Baltimore Bulletin 2009-3 Let's Hand out some Awards

[nverhoev]

Here are the Baltimore Monarchs players who excelled in 2009:

Best Hitter:

Dale Bunker

Bunker has been a super star since stepping into the league. Amazingly 2009 is probably only his third best season as a pro but still easily was the most profilic batter on the club. At age 26 and with over 24 WAR already in his MBWBA career Bunker is on his way to a historic career. His .348 batting average was second only to team mate Daniel Labrie in the JL. He led the team in virtually every other category hitting 36 homers and 127 RBI.

Best Pitcher:

Maynard Gnass

A hard choice for a team without a true superstar pitcher Gnass is a sentimental choice for this award. Signed from the EBA after the 2003 season Gnass has been solid for the team while making 92 starts and another 91 relief appearances to a career 4.14 ERA. 2009 was truly a special year for Gnass as he held opponents to a 1.86 ERA with a 4-0 record and 3 saves. Gnass is a 35 year old soft tossing lefty and may be at the end of his career but still is finding success at the highest level.

Top Minor Leaguer

Augusto Garcia

The southpaw pitcher saw scouts lower their expectations in 2009. Garcia responded with a 12-1 record and 1.48 ERA in 15 starts at A Greensboro before being promoted to AA and then AAA at the end of the year. Garcia will start the year at AAA and doesn't look far off from his big league debut. Although scouts continue to lower their expectations for Garcia he has played at a high level and still should factor into a big league rotation at some point in the future.

[mrbornac]

Bunker is a stud, very nice!