2012 Tony Awards: Rookie of the Year

Today we kick off the IPI’s year-end awards with the announcement of the Rookie of the Year.

In the coming days the Defensive Player of the Year, Biggest Disappointment, Biggest Breakthrough, Reliever of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and All-Tony Team will be announced.

The Rookie of the Year Award is given to the Indians minor leaguer who had the best professional stateside debut this year. If a player had logged any time in previous seasons, even just a game or one at bat they were not eligible. As a result some players who saw limited action at the end of 2011 like catcher Eric Haase, left-hander Shawn Morimando, right-hander Shawn Armstrong, shortstop Francisco Lindor and others were not eligible. Also, there were a lot of candidates so the nominees were limited to only ten which meant outfielder Tyler Naquin, catcher Nelson Rodriguez, right-handed pitcher Nicholas Pasquale and others just missed the cut.

As always, prospect standing is not considered with these awards as they are 100% awarded based on performance.  Please keep that in mind as just because a guy is or is not listed does not mean anything from a “prospect” status.  These awards are simply for fun to hand out at the end of the year.  Also, the Cleveland Indians in no way whatsoever had any input in these awards.

Onto the nominees...

Rookie of the Year Nominees

(in alphabetical order)

Mitch Brown (RHP – Arizona)
2-0, 3.58 ERA, 8 GS, 27.2 IP, 20 H, 3 HR, 10 BB, 26 K, .204 BAA

Brown was the Indians’ 2^nd round pick in the draft this year and lived up to the hype as a high profile draft pick by displaying a nice power arsenal with tons of projection in his stuff and body while pitching out in the desert this year. Due to his limited innings he did not qualify as a league leader in any statistical category, but he would have been 7^th in the Arizona League in ERA (3.58) and 2^nd in WHIP (1.08) had he qualified.

Geoff Davenport (LHP – Mahoning Valley)
2-3, 3.41 ERA, 15 G (7 GS), 60.2 IP, 62 H, 3 HR, 20 BB, 33 K, .267 BAA

Davenport was selected in the 43^rd round of the 2011 Draft but did not make his professional debut this season because he missed last season due to Tommy John surgery. He rehabbed all last offseason and this spring and made a fine debut with short season Single-A Mahoning Valley this year when they started play in June. He got stronger as the year progressed, although suffered a left elbow fracture on the last pitch of his season on September 2^nd.

Louis Head (RHP – Mahoning Valley, Lake County)
2-2, 3.28 ERA, 22 G, 3 SV, 46.2 IP, 48 H, 6 HR, 8 BB, 43 K, .257 BAA

Head was selected in the 18^th round of the Indians’ draft this year and quickly asserted himself as an interesting bullpen arm to follow. He dominated at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley (2.03 ERA, 13.1 IP, 1 BB, 15 K) and was moved up to Low-A Lake County after just seven appearances. He did well at Lake County (3.78 ERA, 7 BB, 28K) showing some power stuff and an ability to throw strikes. His 5.38 K/BB ratio on the season was outstanding.

Jeff Johnson (RHP – Lake County, Carolina)
4-5, 3.99 ERA, 45 G, 16 SV, 58.2 IP, 45 H, 2 HR, 21 BB, 75 K, .210 BAA

Johnson was selected in the 10^th round of the 2011 Draft and signed quickly, but did not pitch last season due to a strained UCL. He had a very good pro debut this season pitching most of the season at Low-A Lake County (3.92 ERA, 41.1 IP, 18 BB, 57 K) and has solidified himself as a good second level relief pitching prospect for the Indians. At the time of his promotion his 12.4 K/9 as a reliever ranked 1^st in the Midwest League and he still finished 6^th in the league in saves (15).

Jacob Lee (RHP – Mahoning Valley)
4-2, 3.12 ERA, 16 G (8 GS), 43.1 IP, 36 H, 1 HR, 12 BB, 47 K, .221 BAA

Lee was the Indians’ 9^th round pick in the draft this year and had an electric debut at short season Single-A Mahoning Valley. His innings were monitored because he logged so much time as a starter for Arkansas State this year, but in his limited showing he flashed an intriguing power arsenal that the Indians really like and want to develop him as a starter going forward. His 9.8 K/9 rate was one of the best in the league this year.

Joshua Nervis (RHP – Arizona, Lake County)
1-0, 2.34 ERA, 17 G, 4 SV, 34.2 IP, 23 H, 2 HR, 14 BB, 40 K, .189 BAA

Nervis was the third to last pick in the Indians’ draft this year (38^th round), was an older player (23), and came from a little known college (Sonoma State), but he was lights out in his pro debut. He dominated the Arizona League raking 1^st in K/9 for relievers (12.9) and 3^rd in batting average against for relievers (.167) before he was moved to Low-A Lake County late in the season. Even though he dominated a league filled with much younger players, this is a showing that could give him some momentum into a big 2013.

