And The Winner Is: A Brief Overview Of The Baseball America Minor League Player Of The Year
Baseball America did not invent the Minor League Player of the Year concept, but with 41 years of tradition, we believe our track record speaks loudly.
In every season since its inception in 1981—save for the lost 2020—BA has named a Minor League Player of the Year. Our criteria has remained the same over the years:
We reward the best season by a prospect in the minor leagues, factoring age, level and projected future MLB value.
The Dodgers’ Mike Marshall was our inaugural POY in 1981. That season he hit .373 with 34 home runs and 137 RBIs as a 21-year-old first baseman for Triple-A Albuquerque. Coming off the first Pacific Coast League triple crown since 1956, Marshall appeared to be the successor to Steve Garvey in Los Angeles.
Marshall went on to author an 11-year MLB career. He popped 148 home runs, made an all-star team and played for Dodgers championship teams in 1981 and ’88.
Still, Marshall ranks near the bottom of the list of BA Minor League POY winners in terms of career MLB value, as measured by wins above replacement.
At the very top of the WAR pile for Minor League POY winners is future Hall of Famer Mike Trout (2011).
Right behind him are current Hall of Famers Derek Jeter (1994) and Frank Thomas (1990), followed by potential future Hall of Famers Andruw Jones (1995-96), Manny Ramirez (1993) and Joe Mauer (2003).
At the next tier down are players who were very good—occasionally elite—for a very long time: Dwight Gooden (1983), Jose Canseco (1985), Josh Beckett (2001), Eric Chavez (1998) and Tim Salmon (1992).
Others like Kris Bryant (2014), Ronald Acuña Jr. (2017), Byron Buxton (2013) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2018) are still in their primes and building their credentials.
Baseball America is proud of its Minor League Player of the Year track record and expect big things from Gunnar Henderson, this year’s winner.
Every Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year winner listed along with FanGraphs wins above replacement totals compiled in MLB through Sept. 27, 2022.
| Year | Player | Pos | Team (Org) | WAR |
| 1981 | Mike Marshall | 1B | Albuquerque (Dodgers) | 11.1 |
| 1982 | Ron Kittle | OF | Edmonton (White Sox) | 5.2 |
| 1983 | Dwight Gooden | RHP | Lynchburg (Mets) | 50.3 |
| 1984 | Mike Bielecki | RHP | Hawaii (Pirates) | 9.0 |
| 1985 | Jose Canseco | OF | Huntsville/Tacoma (Athletics) | 42.1 |
| 1986 | Gregg Jefferies | SS | Columbia/Lynchburg/Jackson (Mets) | 20.2 |
| 1987 | Gregg Jefferies | SS | Jackson/Tidewater (Mets) | 20.2 |
| 1988 | Tom Gordon | RHP | Appleton/Memphis/Omaha (Royals) | 32.8 |
| 1989 | Sandy Alomar Jr. | C | Las Vegas (Padres) | 13.2 |
| 1990 | Frank Thomas | 1B | Birmingham (White Sox) | 72.1 |
| 1991 | Derek Bell | OF | Syracuse (Blue Jays) | 13.0 |
| 1992 | Tim Salmon | OF | Edmonton (Angels) | 35.4 |
| 1993 | Manny Ramirez | OF | Canton/Charlotte (Indians) | 66.4 |
| 1994 | Derek Jeter | SS | Tampa/Albany/Columbus (Yankees) | 73.1 |
| 1995 | Andruw Jones | OF | Macon (Braves) | 67.0 |
| 1996 | Andruw Jones | OF | Durham/Greenville/Richmond (Braves) | 67.0 |
| 1997 | Paul Konerko | 1B | Albuquerque (Dodgers) | 24.0 |
| 1998 | Eric Chavez | 3B | Huntsville/Edmonton (Athletics) | 35.7 |
| 1999 | Rick Ankiel | LHP | Arkansas/Memphis (Cardinals) | 8.8 |
| 2000 | Jon Rauch | RHP | Winston-Salem/Birmingham (White Sox) | 5.0 |
| 2001 | Josh Beckett | RHP | Brevard County/Portland (Marlins) | 37.2 |
| 2002 | Rocco Baldelli | OF | Bakersfield/Orlando/Durham (Devil Rays) | 8.0 |
| 2003 | Joe Mauer | C | Fort Myers/New Britain (Twins) | 53.0 |
| 2004 | Jeff Francis | LHP | Tulsa/Colorado Springs (Rockies) | 11.9 |
| 2005 | Delmon Young | OF | Montgomery/Durham (Devil Rays) | -1.3 |
| 2006 | Alex Gordon | 3B | Wichita (Royals) | 31.9 |
| 2007 | Jay Bruce | OF | Sarasota/Chattanooga/Louisville (Reds) | 20.4 |
| 2008 | Matt Wieters | C | Frederick/Bowie (Orioles) | 17.4 |
| 2009 | Jason Heyward | OF | Myrtle Beach/Mississippi/Gwinnett (Braves) | 33.6 |
| 2010 | Jeremy Hellickson | RHP | Durham/Charlotte (Rays) | 15.4 |
| 2011 | Mike Trout | OF | Arkansas (Angels) | 81.4 |
| 2012 | Wil Myers | OF | Northwest Arkansas/Omaha (Royals) | 14.7 |
| 2013 | Byron Buxton | OF | Cedar Rapids/Fort Myers (Twins) | 18.0 |
| 2014 | Kris Bryant | 3B | Iowa (Cubs) | 32.1 |
| 2015 | Blake Snell | LHP | Charlotte/Montgomery/Durham (Rays) | 17.9 |
| 2016 | Yoan Moncada | 2B | Salem/Portland (Red Sox) | 13.6 |
| 2017 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | OF | Florida/Mississippi/Gwinnett (Braves) | 18.5 |
| 2018 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 3B | New Hampshire/Buffalo (Blue Jays) | 9.2 |
| 2019 | Gavin Lux | SS | Tulsa/Oklahoma City (Dodgers) | 4.4 |
| 2020 | No minor league season | — | — | — |
| 2021 | Bobby Witt Jr. | SS | NW Arkansas/Omaha (Royals) | 2.3 |
| 2022 | Gunnar Henderson | SS | Bowie/Norfolk (Orioles) | 0.8 |
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