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Earlier today, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced four of their Minor League award recipients.
Among the awards announced today were the Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year, the Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year, the Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, and the Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year.
Below are the winners:
Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year: Matt Gorski
Gorski experienced a red-hot year within the Pirates’ organization, jumping four levels throughout the season. He started the year in High-A with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and posted a slash line of .294/.377/.754 with an OPS of 1.131 while slugging 17 home runs.
His final days in Greensboro were headlined by a three-home run day.
Matt Gorski hit three home runs yesterday.
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) May 23, 2022
His third one was a walkoff. pic.twitter.com/0avd09Jq4K
He was promoted to Altoona on May 24 and continued to succeed there. His slugging dipped a bit but he still posted a line of .277/.354/.489. An injury brought his season to a halt in June and he would be activated September 8.
Gorski earned a promotion to Triple-A Indianpolis in late September, but another injury kept him out through the end of the season.
Last year’s winner: Oneil Cruz
Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year: Tyler Samaniego
Samaniego was a surprise to most — if not all — fans this season, but quickly become one of the most intriguing pitching prospects in the organization.
After spending the first part of the season with Greensboro, where he posted a formidable 0.53 ERA in 14 games, Samaniego was promoted to Altoona on May 31. In his time with the Curve, he pitched 30.2 innings and went 3-3 with a 3.52 ERA while earning 10 saves in 13 opportunities.
Welcome to Double-A Tyler! A scoreless ninth-inning from Tyler Samaniego sends us to the bottom of the ninth, trailing by a run.
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 1, 2022
LISTEN: https://t.co/aioWvW3Svf
WATCH: https://t.co/6GP894jPtF pic.twitter.com/qAEY0ldtAt
Opposing hitters hit .147 against Samaniego and he allowed just nine walks all year in Double-A.
If the success from this season carries over into next year, Samaniego could repeat as Reliever of the Year.
Last year’s winner: Emmanuel Mejia
Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year: Jared Triolo
Make it back-to-back years that Triolo takes home the Defender of the Year award.
Triolo spent 746 innings at third base with Altoona and committed just seven errors in that time with 165 assists and 65 putouts. At shortstop, he committed five errors in 155 innings and zero errors in 62 innings in center field.
A web from Jared Triolo!
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 30, 2022
The No. 18 @Pirates prospect makes a tremendous diving play at short for the @AltoonaCurve. pic.twitter.com/EzcR2JjyFh
Pirates beat reporter Justice delos Santos took a look at how Triolo stacked up against Eastern League third basemen:
Among Eastern League third basemen who played at least 60 games at the hot corner, Triolo was tied for first in assists (165). Triolo was also second in total chances (237) and fielding percentage (.970), as well as third in double plays (15).
His versatility could earn him a spot in Triple-A to start next season.
Last year’s winner: Jared Triolo
Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year: Tsung-Che Cheng
In addition to leading in five statistical categories in the Florida State League, Cheng topped all players within the Pirates’ organization with 33 steals.
Good throw by Austin Wells to try to pick off Tsung-che Cheng, but to no avail. pic.twitter.com/T95bozzLb2
— John Brophy (@jbrophybaseball) June 28, 2022
Cheng was known for his walk-off heroics at the beginning of the year, even knocking in a three-run game-tying home run in a Spring Training game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the base-path is where he saw most of his success.
Last year’s winner: Lolo Sanchez
More awards will be released in the coming days.
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