Three's Company! Trio of Blue Wahoos Players Honored By Twins

So close in age, Luis Arraez, Randy Dobnak and Trevor Larnach together played significant roles in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos success last season and figure prominently in the Minnesota Twins future.
All three were honored with separate, major awards last Thursday during the Twins' 15th annual Diamond Awards dinner event in Minneapolis, which began the TwinsFest weekend.
Arraez, who dazzled last April as the Blue Wahoos' third baseman, before his meteoric rise to the big leagues where he became the Twins' top hitter in 2019, received the Bill Boni Award for being the Twins Most Outstanding Rookie. The award is named in honor of the former St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press executive sports editor.
Arraez, 22, a native of San Felipe, Venezuela, provided the Twins instant impact when making his major league debut on May 18, then returning on June 18 and finishing the season. He wowed with a .334 batting average and set Twins rookie records for fewest strikeouts (29), highest on-base percentage (.399).
His batting average was the fifth highest by any 22-year-old MLB player in the past 100 years. It put Arraez in company with Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio during their own rookie seasons in the major leagues.
Dobnak, 24, who pitched in 11 games last season for the Blue Wahoos, then made his own big league debut with the Twins to complete an improbable journey from discovery in an Independent League, received the Jim Rantz Award for being the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Larnach, 22, the Twins' 2018 first round pick from Oregon State, joined the Blue Wahoos in the second half of the 2019 season and became an everyday starter as corner outfielder. He earned the Sherry Robertson Award as the Twins Minor League Player of the Year. Larnach hit .295 for the Blue Wahoos in 43 games with seven homers and 22 RBI.
The Twins Diamond Awards event was held at The Depot in Minneapolis. It is a benefit event for medical research at the University of Minnesota. The next day, all of the award winners, as well as the entire Twins' major league roster, was part of the weekend TwinsFest at Target Field, which was attended by seven members of the Blue Wahoos front office staff.
Last year was the first season for the Blue Wahoos as the Twins' Double-A affiliate in the Southern League.
The three 2019 Blue Wahoos players were part of an awards event led by veteran designated hitter Nelson Cruz, winner of the Calvin R. Griffith Award for being the Twins most valuable player in 2019. Cruz also received the Bob Allison Award for being the Twins player in 2019 who best exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity competitive spirit and leadership. He also picked up the Twins community service award that night.
Left-hander Taylor Rogers was honored as Twins pitcher of the year. Outfielder Byron Buxton was given the Jim Kaat Award for being the team's defensive player of the year.
Catcher Mitch Garver, who played a few games in Pensacola for the Blue Wahoos on an injury rehab assignment last season, received award for being the most improved Twins player.
Before making their big league debuts with the Twins, both Arraez and Dobnak helped the Blue Wahoos toward a 76-63 overall record and firth straight appearance in the Southern League playoffs. The five appearances match the second-best streak in Southern League history and included the Blue Wahoos setting a franchise record for best start with eight consecutive series wins.
Dobnak was pitching for an Independent League in Michigan in 2017 while earning extra money as an Uber driver. After being signed that year by the Twins, his career has rocketed. In 2019 he advanced four levels from Fort Myers (High-A) to the Blue Wahoos, to the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A) to pitching for the Twins as starter in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.
Since he was signed in July 2017, he has gone 24-9 with a 2.57 ERA (297.1 IP, 85 ER), 60 walks and 216 strikeouts in 54 games (45 starts) in the Twins minor league system.