The minor league system has been the focus of the Phillies organization this year. With so many new prospects and home grown talent advancing to different levels throughout the year, it was an exciting season to keep track of the potential Phillies of the future. Two Phillies prospects, catcher Andrew Knapp and right-hander Ricardo Pinto, were honored for their performances in the minors this season, being named as the organization's recipients of the Paul Owens Award. Knapp earned Player of the Year honors while Pinto nabbed the Pitcher of the Year award. The award is named for the late Paul Owens, who spent 48 years in the Phillies organization as scout, farm director, general manager, manager and senior advisor.
Knapp, 23, finished the 2015 season hitting .308 with 35 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 77 runs scored and 84 RBIs between Advanced 'A' Clearwater and Double-A Reading. Knapp's bat caught fire once he joined Reading as he led the Fightin Phils with a .360 average. He hit 21 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and drove in 56. Knapp tallied 24 multi-hit games and recorded hitting streaks of 16 and 17 games. In addition, he also earned honors as the Eastern League Player of the Month for August while also being named player of the week for two straight weeks from July 27-August 9.
"Andrew made as much progress as any position player in our system this year," Jordan said. "He had a tremendous offensive season and certainly put himself in a position to be under consideration for our major league club in the future. What many people don't know is how much progress he made defensively. We challenged him early in spring training with a plan of improvement behind the plate and he answered many questions with his play."
Meanwhile, taking home the honor as the Phillies best minor league pitcher of 2015 is 21-year-old Venezuela-native Ricardo Pinto. Between Class 'A' Lakewood and Advanced 'A' Clearwater, Pinto went a combined 15-4 with a 2.97 ERA, 105 strikeouts and 1.14 WHIP. In 17 of his 24 starts, he allowed two runs or less and also hurled shutout outings in five of those starts. He was a big part of the rotation in Clearwater that earned both the first and second half titles in the Florida State League northern division, going 9-2 with a 2.87 ERA with the Threshers. He finished the season tied for fifth in the FSL in wins, despite only starting 13 games at that level. Pinto earned Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month honors for August after going 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA. Hitters averaged just .179 against him over that time. The Phillies signed Pinto as an amateur free agent in December 2011.
"Coming into the year, very few people outside of our organization knew of Ricardo Pinto," Jordan said. "Based on his 2015 performance, that has certainly changed. Ricardo is one of our most talented young arms but equally one of our most determined, competitive and driven players.
Pinto, ranked as the 11th best prospect in the organization by MLB.com, and Knapp, ranked 17th, will receive their awards before the Phillies and Mets square off at Citizens Bank Park on October 1st at 7:05pm.
Brandon Apter (@bapter23), Managing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
