Minor League Baseball season has officially ended after Triple-A's final regular season games on September 21. MiLB awards given by each organization will follow.
MLB and its clubs give awards for players after the season, and some publications give them, as well. Baseball America has already named the New York Yankees' MiLB Player of the Year, and his name might be familiar to some Boston Red Sox fans. Pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz was the best player in New York's system in Baseball America's eyes, but he was in the Red Sox organization less than one year ago.
Boston traded Rodriguez-Cruz to New York in exchange for Carlos Narváez, who has been something of a revelation in his first full season in the big leagues. It's a move the Red Sox would make time and time again, despite Rodriguez-Cruz's success for their rivals.
The 22-year-old Puerto Rican native posted a 2.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 176 strikeouts and 57 walks over 150 innings in the Yankees' farm system this year. He began the season in High-A and earned promotions to Double-A and Triple-A.
Rodriguez-Cruz logged just five innings in Triple-A, and they weren't the best of his season. He let up four runs on eight hits in his first ever start in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he fanned three batters without walking any. Still, the young righty has made huge strides this year, and he's already an impact player in the Yankees' farm system.
Red Sox traded Yankees Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, their Baseball America MiLB Player of the Year, in the Carlos Narváez deal
Rodriguez-Cruz is the Yankees' No. 5 prospect after his quick ascent to Triple-A, per MLB Pipeline. He wasn't ranked among top Red Sox prospects before the offseason trade, which shows the extent of his improvement this season, but also the weakness of New York's prospect pool.
Even if the former Red Sox prospect continues to improve, the deal has been worth it so far for Boston. Narváez got off to an excellent offensive start this season, although he's cooled down significantly in the second half, and he's one of the best defensive catchers in MLB.
Narváez is slashing .240/.308/.415 with 26 doubles and 14 homers for the Red Sox this season. He ranks in the 89th percentile in blocks above average, the 85th in framing, and the 98th in caught stealing above average. He's been a huge improvement over Connor Wong, who has regressed offensively after a career-best performance at the plate last season.
There's no clear winner of the Narváez/Rodriguez-Cruz deal yet, but both teams improved — Boston received one of the best defensive catchers in MLB and New York got a top-10 prospect for a player it had no plans to use in the majors. Both players could have longtime roles with their respective big league squads in the near future, and Rodriguez-Cruz's Player of the Year Award is a big step toward getting the recognition needed to make it to the major leagues.