Snell Lands Baseball America's Top Honor

Durham Bulls LHP Blake Snell has been named Baseball America's 2015 Minor League Player of the Year. He becomes just the ninth pitcher in 35 years to claim the honor. Past winners include Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and former World Series MVP Josh Beckett. The Baseball America award joins several other accolades bestowed on the minor league ERA leader, as Snell also claimed the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year nod and was named Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season by the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

A supplemental first-round pick in 2011 out of Shoreline, Wash., Snell vaulted from Class A Advanced Charlotte to Double-A Montgomery and then to Triple-A Durham, where he finished the season. He is the fifth Durham Bull to win the award, joining outfielders Andruw Jones (1996), Rocco Baldelli (2002) and Delmon Young (2005) and righthander Jeremy Hellickson (2010), who was the last pitcher to win the award. Snell is the first lefthanded pitcher to win the award since the Rockies' Jeff Francis in 2004.

"Last year, Blake was just another pitching prospect, but he combined development strides with performance like no one else in the minors in 2015," said John Manuel, editor in chief of Baseball America. "His season ranks with the best performances by a pitcher in the last decade, as he was stingy with runs and profligate with strikeouts."

Snell, 22, opened the season with a 46-inning scoreless streak and went on to lead the minor leagues in ERA at 1.41, the lowest mark since Justin Verlander's 1.29 ERA in 2005. Overall, Snell went 15-4, 1.41, striking out 163 in 134 innings. He allowed just 84 hits, limiting opponents to a .182 average (best in the minors among starters), and walked 53 while posting a 1.02 WHIP. He tied for fourth in the minors in wins and strikeouts and ranked ninth in WHIP.

After joining the Bulls on July 24, the southpaw proceeded to go 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA in nine starts. From his Triple-A debut through the end of the season, Snell led the International League with a .187 opponent's average, and ranked second on the circuit in wins (6), ERA (1.83) and strikeouts (57). Over his nine starts with Durham he allowed one earned run or fewer eight times, while finishing the season by going unbeaten over his final six starts.

BASEBALL AMERICA MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNER

1981 • Mike Marshall, 1b, Dodgers

1982 • Ron Kittle, of, White Sox

1983 • Dwight Gooden, rhp, Mets

1984 • Mike Bielecki, rhp, Pirates

1985 • Jose Canseco, of, Athletics

1986 • Gregg Jefferies, ss, Mets

1987 • Gregg Jefferies, ss, Mets

1988 • Tom Gordon, rhp, Royals

1989 • Sandy Alomar, c, Padres

1990 • Frank Thomas, 1b, White Sox

1991 • Derek Bell, of, Blue Jays

1992 • Tim Salmon, of, Angels

1993 • Manny Ramirez, of, Indians

1994 • Derek Jeter, ss, Yankees

1995 • Andruw Jones, of, Braves

1996 • Andruw Jones, of, Braves

1997 • Paul Konerko, 1b, Dodgers

1998 • Eric Chavez, 3b, Athletics

1999 • Rick Ankiel, lhp, Cardinals

2000 • Jon Rauch, rhp, White Sox

2001 • Josh Beckett, rhp, Marlins

2002 • Rocco Baldelli, of, Devil Rays

2003 • Joe Mauer, c, Twins

2004 • Jeff Francis, lhp, Rockies

2005 • Delmon Young, of, Devil Rays

2006 • Alex Gordon, 3b, Royals

2007 • Jay Bruce, of, Reds

2008 • Matt Wieters, c, Orioles

2009 • Jason Heyward, of, Braves

2010 • Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Rays

2011 • Mike Trout, of, Angels

2012 • Wil Myers, of, Royals

2013 • Byron Buxton, of, Twins

2014 • Kris Bryant, 3b, Cubs

2015 • Blake Snell, lhp, Rays