Each offseason, milb.com, the official site of minor league baseball, works through each organization and names an All-Star at each position, including pitchers.
So, of course, ATVL will cull through the selections and let you, dear brilliant reader, know when any Valley League alums are mentioned.
First up is the article on the Seattle Mariners, in which Matt Brazis (Winchester 2009, 2011) is named the relief pitcher of the year!
This is what Danny Wild wrote in his article on milb.com:
Reliever — Matt Brazis, High Desert (23 games), Jackson (17 games): A 28th-round pick in 2012, Brazis has worked exclusively out of the bullpen since his debut three years ago, and it all came together in 2014 when the Mariners named him their Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. The right-hander went 4-1 with a 2.36 ERA, 84 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings and six saves. Plus, he walked only 18 batters and allowed just three homers in 40 appearances.
“He didn’t give up many hits, and didn’t walk anybody in High Desert — that’s hard to do,” said Gwynn (Brazis actually walked eight in 39 1/3 innings there, but point taken). (Director of player development Chris) Gwynn also highlighted right-hander Mayckol Guaipe, among others, who went 1-3 with a 2.89 ERA and 12 saves at Jackson, “Brazis had the best year out of all of them.”
Awesome job, Matt- congratulations!
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