Tigers’ Nieporte named MVP of Double-A EL

Minor League Baseball has revealed the end-of-season award winners and All-Star teams for the three Double-A circuits, based on votes cast by league managers. Highlighting the winners for the Eastern League were the Tigers’ Quincy Nieporte, who took home MVP honors; Pitcher of the Year Tanner Bibee (Guardians) and Ezequiel

In the Southern League, the Brewers’ Jakson Reetz won MVP honors; the Angels’ Chase Silseth added a Pitcher of the Year award to his repertoire; and the Rays’ Taj Bradley was named the Top MLB Prospect.

And in the Texas League, the Cardinals’ Moisés Gómez won MVP honors; the Mariners’ Taylor Dollard was named the Pitcher of the Year; and St. Louis was well represented as Jordan Walker nabbed Top MLB Prospect.

Here are the major award winners from each circuit as well as the full All-Star teams.

Eastern League

Most Valuable Player: Quincy Nieporte, Erie (DET)
After missing three straight years of playing affiliated ball, Nieporte was signed by the Tigers on March 30 and assigned to Double-A the following day, the highest level he’s played at professionally. The 28-year-old looked right at home with the SeaWolves, as he paced the circuit in home runs (31), RBIs (91), extra-base hits (58) and total bases (246) and finished second in slugging (.536) and OPS (.867).

Pitcher of the Year: Tanner Bibee, Akron (CLE)
The 2021 fifth-round Draft choice by the Guardians made his professional debut this year, and it was a loud one. After opening the season at High-A Lake County, where the right-hander posted a 2.59 ERA over 12 starts, Bibee was promoted to the RubberDucks and performed even better there. Over 13 starts with Akron, the 23-year-old posted a 1.83 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a .194 average against with 81 strikeouts over 73 2/3 innings.

Top MLB Prospect: Ezequiel Tovar, Hartford (COL)
The 21-year-old opened the season with the Yard Goats and played his way to the big league club. MLB’s No. 27 overall prospect posted a .318/.386/.545 slash line with 13 homers, three triples, 15 doubles, 47 RBIs and 17 stolen bases across 66 games with Hartford. After a five-game stint at Triple-A in which Tovar went 7-for-21 with a dinger, the second-ranked Rockies prospect made his debut in The Show on Sept. 23. He connected on his first career long ball on Oct. 5 off Clayton Kershaw.

All-Star Team (view stats >>)

1B: Quincy Nieporte, Erie (DET)
2B: Connor Norby, Bowie (BAL No. 11)
SS: Ezequiel Tovar, Hartford (COL No. 2, MLB No. 27)
3B: Brett Baty, Binghamton (NYM No. 2), MLB No. 18)
C: Francisco Álvarez, Binghamton (NYM 1, MLB No. 1)
OF: Parker Meadows, Erie (DET No. 16)
OF: Elijah Dunham, Somerset (NYY No. 19)
OF: George Valera, Akron (CLE No. 2, MLB No. 31)
DH: Andres Chaparro, Somerset (NYY)
RHP: Tanner Bibee, Akron (CLE No. 6, MLB No. 99)
LHP: Joey Cantillo, Akron (CLE No. 23)
RP: Carson Coleman, Somerset (NYY No. 30)
Manager: Dan Fiorito, Somerset (NYY)

Southern League

Most Valuable Player: Jakson Reetz, Biloxi (MIL)
A bit of a journeyman since being taken in the third round of the 2014 Draft by the Nationals, Reetz posted the best numbers of his career to open the season with the Shuckers. The 26-year-old batted .281/.392/.636 and tapped into his power. After never eclipsing 13 homers at any point in his career over a full season, Reetz clubbed 22 over 64 games with Biloxi.

Jakson Reetz is feeling 2⃣2⃣

His 22nd HR of the season! #ShuckYeah pic.twitter.com/Y8ClbtO1O2

— Biloxi Shuckers (@BiloxiShuckers) July 9, 2022

Pitcher of the Year: Chase Silseth, Rocket City (LAA)
After making the final two starts of his rookie campaign with the Trash Pandas last season, where he allowed six runs over a combined 3 1/3 innings, the right-hander must have wanted to clear the bad taste from his mouth because he absolutely dominated over 15 starts with Rocket City this year. Silseth posted a 2.28 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and .182 average against with 110 punchouts in 83 frames. His effort earned him a call-up to the Angels where he made seven big league starts and whiffed 24 over 28 2/3 innings.

Top MLB Prospect: Taj Bradley, Montgomery (TB)
The 21-year-old opened the year with his first action at the Double-A level, but if you just look at his stats you might not believe that. MLB.com’s No. 20 overall prospect absolutely dominated on the hill for the Biscuits, posting a 1.70 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and a .189 average against with 88 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings. The right-hander yielded one earned run or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts for Montgomery. Bradley finished the year with Triple-A Durham, where he made 12 starts.

All-Star Team

1B: Troy Johnston, Pensacola (MIA No. 19)
2B: Brett Wisely, Montgomery (TB No. 27)
SS: Lenyn Sosa, Birmingham (CHW No. 4)
3B: Jake Slaughter, Tennessee (CHC)
C: Jakson Reetz, Biloxi (MIL)
OF: Alexander Canario, Tennessee (CHC No. 9)
OF: Yonathan Perlaza, Tennessee (CHC)
OF: Kameron Misner, Montgomery (TB No. 20)
DH: Niko Hulsizer, Montgomery (TB)
RHP: Taj Bradley, Montgomery (TB No. 1, MLB No. 20)
LHP: Jared Shuster, Mississippi (ATL No. 2)
RP: Eric Torres, Rocket City (LAA No. 28)
Manager: Andy Schatzley, Rocket City (LAA)

Texas League

Most Valuable Player: Moisés Gómez, Springfield (STL)
In his first season with the Cardinals organization — after electing free agency from the Rays organization — the 24-year-old made a loud introduction. Gómez tapped into his power potential and was constantly setting the long balls highwater mark in the Minors throughout the year. After never bashing more than 19 dingers, the outfielder belted 23 with Springfield before adding 16 more at Triple-A Memphis to claim the Minor League home run crown with 39.

Pitcher of the Year: Taylor Dollard, Arkansas (SEA)
The 2020 fifth-round Draft selection of the Mariners spent his sophomore season with the Travelers and paced the circuit in ERA (2.25), wins (16), starts (27), innings pitched (144), average against (.203), WHIP (0.95) and winning percentage (.889). The 23-year-old right-hander’s 131 punchouts ranked fifth in the league.

.@T_Dollard leads the @ARTravs to the shutout victory!

His 0.95 ERA is the lowest among qualifying pitchers in @MiLB this season. #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/aVqscb36LY

— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) June 6, 2022

Top MLB Prospect: Jordan Walker, Springfield (STL)
The 2020 first-round Draft selection followed up an impressive rookie season with an even better encore. Over 119 games with the Cardinals, MLB’s sixth-ranked overall prospect posted a .306 average (sixth-best in the league) and an .898 OPS (fifth-best). Walker also scored his league-leading 100th run of the year on his 19th homer with Springfield. His 235 total bases and 141 hits ranked second in the circuit.