Biscuits Fill List of Rays End of Year Awards
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - After winning the second most games during the regular season in Biscuits history, the Biscuits have taken home the majority of the Rays end of the year awards, including Richie Shaffer, Blake Snell, Tyler Goeddel, Joey Rickard, Brad Schreiber and Mark Sappington.
Shaffer was selected as the Rays Minor League Hitter of the Year. The former 2012 first round pick started the season with the Biscuits before quickly moving up to AAA Durham where he continued his success at the plate. In addition to leading the system with 26 home runs in the minors, Shaffer debuted in the Major Leagues on August 3 and hit his first home run with the Rays as his first Big League hit one day later.
Snell dazzled the minor league landscape by starting the season with 46 consecutive scoreless innings and has been selected as the Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second season in a row. The former first round pick finished the season 15-4 with a minor league best 1.41 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 134 innings. Snell made 12 starts with the Biscuits going 6-2 with a 1.70 ERA.
Richie Shaffer and Blake Snell
Schreiber was selected as the Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year after finishing second in minor league baseball with 30 saves. The right-hander went undrafted out of Purdue before signing with the Rays in 2013. The Rays started Schreiber with High-A Charlotte where he saved 18 games with a 1.83 ERA before being promoted to the Biscuits in July, finishing with 12 saves in Double-A.
Rickard burst onto the scene in 2015 and has been selected as the Rays Best Minor League Base-runner. The speedy outfielder hit a career-best .321 across three levels while stealing 23 bases. Rickard played in 65 games with the Biscuits before getting his first career promotion to AAA Durham where he finished the season. While with the Bulls, Rickard hit .360 in 29 games with two triples.
Joey Rickard and Brad Schreiber
In addition to Sappington's success on the field, the hard-throwing right-hander has been recognized for his selfless work in the community as the Rays recipient of the Erik Walker Community Champion Award. The Peculiar, Missouri native constantly went out of his way to speak with young fans at the game while also making countless community appearances throughout the season.
Goeddel had a breakout season with Montgomery to earn the Biscuits Team MVP award. The former first rounder became only the second player in Biscuits history to finish the season with double-figures in doubles (17), triples (10), home runs (12) and stolen bases (28). On July 30, Goeddel launched three home runs to become the only player in franchise history to hit three long balls in one game.
The list of award winners did not stop with the six previously mentioned players. Jake Faria led the minor leagues with 17 wins and was selected as the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs Team MVP. The righty went 7-3 with a 2.99 ERA while with Montgomery. He also matched a Biscuits single-game record by striking out 14 on the Fourth of July.
Former-Biscuit Taylor Motter followed up his impressive season in 2014 in Montgomery with another strong campaign in AAA to be selected as the Durham Bulls Team MVP. The former seventeenth round pick hit .292 with 14 home runs and 72 runs driven in while finishing third in the minors with 43 doubles.
The Biscuits finished the 2015 season with 77 wins and earned a spot in the playoffs for the fourth time in 12 seasons. The Chattanooga Lookouts eliminated the Biscuits in the Southern League Division Series on Monday night.
The Rays award winners will be honored at Tropicana Field on Friday before the Rays game against the Baltimore Orioles.