Triston Casas had a simple goal for his rookie year, to stay healthy and play every day. Though he wound up getting shut down after the Red Sox fell out of the hunt, Casas believes he accomplished what he set out to do.
An issue that pops up in these lists is that of role assignments: pitchers in the minors often flip-flop between starting and relieving to eat up innings whenever they can. This poses challenges for those who acknowledge the delegation of title, as a starter with one relief appearance is still ob.
In a landslide, you picked Iowa Cubs reliever
Ben Leeper as your choice for the BCB Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year! I guess when you don’t give up a hit all month, you’ll impress people. (That’s not quite what Leeper did as he gave up some hits in Double-A before his promotion. But he did not give up a hit in Triple-A all month.)
By the way, if any corporation wants to sponsor the BCB Cubs Minor League Awards, let me know. And don’t tell Al or SB Nation. But the Acme BCB Minor League Player of the Month Award has a nice ring to it, if the Acme Corporation would like to sell products to someone other than Wile E. Coyote.