Pirates select Luplow, Brault as minor league player, pitcher of the year

The Pirates have named outfielder Jordan Luplow their minor league player of the year and lefty Steven Brault their minor league pitcher of the year.

Luplow divided his minor league time between Altoona and Indianapolis, and had a breakout season. Between the two stops he hit 302/382/527 with 23 HRs. He previous high for longballs in a season had been 12. He controlled the strike zone well, with 45 walks and 81 strikeouts.

Brault spent most of the season, until the end of August, in the Indianapolis rotation. In 20 starts and one relief appearance in AAA, he went 10-5 with a 1.94 ERA. Brault walked 3.3 per nine innings while striking out 8.2.