M's Announce 2023 Minor League Award Winners

SEATTLE, Wash. -- Seattle Mariners Director of Player Development Justin Toole announced today the following minor league award winners for the 2023 season:

• Lazaro Montes, OF, Ken Griffey Jr. Co-Hitter of the Year
• Jake Scheiner, INF, Ken Griffey Jr. Co-Hitter of the Year
• Reid VanScoter, LHP, Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year
• Cole Young, INF, Alvin Davis “Mr. Mariner” Award
• Harry Ford, C, Dan Wilson Community Service Award
• Brock Rodden, INF, Edgar Martinez “Dominate The Zone” Tournament Award (Hitter)
• Holden Laws, LHP, “Dominate The Zone” Tournament Award (Pitcher)
• Zach Vincej, MGR, Dave Henderson Staff Member of the Year

Montes, 18, batted .303 (73x241) with 58 runs, 19 doubles, 2 triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBI and 54 walks, getting on base at a .440 clip, slugging .560 with a 1.001 OPS in 70 games between the ACL Mariners and Class-A Modesto in 2023. The left-handed hitting outfielder was the #12 ranked prospect by MLB.com coming into 2023.

Montes posted a 1.007 OPS in 37 games with the Arizona Complex League Mariners before a midseason promotion to Modesto in early August. In 33 games with the Nuts, the 6-foot-4, 256-pound outfielder hit .321 (42x131) with 7 homers, 30 RBI and a .994 OPS. Montes helped lead Modesto to a California League Championship, ending the season on a 15-game on-base streak en route to the team’s 2-game sweep over Rancho Cucamonga in the Cal League Championship from Sept. 17-19. Montes was originally signed by Seattle as an international free agent out of Cuba on Jan. 15, 2022.

Scheiner, 28, appeared in 124 games with the Rainiers this season, batting .252 (116x460) with 91 runs, 22 doubles, 3 triples, 30 home runs, 105 RBI and 81 walks, getting on base at a .369 clip, slugging .509 with an .878 OPS. The infielder was tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in home runs (30), ranking 2nd in RBI (105), 7th in slugging percentage (.509) and 8th in total bases (234).

Scheiner has registered 105 RBI in back-to-back seasons, also doing so for Double-A Arkansas in 2022. He was named Mariners Minor League Hitter of the Month in May, batting .360 (32x89) with 7 homers and 20 RBI during the month.

VanScoter, 24, went 10-6 with a 3.27 ERA (52 ER, 143.1 IP) with 35 walks and 157 strikeouts in 25 starts with High-A Everett. The left-hander tossed 13 quality starts and recorded a 4.49 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

VanScoter registered a season-high 12 strikeouts on Sept. 4 vs. Eugene. The Upstate New York native was selected by Seattle in the 5th round of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University.

Young, 20, has been named 2023 recipient of the Alvin Davis “Mr. Mariner” Award for his exemplary play and leadership skills both on and off the field this season.

Young hit .277 (137x495) with 92 runs, 34 doubles, 9 triples, 11 home runs, 62 RBI, 22 stolen bases and 88 walks, getting on base at a .399 clip, slugging .449 with an .848 OPS in 126 games between Class-A Modesto and High-A Everett in 2023.

The #1 prospect in the Mariners organization (MLB.com) started the season with Modesto, posting an .825 OPS in 78 games before a midseason promotion to the AquaSox. In 48 games with Everett, the left-handed hitting infielder hit .292 (56x192) with 6 homers and 23 RBI. Young was selected by Seattle in the 1st round (21st overall) of the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of North Allegheny High School in Pennsylvania.

Ford, 20, has been named 2023 recipient of the Dan Wilson Community Service Award for his dedication in giving back to the community while playing for the Everett AquaSox this season.

“Harry is the embodiment of community involvement. It’s who he is,” said Mariners Hall of Famer Dan Wilson. “He’s eager to give back at community events and you can often times find him engaging with fans on and off the field. He truly understands his baseball platform and he loves to humbly use that platform to inspire and help others. A well-deserved honor for a great player and person.”

Ford thrived in his third professional season, batting .257 (114x444) with a .410 on-base percentage in 118 games with High-A Everett. The right-handed hitting catcher scored 89 runs with 24 doubles, 4 triples, 15 homers, 67 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 103 walks, posting an .841 OPS.

In 3 minor league seasons in the Mariners organization, Harry is batting .267 (237x889) with 190 runs, 54 doubles, 8 triples, 29 homers, 142 RBI, 50 stolen bases and 200 walks, getting on-base at a .416 clip, slugging .443 with an .859 OPS.

The #2 prospect in the Mariners organization represented Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic in March, 2023. The Kennesaw, Georgia native was selected by Seattle in the 1st round (12th overall) of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of North Cobb High School (GA).

Rodden, 23, has been named 2023 Edgar Martinez “Dominate the Zone” Tournament Award (Hitter) after being recognized as the hitter in the Mariners organization that best embodied the Dominate the Zone philosophy, instilling a team approach at the plate instead of an individual approach.

In 34 games during the 2023 season, Rodden hit .311 (47x151) with 33 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 20 RBI and 11 walks between the ACL Mariners and Class-A Modesto. The switch-hitting infielder was selected by Seattle in the 5th round of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Wichita State University (KS).

Laws, 23, has been named 2023 “Dominate the Zone” Tournament Award (Pitcher) as the pitcher in the Mariners organization that best embodied the Dominate the Zone philosophy.

In 36 relief appearances with Class-A Modesto in 2023, Laws went 4-4 with a 5.19 ERA (30 ER, 52.0 IP) with 13 walks and 66 strikeouts, registering 11.4 strikeouts-per-9 innings and a 5.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The southpaw was selected by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of South Granville High School (NC).

Vincej managed the Class-A Modesto Nuts to a California League Championship in his first year as skipper. The Nuts went 21-2 over their final 23 games of the season under Vincej, catapulting them to a Cal League Championship on Sept. 19. Modesto carried its second-half surge into the postseason, outscoring its opponents 36-14 over its final 3 games to claim the Cal League title. In 2023, the Nuts led the Cal League in runs scored (795) and OPS (.773).