Buscher, Slowey are tops for Twins

Parts of the potential future for the Minnesota Twins were recognized Thursday for their excellence in the recent past.

Third baseman Brian Buscher has been named the 2007 Sherry Robertson Award winner as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year, while right-handed pitcher Kevin Slowey has been selected as the 2007 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Major League standouts such as Kent Hrbek, David Ortiz, Joe Mauer and Francisco Liriano have been past recipients of these respective awards.

Buscher, 26, batted .309 (117-for-379) with 58 runs scored, 28 doubles, 14 home runs and 59 RBIs over 103 games (63 with Double-A New Britain in the Eastern League and 40 with Triple-A Rochester of the International League). He was named the Twins' Minor League Player of the Month for June after batting a combined .342 with 22 runs scored, four doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBIs in 32 games split between New Britain and Rochester.

After joining the Twins from Rochester on July 27, Buscher hit .244 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 33 games. Buscher originally was selected by Minnesota from the Giants in the 2006 Rule 5 Minor League Draft.

Slowey, 23, finished the 2007 season at 10-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 20 starts for Rochester. He allowed 110 hits with just 18 walks and 107 strikeouts during 133 2/3 innings pitched. The right-hander tossed five complete games, and was named the Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 25, after going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA with 13 strikeouts and two walks. Slowey was named to the International League Postseason All-Star team as the starting pitcher, as well as being selected the International League Pitcher of the Year.

Brad Havens was the last Minnesota pitcher to earn such an International League honor in 1984. Slowey posted a 4-1 record and 4.73 ERA in 13 games with the Twins last season.

The Sherry Robertson Award, named in honor of the Twins' first farm director, was established in 1970 to recognize the Twins' top Minor League performer each season. Beginning in 2002, the award began recognizing the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year while an additional award was created to recognize the Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. This award was named in honor of current Twins' Minor League director Jim Rantz.