Younger Gordon among KC Minors honorees
Royals announce winners of Pitcher and Player of the Year for affiliates
KANSAS CITY -- The Royals named their Minor League Pitchers and Players of the Year on Thursday, highlighted by Balbino Fuenmayor winning the Northwest Arkansas (Double-A) honor and right-hander Derek Gordon, younger brother of Alex Gordon, winning the award at Idaho Falls (Rookie level).
The winners will be on hand Sept. 25 at Kauffman Stadium for "Futures Night."
Triple-A Omaha
Pitcher: Left-hander Scott Alexander, on the Royals' roster as a September callup, had a 2.56 ERA with 14 saves.
Video: DET@KC: Alexander notches his first Major League K
Player: Outfielder Jose Martinez led the Pacific Coast League with a .384 batting average, also collecting 25 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 60 RBIs.
Double-A Northwest Arkansas
Pitcher: Left-hander Jonathan Dziedzic, nicknamed "Eye Chart," went 10-6 with a 3.12 ERA. His 10 victories tied for third most in the Texas League.
Player: Fuenmayor, a first baseman, hit .354 with 15 homers and 51 RBIs in 73 games for the Naturals, before being promoted to Omaha on July 4. He hit .377 in 16 games for the Storm Chasers. Fuenmayor suffered a torn ACL but is expected to be ready by Spring Training.
Class A Advanced Wilmington
Pitcher: Right-hander Alec Mills posted a 7-7 record with a 3.02 ERA (38 ER in 113 1/3 innings) in 21 starts for the Blue Rocks this season.
Video: Top Prospects: Alec Mills, RHP, Royals
Player: Infielder Mauricio Ramos hit .265 with 22 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 59 RBIs in 123 games with the Blue Rocks.
Class A Lexington
Pitcher: Right-hander Pedro Fernandez posted a 6-2 mark with a 3.12 ERA in 18 appearances and 13 starts for the Legends, before being promoted to Wilmington. He collected 89 strikeouts in 78 innings, while holding opponents to a .191 batting average. Fernandez was named the Surprise Royals Pitcher of the Year in 2013.
Player: Infielder Corey Toups batted .291 with 27 doubles, five triples, seven homers and 75 runs in 102 games with the Legends. He recorded 31 steals, which tied for 10th in the South Atlantic League, while his .369 on-base percentage ranked 10th in the league.
Rookie-level Idaho Falls
Pitcher: Gordon, who signed as a Minor League free agent in the offseason, went 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts, allowing 18 walks with 65 strikeouts in 70 innings. His ERA ranked third in the Pioneer League, while he was also third in strikeouts and fifth in WHIP (1.30).
Player: Outfielder Amalani Fukofuka batted .339 with 18 doubles, nine triples and three homers.
Rookie-level Burlington
Pitcher: Right-hander Jacob Bodner went 2-0 with a 0.77 ERA in 16 appearances for Burlington.
Player: Catcher Xavier Fernandez batted .329 with 10 doubles, a triple, four homers and 27 RBIs in 42 games. He threw out 15 of 34 baserunners trying to steal.
Rookie-level Surprise
Pitcher: Right-hander Arnaldo Hernandez went 7-3 with a 2.82 ERA in 14 appearances (10 starts) with Surprise. He led the Arizona League in WHIP (0.97).
Player: Outfielder Rudy Martin hit .338 and tied for the league lead with nine triples. Martin also led the Arizona League in on-base percentage (.477).