Chisholm named D-backs’ Player of Year, Widener wins Pitcher of Year
Sep 24, 2018, 9:36 PM
(Instagram Photo/_jazz3)
(Instagram Photo/_jazz3)
The Arizona Diamondbacks named infielder Jazz Chisholm as the organization’s Player of the Year, while Taylor Widener took home the Pitcher of the Year honors on Monday.
Splitting time between Single-A Kane County and Single-A Advanced Visalia, Chisholm showed he could swing the bat.
In 112 games, Chisholm, who is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the D-backs’ organization by MLB.com, hit .272 with 25 home runs, 70 RBI and 79 runs scored. He was named a Midwest League All-Star and led the the D-backs farm system in homers. He also ranked third in runs, tied for fifth in triples (6), seventh in RBI and ninth in walks (39).
He’s ranked as the third-best prospect in the organization by Baseball America while also taking home the Best Infield Arm award.
The 20-year-old shortstop joins Jack Cust (20) in 1999 and Justin Upton (20) in 2007 as the youngest players to receive the Player of the Year award.
The left-handed hitter also joins Paul Goldschmidt (2010) as the only players to take home the hardware playing in Single-A.
Widener joined the D-backs’ organization on Feb. 20 in the trade with the Yankees that sent Brandon Drury to New York for Steven Souza Jr.
As a member of the Southern League Champion Double-A Jackson Generals, Widener went 5-8 with a 2.75 ERA in 25 starts (26 games). He had 176 strikeouts and allowed 43 walks. He was rated as the No. 3 prospect in the organization by MLB.com, while coming in at No. 4 in Baseball America’s ranking.
The Southern League All-Star pitcher led the league in strikeouts and WHIP (1.03), while he also ranked among the leaders in ERA (2nd) and was sixth in starts and innings pitched, respectively. He led all D-backs minor league pitchers in ERA and strikeouts.
For his efforts, he was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, joining Vladimir Nunez in 1996 and Mike Gosling in 2002 as the only pitchers in team history to take home the honors in his first season with the organization.
Third baseman Kevin Cron was the organization’s Player of the Year in 2017, while Jon Duplantier won Pitcher of Year.
