Bell Named Pirates Minor League Player of the Year
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that Josh Bell is the recipient of the organization's 2016 Minor League Player of the Year Award. The Pirates' No. 3 prospect appeared in 114 games for Indianapolis this season, primarily at first base.
Bell's offensive production was among the best in the Pirates system while continuing his transition from outfielder to first baseman. He posted career highs in home runs (14), slugging (.468), and OPS (.850) this year and finished ranked 10th in the International League in hitting (.295) and fourth in OBP (.382).
The Irving, Texas, native led the club with 37 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games.
The 2016 campaign was full of memorable moments with Bell at the plate. On April 22, he became the first Tribe player to hit for the cycle since 2012 - recording a grand slam in the process. He collected another slam on Aug. 9 to notch multiple grand slams for the first time in Indy since 2010.
But those weren't his only slams of the season. Bell made his much-anticipated major league debut on July 8, making an instant splash. He went 2-for-2 with a grand slam in his first four plate appearances to open his big league career before returning to Indianapolis on July 16. The Bucs summoned him once again to Pittsburgh on Aug. 20 where he's batted .306 through his first 36 big league contests overall.
At the time of his first Pirates call-up, Bell was a viable IL triple crown candidate ranked among the league leaders in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.
Bell was first assigned to Indy on Aug. 1, 2015 and opened the 2016 campaign with the Tribe. Teammate Max Moroff was selected for the top Pirates farmhand honor last season.