Thursday, September 21, 2006

Biscuits sweep Tampa Bay awards

Biscuits won both of Tampa Bay's annual minor-league awards, the Devil Rays announced Thursday.

Shortstop Reid Brignac is the Rays' minor-league player of the year and Andy Sonnanstine is the pitcher of the year.

Brignac excelled at Class A Visalia before coming to Montgomery in early August and helping the Biscuits win the Southern League championship. The 20-year-old hit a combined .321 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs between the two stops. He was the California League's most valuable player.

Sonnanstine set an organizational record with 15 victories and also won two postseason games. In the regular season, he was 15-8 with a 2.67 ERA and had a nine-start win streak that included four shutouts. The four shutouts led the entire minor leagues for the season. The 23-year-old totaled 153 strikeouts in 185.2 innings. His workload ranks second on Tampa Bay's all-time list.

Sonnanstine was Montgomery's pitcher of the year and second baseman Elliot Johnson its top position player. Johnson hit .281 with a career-high 15 homers and 50 RBIs this year. He also scored a team-high 69 runs.

Former Biscuit Juan Salas won Class AAA Durham's pitcher's award. Salas did not allow an earned run in 34.2 innings for Montgomery before moving up to the Bulls. At Durham, Salas had a 1.57 ERA in 27 appearances and was promoted to the major leagues.

Tampa Bay's other winners ...
Durham Bulls
Player: INF/DH Kevin Witt
Visalia Oaks
Player: OF Fernando Perez
Pitcher: LH James Houser
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
Player: OF J.T. Hall
Pitcher: LH Jacob McGee
Hudson Valley Renegades
Player: OF Ryan Royster
Pitcher: RH Jeremy Hellickson
Princeton Rays
Player: C Nevin Ashley
Pitcher: LH Ryan Morse

1 comment:

Bubba-36109 said...

Smokies ink two-year deal with Cubs
MiLB

What is the grape vine saying about Mobile and West Tenn?