Matt Duffy named Pacific Coast League MVP
Becomes fourth Astros minor leaguer to win the award in club history
HOUSTON, TX - The Triple A Pacific Coast League announced this afternoon that Fresno Grizzlies infielder Matt Duffy has been named the PCL Most Valuable Player. The award is voted on by the Pacific Coast League managers and media representatives across the league.
Duffy, 26, leads the PCL in RBI (102) and runs scored (90), and has hit .295 (141x478) with 29 doubles, two triples and 18 homers with an .845 OPS (.368 OBP/.477 SLG) in 124 games this season. The starting third baseman for the first place, playoff-bound Grizzlies currently leads his club in hits, doubles, RBI, runs and total bases. A 20th-round selection by Houston in the 2011 draft, Duffy has been an All-Star in each of his five seasons in the Astros minor league system.
Duffy is just the fourth Astros minor leaguer to win the PCL MVP award, and the first since right-handed pitcher Donne Wall captured the honor as a member of the Tucson Toros in 1995. Outfielder James Mouton (1993) and infielder Dave Roberts (1965) also won the award for the Tucson Toros and Oklahoma City 89ers, respectively.
Duffy's award adds another accolade to a successful 2015 minor league season for the Astros. Houston currently has the best combined overall minor league record among all MLB organizations at 487-395 (.552). Six of the Astros nine minor league clubs have qualified for the playoffs (Triple A Fresno, Double A Corpus Christi, Class A Advanced Lancaster, Class A Quad Cities, Rookie Level Greeneville, Rookie Level DSL Astros Blue), while the Class A Short Season Tri-City ValleyCats are in first place by 3.5 games with five games remaining.
Corpus Christi manager Rodney Linares (Texas League) and Quad Cities skipper Josh Bonifay (Midwest League) were both named Manager of the Year for their respective leagues, while Hooks first baseman A.J. Reed was named a finalist for the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year award.
-ASTROS-