Dorssys Paulino (SS – Arizona, Mahoning Valley)
.333 AVG, 47 R, 19 2B, 6 3B, 7 HR, 38 RBI, 18 BB, 45 K, 11 SB, .938 OPS

Paulino was signed in July of 2012 as the Indians’ top prize during the International Signing Period. Even though he missed the last week of Arizona’s season because of a promotion to short season Single-A Mahoning Valley, he still finished 2^nd in the AZL in batting average (.355), 7^th in hits (61), 8^th in doubles (14), 4^th in triples (6^th), 6^th in home runs (6), 3^rd in slugging percentage (.610), 4^th in extra base hits (26), 4^th in runs scored (42), 5^th in total bases (105), and 3^rd in OPS (1.015).

Cody Penny (RHP – Mahoning Valley, Lake County)
4-3, 2.39 ERA, 22 G, 2 SV, 37.2 IP, 27 H, 1 HR, 12 BB, 34 K, .203 BAA

Penny was selected in the 16^th round of this year’s draft and ended up splitting time between short season Single-A Mahoning Valley and Low-A Lake County. As a result, he did not figure as a league leader into any statistical categories, but his overall performance was outstanding. He was good at Mahoning Valley (3.05 ERA, 20.2 IP, 8 BB, 18 K), but was brilliant after his promotion to Lake County (1.59 ERA, 17.0 IP, 4 BB, 16 K). He’s a priority bullpen prospect for the Indians going forward.

Anthony Santander (OF – Arizona)
.305 AVG, 27 R, 15 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 13 BB, 37 K, 6 SB, .874 OPS

Santander is another byproduct from the Indians international efforts last year as he was signed in July of 2011. He dazzled in his pro debut this season as 17-year old in Arizona and has established himself as one of the Indians’ best young prospects in the lower levels of their system. He finished 14^th in the Arizona League in batting average (.305), 5^th in doubles (15), 13^th in RBI (32), 20^th in total bases (76), 18^th in on-base percentage (.381), 9^th in slugging percentage, and 13^th in OPS (.874).

Joey Wendle (2B/3B – Mahoning Valley)
.327 AVG, 32 R, 15 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 15 BB, 25 K, 4 SB, .844 OPS

Wendle was the Indians’ 6^th round pick in this year’s draft. He came in with little fanfare as a college senior signing out of a division two school, but his bat did the talking and he is now an interesting infield prospect for the Indians. He finished 3^rd in the NY-Penn League in batting average (.327), 10^th in 3B (4), 10^th in RBI (37), 5^th in total bases (115), 10^th in on-base percentage (.375), 3^rd in slugging percentage (.469), 4^th in OPS (.844), and 5^th in lowest total plate appearances per strikeout (10.7).

And the 2012 Tony Award goes to….Dorssys Paulino

In year’s past this has been a tough award to hand out and the nominees have been limited, but not this year as I had to cut off the list at ten players. I could have very easily included another five or six players, which is good to see and it bodes well for an Indians’ farm system in large need of a boost of talent.  There were a lot of very good pro debuts this season for the Indians, particularly those from Paulino, Santander, and Wendle.

Wendle’s out of nowhere performance was great to see and it will be interesting to see how he fares as he moves up the minor league ladder as a Cord Phelps-like player. Santander was overshadowed a little bit by Paulino’s exceptional pro debut, but it is a debut that needs to be recognized.  But if you followed the Indians minor league season from start to finish, particularly the last two months of the season, then naming of Paulino as the recipient of this award should come as no surprise.

What Paulino did this year as a 17-year old in the Arizona League was special. He did not disappoint in his pro debut showing one of the best swings to come out of Latin America in some time, an advanced approach at such a young age, and some good power and athleticism. He has quickly established himself as one of the Indians’ best prospects and one of the best prospects in all of baseball. He will no doubt be a Top 5 prospect for the Indians and could arguably be their #1 prospect when the 2013 rankings are released here on the IPI in the next few months.

While statistics are only a small part of what determines a player’s prospect status, it was nice to see so many good performances this season from some many new players. There is no doubt that the Indians lower levels of their minor league system is as strong as it has ever been, and hopefully these new young players will continue to perform, develop and remain healthy over the next few years so they can inject some talent into a Major League roster desperate for it.

Up next: Defensive Player of the Year

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.