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California Crusader Minor League Pitcher Awards of 2040
- (AAA) Clash City Rockers; José Hernández -- The Argentinian-born right-hander solidified a strong starting staff for the Rockers this season. The 6'1", 185 lb. groundballer starting 28 games en-route to a team leading 3.93 ERA over 167 innings. Due to his success in Clash City, Hernández was a September call-up for the Crusaders. As of this writing, he's pitched 7.2 innings over three games for California, while surrendering only one earned run. (Honorable mention: Javier Vargos, 3.96 ERA in 163.2 IP)
- (AA) Compton Crush; Fernando Vázquez -- The 23-year-old lefty out of the Dominican Republic stifled his AA opponents throughout the entire season, sporting a 2.36 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over 183.1 innings. The entire starting staff overall for Compton was quite dominating, holding a league best 3.67 ERA. Crusader scouts and top brass hope Vázquez still has time to develop some speed to his fastball to better compete on both the BBA level and with his own mustache. (Honorable mentions: Miguel González; Dani García; and, Nick Pearce)
- (A) Hollywood Silver Stars; Jeffrey Smith -- Smith, a native of Mexico, Missouri, profiles an overwhelming curveball to go along with a decent Cutter and Splitter. His 2.68 ERA was tops for the Silver Stars, as was his 0.86 WHIP. The Crusader organization hopes he overcomes his dismal work ethic and leadership and develops into a viable starting option or bullpen arm. (Honorable mention: Matt Miller)
- (SA) Philipsburg Saints; Cal Russell -- The 21-year-old, California native overcame his control issues and put together a great season for the Saints. Profiling a dominant change-up in his third professional season, Russell led Philipsburg with a 2.61 ERA in 21 starts, spanning a mathematically pure 100 innings. The 6'4" Russell hopes to be promoted to his first full season of minor league baseball next season, but will need to have a solid showing in Winter Ball, specifically displaying better command of the strike zone. (Honorable mention: Marcos González)
- (R) Berkeley Golden Bears; Mike Skelly -- California's sixth ranked prospect, as decided upon by "Tito the Turkey" at the Sacremento Zoo (Note: Pictures of all Crusader minor leaguers are placed in Tito's cage. Prospects are ranked by the order Tito takes a Tito-lating Dump™ on the pictures), Skelly projects to have a plus Slider and not much else. Despite his limited tools, the 6'2" lefty out of Pueblo West, Colorado, held opposing rookie league batters to a .226 average and sported a 2.10 ERA over 77 innings. Unfortunately, Skelly tore his rotator cuff in late July, derailing his season. (Honorable mention: Mike Walker; Jason Donaldson)
