2014 Blue Rock Christian Binford Named Kansas City's Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Wilmington, DE- The Royals announced on Thursday that former Wilmington Blue Rocks pitcher Christian Binford was named the Kansas City organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Binford was honored in large part thanks to his time in Wilmington. The right-hander spent the season's first three months with the Blue Crew, going 5-4 with a 2.40 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 82.2 innings pitched.
Binford was named a Carolina League All-Star and also pitched a scoreless inning for the U.S. Team in the SiriusXM Radio All-Star Futures Game at Target Field in July. At the time of his promotion to Double-A (June 30), he ranked 10th among Class A hurlers in ERA (2.40) and fifth in WHIP (1.00). He would spend most of the following two months at Double-A Northwest Arkansas before getting a second promotion to Triple-A Omaha. There he helped the Storm Chasers during their run to a Triple-A Championship, making three postseason appearances, which included starting the championship game against Pawtucket. Binford was originally selected by the Royals in the 30th round of the 2011 June Free Agent Draft.
Whit Merrifield, who played with the Blue Rocks in 2011 and 2012, was named the Royals Minor League Player of the Year. Merrifield split last season between Northwest Arkansas (AA) and Omaha (AAA), where he hit a combined .319 (154-for-483) with 41 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 79 runs scored. His 41 doubles were tied for sixth-most among all minor league players last season. The right-handed hitting outfielder earned Texas League All-Star honors, after starting the year with the Naturals, but was promoted to Omaha in June, where he hit .340 (109-for-321) over the final three months of the regular season.
The Blue Rocks, who drew 284,701 fans to Frawley Stadium in 2014 and averaged more than 4,400 patrons per game, have season seats and group packages for the 2015 season on sale now. The home opener is Thursday, April 16 at 6:35 p.m. and individual tickets for that or any other game this season will go on sale on Presidents Day. Fans should call 302-888-BLUE or visit BlueRocks.com for more information.
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