Rookie left-hander receives Player of the Year award
By John Mossman / Special to MLB.com
DENVER -- Thanks to a dominating season in the minors that earned him a trip to the big leagues, Rockies left-hander Jeff Francis was named Baseball America's 2004 Minor League Player of the Year.
The award, considered the most prestigious honor given to a minor leaguer, was announced Thursday. Francis is the first player in the Rockies organization to win the award.
Francis, 23, was one of the minor leagues' most dominant pitchers this season. He went a combined 16-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 24 starts for Double-A Tulsa and Colorado Springs. Opposing batters hit only .194 against him. He struck out 196 batters in 154 2/3 innings and issued only 29 walks.
Jeff Francis / C
Born: 01/08/81
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: L
Colorado's No. 1 selection (ninth overall) in the 2002 June draft, Francis was promoted to the Major Leagues on Aug. 25 and earned his first Major League victory on Sunday at San Diego.
"This is something that I hadn't expected but is truly an honor," Francis said. "At the start of the year, my main goal was to go out and give my team a chance to win every time I took the mound. I share this award with all of my teammates, coaches and managers from this season and would like to thank the entire Rockies organization for all its support."
Previous winners of the award include:
1981 -- Mike Marshall, 1B Albuquerque (Dodgers)
1982 -- Ron Kittle, OF Edmonton (White Sox)
1983 -- Dwight Gooden, RHP Lynchburg (Mets)
1984 -- Mike Bielecki, RHP Hawaii (Pirates)
1985 -- Jose Canseco, OF Huntsville/Tacoma (Athletics)
1986 -- Gregg Jefferies, SS Columbia/Lynchburg/Jackson (Mets)
1987 -- Gregg Jefferies, SS Jackson/Tidewater (Mets)
1988 -- Tom Gordon, RHP Appleton/Memphis/Omaha (Royals)
1989 -- Sandy Alomar, C Las Vegas (Padres)
1990 -- Frank Thomas, 1B Birmingham (White Sox)
1991 -- Derek Bell, OF Syracuse (Blue Jays)
1992 -- Tim Salmon, OF Edmonton (Angels)
1993 -- Manny Ramirez, OF Canton/Charlotte (Indians)
1994 -- Derek Jeter, SS Tampa/Albany/Columbus (Yankees)
1995 -- Andruw Jones, OF Macon (Braves)
1996 -- Andruw Jones, OF Durham/Greenville/Richmond (Braves)
1997 -- Paul Konerko, 1B Albuquerque (Dodgers)
1998 -- Eric Chavez, 3B Huntsville/Edmonton (Athletics)
1999 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP Arkansas/Memphis (Cardinals)
2000 -- Jon Rauch, RHP Winston-Salem/Birmingham (White Sox)
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Jeff Francis / C
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