Baltimore Orioles Announce 2018 Player Development Awards

BOWIE, Md. -  The Orioles announced the winners of their player development and scouting awards for 2018 Friday afternoon, featuring a trio of 2018 Baysox.

OF Cedric Mullins was billed as the club's top minor league player while LHP Keegan Akin was named one of the club's two top minor league pitchers.
The winners, along with RHP Dean Kremer, will be honored in an on-field ceremony on Saturday, September 15, before the game against the Chicago White Sox, with awards presented by Orioles Director of Scouting Gary Rajsich, Orioles Director of Minor League Operations Kent Qualls, and Orioles Special Advisor and Community Liaison Brooks Robinson.
Mullins, the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year, played in 109 games between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. Over 49 games with Bowie, he batted .313/.362/.512 (63-for-201) with 12 doubles, five triples, six home runs, 36 runs, and 28 RBI. He led the Baysox in hitting and was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for the week ending May 27.
Mullins was ranked as the Orioles' No. 9 prospect in Baseball America's Midseason prospect rankings. He was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on June 1 and played in 60 games for the Tides, batting .269/.333/.438 (65-for-242) with 17 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 41 runs, 19 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. Mullins was selected by the Orioles in the 13th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft.
He made his Major League debut on August 10, 2018 vs. Boston. He became the first player in Orioles history to record three hits in their Major League debut. He recorded five doubles in his first nine games, becoming the first Orioles player to do so since 2002. Over 29 games with the Orioles this season, Mullins has batted .240/.319/.394 (25-for-104) with seven doubles, three home runs, 17 runs scored, and six RBI.
Named Co-Pitcher of the Year with Frederick/Delmarva LHP Zac Lowther, Akin earned the Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year award by going 14-7 with a 3.27 ERA (50 ER/137.2 IP) and a career-high 142 strikeouts, 14 Quality Starts, and 25 starts for Double-A Bowie this season. He was named the 2018 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Akin led the Eastern League in wins, strikeouts, batting average against (.225), and SO/9 (9.28), and finished third in ERA. In 11 road starts, he went 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA (19 ER/66.1 IP) and 73 strikeouts.
He held left-handed batters to a .211 (35-for-166) average with 15 walks and 52 strikeouts. Right-handed batters hit .232 (79-for-340) with 43 walks and 90 strikeouts. He struck out a career-high 12 batters on May 1 at Erie, and had two total games with double digit strikeouts. He was selected as both a Mid-Season and Postseason Eastern League All-Star. He was also named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the period of August 13-19.
The Orioles will also recognize minor league strikeouts leader RHP Dean Kremer. Kremer led all minor league levels by striking out 178 batters across three different teams this season. He collected 114 strikeouts with Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga and 11 strikeouts with Double-A Tulsa in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, before being traded over to the Orioles organization and finishing the season with 53 strikeouts at Double-A Bowie.
He finished the season with a record of 10-5 and a 2.88 ERA (42 ER/131.1 IP) in 25 starts. After being acquired by Baltimore, he made eight starts for Bowie, going 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA (13 ER/45.1 IP). Kremer is currently ranked as the Orioles number 16 prospect according to MLB.com.
Additionally, Delmarva OF Zach Jarrett was named the Elrod Hendricks Minor League Community Service Award recipient, while Triple-A Norfolk Manager Ron Johnson received the Cal Ripken, Sr., Player Development Award. Area scout Rich Morales took home the Jim Russo Scout of the Year Award, while GCL Orioles trainer Adam Sparks earned the PBATS Gulf Coast League Trainer of the Year honor.