Astros: Alex Bregman, Brady Rodgers earn Minor League awards

Alex Bregman and Brady Rodgers nab team’s 2016 Minor League honors

The Houston Astros announced their annual minor league awards on Monday afternoon. Alex Bregman won the organization’s Minor League Player of the year while Brady Rodgers earned the Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. They follow in the footsteps of the 2015 recipients of the awards and current Astros teammates A.J. Reed and Joseph Musgrove.

Bregman, only a year removed from his college career at Louisiana State University, shot through the team’s minor-league system and debuted with the Astros on July 26. The number 2 overall pick of the 2015 draft slashed .306/.406/.580 and mashed 20 home runs in only 80 games between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno before getting the call to the big leagues.

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Rodgers, a Round 3 pick of the 2012 draft by the Stros, earned a call to the big leagues for the first time on Sept. 2. After spending all of 2015 and most of 2016 pitching for Triple-A Fresno, the Houston-area native dropped his ERA from 4.51 in 2015 to 2.86 in 2016. Over 22 games, the right-handed Rodgers walked only 22 hitters in 132 innings, struck out 116 and maintained a solid 1.15 WHIP.

Additionally, Alex Bregman won USA Today‘s Minor League Player of the Year award while Brady Rodgers was named the Pacific Coast League‘s Pitcher of the Year.

Bregman’s early struggles against MLB pitching were well documented.

But the former LSU standout turned things around and was a key piece to the Astros getting back into the playoff picture. In 47 games, the rookie infielder has hit for a .260 batting average and .311 on-base percentage with eight home runs and 13 doubles. After finding success, a hamstring issue has limited Bregman over the last few weeks, and he may not see more time in the Astros’ lineup as the season comes to a close.

Rodgers has struggled to adjust to the major league level through his first few weeks. In only 3 2/3 innings, he has allowed ten earned runs on nine hits and four walks. Despite the discouraging numbers, Rodgers has shown a lot more this season in a much larger sample size that he should be able to build on in 2017.

Although Bregman has already solidified himself as a strong talent in Major League Baseball, Rodgers has a chance to contribute as well by making the starting rotation next year as the team will look for rotation help within the organization.

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The Houston organization is still stocked with minor-league talent, and the two winners of these awards next season will likely be with the club at this time in 2017 as their World Series aspirations continue.

**Statistics provided by Baseball Reference**