Another minor league season is in the books, the second since the league was contracted to 120 full season affiliates. Below we'll go through the hitters and pitchers that had the best statistical seasons this year. Minor league environments also vary fairly heavily, from hitters' havens like Reading and El Paso to pitchers' paradises in Palm Beach and Brooklyn, so that is of course taken into account. I did not take into account age relative to level or prospect status. A note on wRC+: Fangraphs wRC+ in the minor leagues is not park adjusted, so I used Baseball America's 2021 park adjustment factors to do so. The Guardians lead the way with four players (all pitchers) placed in this article, while the Yankees were the only other team with multiple names, again both pitchers.
2022 Minor League Position Player of the Year
Winner: OF Esteury Ruiz, Padres/Brewers (AA San Antonio, AAA El Paso, AAA Nashville)
Stat line: 16 HR, .332/.447/.526, 85 SB, 156 wRC+, 94/66 K/BB in 114 games.
Your 2022 Minor League Player of the Year is Esteury Ruiz, whose 2022 numbers just boggle the mind after leading all qualified full season minor leaguers in stolen bases and on-base percentage while still finding the time to knock 51 extra base hits. Coming into 2022, he already had 158 career stolen bases in 407 minor league games, including 36 in 2021, but he had never hit more than a dozen home runs in a season and had posted three straight seasons with an OPS below .740. All that changed this year, when he ran wild for 85 stolen bases in 114 games, a full fourteen ahead of second place Luis Valdez at 71 (who by the way slashed just .265/.339/.339 in 115 games). This year, eighteen different players stole at least fifty bases, and not only was Ruiz way out in front in that tally, but the next best OPS in that group was from Jonatan Clase at .837, .137 points behind Ruiz's .974. Most of his damage came at AA San Antonio, where he slashed .344/.474/.611 with nine home runs and 37 stolen bases in 49 games, but he was still an extremely tough out after a promotion to AAA, where he slashed .323/.428/.467 with 48 stolen bases in 65 games sandwiched around a trade from San Diego to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader deal. The 23 year old filled up the box score to a degree unmatched by anybody else in the minors this year, and for that reason he is the Minor League Player of the Year.
Runner-up: OF Vaun Brown, Giants (Low A San Jose, High A Eugene, AA Richmond)
Stat line: 23 HR, .346/.437/.623, 44 SB, 178 wRC+, 119/47 K/BB in 103 games.
Vaun Brown is a very close runner up to Esteury Ruiz, and a year ago almost he certainly did not expect to be in this position. A tenth round pick as a 23 year old fifth year senior out of Division II Florida Southern, Brown signed for just $7,500 with the primary purpose of being a money saver for fourth rounder Eric Silva. Both Brown and the $1.5 million man started off at Low A San Jose this year, but it was Brown who stole the show by slashing .346/.427/.636 with 14 home runs in 59 games to earn a promotion to High A Eugene. He picked up right where he left off, slashing .350/.454/.611 with nine home runs in 43 games, and got to play one game at AA Richmond to close out the season. The end result was a staggering season in which he led all qualified full season minor leaguers with a 1.059 OPS despite San Jose and Eugene playing relatively neutral in terms of being hitter or pitcher friendly. In addition to that huge OPS, he was one of six minor leaguers to join the 20/40 home run/stolen base club, and Reds prospect Elly De La Cruz (28/47) was the only player to both out-homer and out-steal him. Now Brown is on the older side, having turned 24 in June by nature of having been a fifth year senior sign, but he could not possibly have had a better debut and looks on track to become a contributor in San Francisco as soon as late next year. Matt Carpenter signed as a fifth year senior, too.
Honorable mention: C Endy Rodriguez, Pirates (High A Greensboro, AA Altoona, AAA Indianapolis)
Stat line: 25 HR, .323/.407/.590, 4 SB, 157 wRC+, 101/60 K/BB in 125 games.
Henry Davis is the catcher of the future in Pittsburgh, or at least he's supposed to be after going first overall in the 2021 draft out of Louisville. However, Davis battled injuries this year and it was a 21-22 year old Dominican backstop named Endy Rodriguez who at the very least will give him some competition back there, if he hasn't already started to take the lead. He signed with the Mets for just $10,000 in 2018 and came over to the Pirates as an under the radar piece in the Joe Musgrove/David Bednar deal, and quietly began to make a name for himself in his new organization with solid years in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 minor league season was cancelled). The Pirates sent him to High A Greensboro to start the season and he began to break out, slashing .302/.392/.544 with 16 home runs over 88 games in a hitter-friendly environment, but the real breakout came after he was promoted to AA Altoona, believe it or not. In 37 games between Altoona (31 games) and AAA Indianapolis (6 games), he slashed .371/.444/.693 with nine home runs in much more neutral environments, and now suddenly Davis may not feel too comfortable as the team's best catching prospect. The switch-hitting backstop finished fourth among all qualified full season minor league hitters with his .996 OPS, which is simply incredible when you consider that J.T. Realmuto led all major league catchers at .820 and finished in 25th place on the overall leaderboard. Catchers don't hit like MVP's, but Endy Rodriguez did just that this season.
