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Max Moroff, Yeudy Garcia win Pirates' top minor league awards

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

The Pirates have announced that they've named Max Moroff their minor league player of the year and Yeudy Garcia their minor league pitcher of the year.

Moroff is a somewhat surprising choice -- Josh Bell, for example, clearly had a better season, at least at the plate. Moroff has gotten good reviews for his defense at second, though, and he's made great strides offensively, improving his plate discipline and riding a .293 batting average and 70 walks to a terrific .374 OBP for Altoona this year. He didn't turn 22 until after the start of the season, either, so he was a good age for the level. Other top contenders for the award might have included Bell, Carlos Munoz, Austin Meadows and Adam Frazier.

Garcia's selection is somewhat less surprising. Tyler Glasnow didn't play the whole season, and Garcia was brilliant for the West Virginia Power, posting a 2.10 ERA with 112 strikeouts and 41 walks in 124 1/3 innings, all while impressing observers with his velocity. I imagine Glasnow, Stephen Tarpley and Steven Brault might have also been contenders for the award.