McPherson wins Round-Tripper award

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Dallas McPherson of the Albuquerque Isotopes rebounded from missing the 2007 season while recovering from back surgery to lead Minor League Baseball with 42 homers this year and win the Round-Tripper Award. McPherson will receive the Joe Bauman Trophy and a check for $8,400, representing $200 for each homer he hit, at the Baseball Winter Meetings™ in Las Vegas in December.

The Albuquerque Isotopes third baseman signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent in January. The Angels originally drafted him in the second round in 2001 out of The Citadel.

McPherson showed he was healthy from the start of the season, homering in his first three games and 10 times overall in April. After hitting seven roundtrippers in May, he homered 11 times in both June and July. McPherson tied a Pacific Coast League record when he hit homers in seven consecutive games from June 18-27.

McPherson, 28, received the J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Baseball Player of the Year in 2004, after hitting a combined .317 with 40 homers and 126 RBIs between Arkansas and Salt Lake in the Angels' system.

Two Class A sluggers, Christopher Carter of Stockton and Greensboro's Michael Stanton, made late charges attempting to become Minor League Baseball's top slugger. Carter and Stanton each clubbed 11 home runs in August and finished tied for second overall with 39.

Classification leaders in home runs in the domestic leagues receive $500, provided they are not the overall winner. Michael Wilson of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx led Double-A with 27 homers, one more than three players.

Carter was awarded the Class A prize based on the RBI tiebreaker. The Stockton designated hitter drove in 104 runs, compared to 97 for Stanton.

Catcher Miguel Fermin of Jamestown claimed the Short-Season/Rookie cash award by hitting 17 home runs, two more than Luis Jimenez of Orem and Angel Morales of Elizabethton.