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Minnesota Twins 2017 Minor League Awards

By Benjamin Chase

PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
PORT CHARLOTTE, FL - MARCH 11: The Minnesota Twins warm up before the start of a Grapefruit League spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Charlotte Sports Complex on March 11, 2013 in Port Charlotte, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 15: A view of the Boston Red Sox bat rack during a game against the Oakland Athletics on April 15, 2009 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 15: A view of the Boston Red Sox bat rack during a game against the Oakland Athletics on April 15, 2009 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Rodriguez

While the pitcher of the year had a few good candidates, this was incredibly easy. Rodriguez was the best performing hitter in the system throughout the year, and it wasn’t really close.

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All one has to do is return to the first page of this post and look at the leader board. He led the entire system in runs, home runs, RBI, walks, and total bases. However, it’s not just that he led those categories. It’s that he was so good in other ones that he didn’t lead. Rodriguez was 5th in hits, 2nd in doubles, 3rd in batting average for those who had more than 250 plate appearances, led the system in on base for those with more than 250 plate appearances, was 3rd in slugging with those who had more than 250 PA, and 3rd in OPS for those who had 250+ PA.

That level of dominance made the choice of Rodriguez an easy one. Whether he’ll be back with the Twins system in 2018 or not will be an interesting offseason decision as Rodriguez will be a minor league free agent again after this season, but hopefully his positive experience in 2017 will keep him swinging for the Twins system, as he could work his way to the major leagues in 2018 if he keeps up the improvements he made in 2017.

Next: Should Twins Fans Panic?!

So now it’s your turn. Do you agree? Disagree? Think someone was overlooked? Let us know in the comments below!

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