Others
SS Addison Barger (Blue Jays): 26 HR, .308/.378/.555, 9 SB, 150 wRC+ in 124 games
SS Elly De La Cruz (Reds): 28 HR, .304/.359/.586, 47 SB, 144 wRC+ in 120 games
SS Gunnar Henderson (Orioles): 19 HR, .297/.416/.531, 22 SB, 154 wRC+ in 112 games
1B Niko Kavadas (Red Sox): 26 HR, .280/.443/.547, 1 SB, 170 wRC+ in 120 games
1B Matt Mervis (Cubs): 36 HR, .309/.379/.605, 2 SB, 151 wRC+ in 137 games
2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Winner: RHP Andrew Painter, Phillies (Low A Clearwater, High A Jersey Shore, AA Reading)
Stat line: 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 2.02 FIP, 155/25 K/BB in 103.2 innings.
The top high school pitcher in the 2021 class for much of the cycle, Andrew Painter gave us all a taste with six scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League last year before breaking out with an incredible 2022. The Phillies sent him to Low A Clearwater like most advanced high schoolers, so he just went out and struck out 46.3% of his opponents in 38.2 innings and earned a quick promotion to High A Jersey Shore not long after his 19th birthday. There, all he did was drop his ERA from 1.40 at Low A to 0.98 at High A over 36.2 innings, earning a second promotion all the way to AA Reading where he was one of the youngest players in the league. The end result was the second lowest ERA, the and lowest WHIP, and by far the lowest FIP among all minor league pitchers who threw at least one hundred innings. He struck out 38.7% of those he faced all year long with just a 6.2.% walk rate, and overall it's not even close in my opinion. Andrew Painter was, with daylight, the best pitcher in the minors this year.
Runner-up: RHP Tanner Bibee, Guardians (High A Lake County, AA Akron)
Stat line: 2.17 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 2.80 FIP, 167/27 K/BB in 132.2 innings.
Between Tanner Bibee, Jack Leftwich, Will Dion, Gavin Williams, Davis Sharpe, and many others, it was a banner year for Guardians pitching prospects and Bibee was right there leading the pack. A fifth round pick out of Cal State Fullerton, he went straight to High A Lake County and showed well in twelve starts, earning a promotion to AA Akron midway through the season. Though his strikeout rate dropped from 37.2% to 28.4%, his overall numbers were actually better after the promotion as he dropped his ERA from 2.59 to 1.83 while his WHIP dropped from 1.07 to 0.88. Overall, he was one of just three minor league pitchers (min. 100 innings) with a FIP below 3.00, a WHIP below 1.00, and a strikeout rate above 30% – the other two are Andrew Painter and Jack Leftwich, the other two starters to earn write ups.
Honorable mention: RHP Jack Leftwich, Guardians (Low A Lynchburg, High A Lake County)
Stat line: 2.72 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 2.49 FIP, 140/24 K/B in 109.1 innings.
Jack Leftwich and Tanner Bibee were very close in their numbers, and Bibee just got the edge because he threw 23.1 more innings and was a level above Leftwich coming from the same draft class. Though he started off down at Low A Lynchburg, it's actually one of the most hitter-friendly stadiums at that level and he still managed a 2.39 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP before his mid-season promotion the day after Bibee went to Akron. Replacing Bibee in the Lake County rotation, he continued to put up strong numbers and finished along with Painter and Bibee in that 100 inning, 3.00 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 30% strikeout club. Painter led the minors in strikeout minus walk rate at 32.4%, but Leftwich finished third at 27.4% (and Bibee fourth). After an up and down career at Florida, it was a huge year for the Orlando native.
Others
RHP Luis Devers (Cubs): 1.91 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.90 FIP, 122/26 K/BB in 117.2 innings
LHP Will Dion (Guardians): 2.11 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 3.16 FIP, 157/34 K/BB in 128 innings
RHP Bryce Miller (Mariners): 3.16 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 3.49 FIP, 163/46 K/BB in 133.2 innings
RHP Brandon Pfaadt (Diamondbacks): 3.83 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 4.21 FIP, 218/33 K/BB in 167 innings
RHP Gavin Stone (Dodgers): 1.48 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 2.44 FIP, 168/44 K/BB in 121.2 innings
2022 Minor League Reliever of the Year
LHP Joe LaSorsa, Rays (High A Bowling Green, AA Montgomery)
Stat line: 2.33 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 2.93 FIP, 87/10 K/BB in 73.1 innings.
Andrew Painter was the runaway winner for Minor League Pitcher of the Year, but the reliever market was much closer with no one reliever breaking away from the pack. Rays reliever Joe LaSorsa, who was an eighteenth round pick out of St. John's in 2019, came the closest in a surprise breakout season. Few pitchers in professional baseball where better about limiting baserunners, with LaSorsa's 0.82 WHIP finishing third among all minor league pitchers who threw at least fifty innings (and first among all with at least 62 innings). 25 pitchers (min. 50 innings) walked fewer than 4% of their opponents, but LaSorsa was one of just three in that group to strike out greater than 30% and the only one to also keep his ERA below 3.00. He was especially deadly against lefties, who slashed a hapless .144/.198/.267 against him while striking out 39.6% of the time.
Others
LHP Edgar Barclay (Yankees): 1.74 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 2.22 FIP, 86/20 K/BB in 67.1 innings
RHP Carson Coleman (Yankees): 2.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 2.48 FIP, 95/19 K/BB in 63.1 innings
RHP Davis Sharpe (Guardians): 2.02 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 3.16 FIP, 87/12 K/BB in 71.1 innings
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