Diaz earns Brewers' top Minor League honor

Isan Diaz is the eighth of the Brewers' Major League-best eight Top 100 prospects. This year, he certainly wasn't the least of them.

On Saturday, Milwaukee named Diaz -- its eighth-ranked prospect -- the organization's Minor League Player of the Year. Right-hander Brandon Woodruff was tabbed Pitcher of the Year.

Recently elevated to MLB.com's No. 99 overall prospect, Diaz shined in his first season since joining the Brewers in a trade with Arizona for infielder Jean Segura. The 70th overall pick in the 2014 Draft out of a Massachusetts High School, Diaz slashed .264/.358/.469 and belted a career-high 20 homers while driving in 75 runs in 135 games for Class A Wisconsin. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound shortstop led the Midwest League in homers and ranked second with 72 walks. 

"Just knowing who I was as a player, I knew I could hit and I knew I could do a lot of good things on the field," Diaz told MLB.com. "Going out and giving 100 percent, it was just something that clicked for me."

Diaz will participate in the Arizona Fall League next month as a member of the Salt River Rafters.

Woodruff went 14-9 with a 2.68 ERA over 158 innings in 28 starts between Class A Advanced Brevard County and Double-A Biloxi. The 23-year-old led the Minors with 173 strikeouts while issuing 40 walks and limiting opponents to a .209 average.

Woodruff lost his brother, Blake, to an ATV accident on July 15. He fired a gem for Biloxi in his first start back on July 24 en route to finishing the month with a 0.29 ERA and 42 punchouts in five starts totaling 30 2/3 innings. The Mississippi native closed the season by yielding one run on eight hits over 22 innings in his last three starts.

"I just go out each and every outing and treat it like it's my last," Woodruff told MLB.com.