Minor Leagues Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
The Carolina Flight have selected first baseman Aarnoud Budding as their Hitter of the Year for the 2040 season.
Carolina is the AAA affiliate of the Chicago Black Sox.
Aarnoud Budding
“Aarnoud was a beast at the plate for us all year,” said Flight Manager Jeff Matthews. “That young man can flat out rake!”
Budding was a second-round pick for Chicago in the 2038 amateur draft, the 57th player taken overall. He has won a number of minor league honors as he has worked his way through the franchise system. Last season, he won MVP honors in two of the Flight’s post-season series and this year was named to the AAA All-Star team.
He beat out 3B Tomás Durán for the Flight’s team honor this year – although not without some internal debate. Durán had an excellent season, too, slashing .282/.349/.571 with 34 homers, 99 RBIs and 2.9 WAR.
Next season, Budding is expected to make his long-awaited jump to the majors – although whether that will come at the start of the season or later in the spring won’t be know for awhile.
“We’ll see how Aarnoud does in Spring Training before we make that decision,” said Black Sox GM Vic Caleca. “We don’t need to decide anything yet. All we know for sure is that he’ll be playing in Black Sox Park at some point next season.”