Dodgers name John Ely and Joc Pederson as the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today named right-handed pitcher John Ely and outfielder Joc Pederson as the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year, respectively. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement.
Ely, 26, was selected as the Triple-A Pacific Coast League’s 2012 Pitcher of the Year by vote of the league’s managers and media representatives and won the circuit’s Triple Crown with 14 wins (14-7, T-1st), 165 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA in 27 starts with Albuquerque. The Illinois native was selected as both a midseason PCL All-Star and to the postseason All-PCL Team, also ranking among the league leaders in innings pitched (168.2, 2nd), opponents’ batting average (.238, 2nd) and WHIP (1.10, 1st).
Ely established Albuquerque franchise records with 14 wins, nine home wins and by winning six consecutive starts from July 23-Aug. 18. He recorded 18 quality starts and the team’s only shutout of the season, doing so in a 7.0-inning game in the first contest of an Aug. 8 doubleheader.
The Miami University (Ohio) product had his contract selected by the Dodgers on Sept. 1 and has made two relief appearances for the big league club this season. He was acquired by Los Angeles in a three-player trade with the White Sox on Dec. 17, 2009 and was originally selected by Chicago in the third round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.
Pederson, who was one of the youngest players in the California League this season at the age of 20, batted .313 with 26 steals, 26 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs and 70 RBI in 110 games for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, ranking among the California League leaders in batting average (8th), on-base percentage (.396, 6th) and slugging percentage (.516, 9th). The Palo Alto native batted .336 with runners in scoring position and posted three hitting streaks of 10 or more games, including a season-high 15-game run from Aug. 10-25.
Pederson, a left-handed hitter, batted .328 in 65 games during the season’s second half and was one of the league’s top power hitters with 20 doubles (T-4th, California League) and 16 home runs (T-6th) after the All-Star break, including a three-homer game on July 1 against High Desert. He was honored as the California League’s Hitter of the Week for the period of Aug. 13-19, batting .440 (11-for-25) with four doubles, four homers and 10 RBI in six games.
The Dodgers’ 11th-round selection from the 2010 First-Year Player Draft is the son of former Dodger outfielder Stu Pederson, who appeared in eight games for Los Angeles in 1985, and recently appeared for Team Israel in its World Baseball Classic qualifier, batting .308 (4-for-13) with three steals and three runs scored in three games. Pederson was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League and next month will join other top prospects from throughout the league on the Mesa Solar Sox.
Both Ely and Pederson will be honored in an on-field pregame ceremony prior to tomorrow’s 7:10 p.m. Dodger game against the Colorado Rockies.
Branch Rickey Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year: 1989-2011
Year Player of the Year Pitcher of the Year
1989 Mike Huff, Albuquerque (OF) Jim Poole, Vero Beach (LHP)
1990 Henry Rodriguez, San Antonio (OF) Jamie McAndrew, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)
1991 Eric Karros, Albuquerque (IB) Pedro Martinez, San Antonio/Albuquerque (RHP)
1992 Mike Piazza, San Antonio/Albuquerque (C) Todd Williams, Bakersfield/San Antonio (RHP)
1993 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Kip Gross, Albuquerque (RHP)
1994 Billy Ashley, Albuquerque (OF) Greg Hansell, Albuquerque (RHP)
1995 Adam Riggs, San Bernardino (IF) Gary Rath, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)
1996 Paul Konerko, San Antonio/Albuquerque (IF) Billy Neal, Vero Beach (RHP)
1997 Paul Konerko, Albuquerque (IF) Dennys Reyes, San Antonio/Albuquerque (LHP)
1998 Angel Peña, San Antonio (C) Luke Prokopec, San Bernardino/San Antonio (RHP)
1999 Chin-Feng Chen, San Bernardino (OF) Eric Gagné , San Antonio (RHP)
2000 Joe Thurston, San Bernardino (IF) Carlos Garcia, San Bernardino (RHP)
2001 Phil Hiatt, Las Vegas (IF) Ricardo Rodriguez, Vero Beach (LHP)
2002 Joe Thurston, Las Vegas (IF) Edwin Jackson, South Georgia (RHP)
2003 Franklin Gutierrez, VB/Jacksonville (OF) Greg Miller, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (LHP)
2004 Joel Guzman, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (OF) Chad Billingsley, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (RHP)
2005 Andy LaRoche, Vero Beach/Jacksonville (IF) Chad Billingsley, Jacksonville (RHP)
2006 James Loney, Las Vegas (1B) Mark Alexander, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (RHP)
2007 Chin-lung Hu, Jacksonville/Las Vegas (IF) James McDonald, Inland Empire/Jacksonville (RHP)
2008 Ivan De Jesus, Jr., Jacksonville (IF) James McDonald, Jacksonville/Los Angeles (RHP)
2009 Dee Gordon, Great Lakes (IF) Scott Elbert, Chattanooga/Albuquerque/Los Angeles (LHP)
2010 Jerry Sands, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (IF/OF) Rubby De La Rosa, Great Lakes/Chattanooga (RHP)
2011 Scott Van Slyke, Chattanooga (IF/OF) Shawn Tolleson, Great Lakes/Rancho/Chattanooga (RHP)