It's awards season in the minor leagues, and the Red Sox are handing out the hardware at Tuesday's matchup between Boston and Toronto. The Red Sox' baseball operations department and minor league roving instructors have selected pitcher Casey Kelly, outfielder Ryan Kalish, infielder Ryan Dent, infielder Derrik Gibson, pitcher Juan Rodriguez and outfielder Keury De La Cruz as this year's recipients.
Kelly, who spent this season in Single-A Greenville and Single-A Salem, went 7-5 with a 2.08 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 17 starts and was named Pitcher of the Year. The 19-year-old started in the South Atlantic League All-Star game, and as a shortstop with the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League Red Sox and with Greenville, he hit a combined .222 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 40 games. The Red Sox selected Kelly with the 30th overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft.
Kalish was named Offensive Player of the Year after batting .279 with 24 doubles, 18 home runs and 77 RBIs in 135 games between Salem and Portland. He led the minors with 68 walks and finished second in homers and fourth in RBIs.
Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Dent, who posted a .971 fielding percentage in 112 games split between second base and shortstop for Greenville and Salem. He hit .254 with six homers and 51 RBIs.
Gibson was named Base Runner of the Year after ranking second in the organization with 28 stolen bases. The 19-year-old was caught stealing just five times, giving him an 84.8 percent success rate.
Right-hander Rodriguez earned Minor League Latin Program Pitcher of the Year honors after going 3-1 with one save and a 1.55 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings. Rodriguez limited opponents to two runs or less in all but one of his outings and did not allow more than three runs in a game all season.
De La Cruz was awarded Minor League Latin Program Player of the Year honors after hitting .259 with 16 doubles, four triples, three homers and 50 RBIs in 67 games for the DSL Red Sox. The 17-year-old led the team in doubles and extra-base hits.
