphy was 6’5".

I checked and Stanton is actually listed at 6’5" and Derek Lee, also 6’5", is a really good physical comparison for him. He was an outfielder early in his career too.

by cbwilk on Oct 28, 2008 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Nice info there.

Looking at that list and his strikeouts, maybe the next Adam Dunn?

by BraveBronco0121 on Oct 29, 2008 7:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Actually, Adam Dunn never really struck out that much in A ball. The year he played at Dayton, which is the equivalent to Greensboro, he struck out 101 times in a few more games than what Stanton played in.
Stanton struck out 153 times and walked 58 times in 125 games. Of the guys above, Derrek Lee struck out 130 times and walked 49 times in 128 games in 1995 at Rancho Cucamango which is actually A+, Ryan Howard struck out 145 times and walked 66 in 135 games in the same league as Stanton in 2002, so maybe he’s more comparable to those guys.

by cbwilk on Oct 29, 2008 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions

As always, good info.

The strikeouts, despite this guy’s age, do scare me a little. They’re definitely something he’ll have to iron out as he moves through the minors. Ryan Howard and Derrek Lee have had rather different career paths – Lee seems to have kept the Ks at acceptable levels in the Majors, where Howard still struggles to make good contact consistently. Lee is also a far superior athlete when compared to Ryan “Mr. Big Philly Cheesesteak” Howard, and a better defender.

by BraveBronco0121 on Oct 29, 2008 11:10 AM EDT up reply actions

The change in the expectations of younger hitters over the last twenty years is fascinating. It used to be that you expected a guy to strike out a lot when he was younger and become a better hitter, part of that meaning someone who doesn’t struck out a ton, but as strikeouts have become increasingly acceptable, ironically a young guy that strikes out a lot has become worrisome. Strikeouts as a whole are more acceptable, provided the hitter has power, but when a teenager does it, somebody who maybe doesn’t know any better, people want to throw these red flags all over him. To me, strikeouts in your teens aren’t a big deal, provided that a player has good hitting instructors and a desire to become an all around hitter.

by cbwilk on Oct 29, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions