By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. filled his bat case, his equipment bag and his travel satchel with all kinds of honours and trophies this season.

3B Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) made an impression everywhere he went as Toronto Blue Jays fans hoped he would arrive to save the Blue Jays’ season or perhaps arrive in September for a line drive show. Guerrero played 61 games with the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 30 at triple-A Buffalo Bisons, three for the rookie-class Gulf Coast Jays and one at class-A Dunedin.

The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero was born in Montreal on March 16, 1999, just 21 days before his father went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs as the Expos thumped the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2 on opening day at Three Rivers Stadium.

As a teenager, Guerrero, 19, earned:

_ Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year award, the first Blue Jay farmhand to do so since OF Derek Bell in 1991.

_ MLB Pipeline hitter of the year.

_ Baseball America First-Team All-Star honours and he was named to BA’s Double-A All Star team.

_ All-Star Post-Season and Mid-Season all-star berths in the Eastern League.

_ The highest batting average in the minors this season, hitting .381 combined. He also led minors in slugging percentage at .636.

_ Three Player of the Week awards -- two in the Eastern League and one in the International League -- and the Eastern League Player of the Month for May.

_ Two Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week honours.

And now he can add to his list of awards and baubles ... the Randall Echlin Memorial award, emblematic of the Canadian Baseball Network’s minor league hitter of the year. Guerrero Jr. was the best of the 126 Canadians in the minors. Heck, he was best of anyone from any country playing in the minors.

==========================

Top 10 Canuck hitters in minors

==========================

Guerrero Jr. shared the Echlin award a year ago with Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC). This season he hit 20 home runs and finished with a 1.073 OPS, while setting career highs in doubles (29), home runs, RBIs (78), average, on-base average (.437), slugging (.636) and OPS.

The Echlin honour was one of four awards handed out in the 11th annual Canadian Baseball Network minor league honours.

RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.), Guerrero’s teammate at double-A New Hampshire, won the Canadian Baseball Network minor league pitcher of the year.

==========================

Top 10 Canuck pitchers in minors

==========================

Jamie Romak (London, Ont.), the SK Wyverns slugger in Korea, was voted the top hitter in indy ball and foreign lands for a second straight year. Romak homered 43 times and knocked in 107 runs during the regular season.

LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) of the Orix Buffaloes was the top pitcher.

* * *

Canadian Baseball Network offensive Canadian player of the year in the minors, Randall Echlin award - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.).

Guerrero Jr., 19, has not gone consecutive games without a hit since July 20-21, 2017 when with the class-A Lansing Lugnuts. He edged three-time winner Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC), Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Jared Young (Prince George, BC) for this year’s Echlin award.

There has been plenty of talk how former GM Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.) left the cupboard bare (just the way J.P. Ricciardi complained about how his predecessor Gord Ash (Toronto, Ont.) left the cupboard for him). Yet, when the Jays brag about their system, the No. 1 jewel is Guerrero, who was signed and scouted by Anthopoulos, assistant GM Andrew Tinnish, Latin American scouting director Ishamael Cruz, Dominican Republic supervisor Sandy Rosario and area scout Luciano Del Rosario. All were very involved.

Anthopoulos negotiated the contract in French with Guerrero’s mother, who lived some in Montreal and spoke French.

Guerrero may have been the most publicized player in the minor leagues this season, and the hype was well deserved. His overall slash line (shown below) is quite impressive and had he not sustained an injury in mid season, which resulted in a four-week stint on the disabled list, and based on the way he was performing, it’s not unreasonable to believe he could have achieved a .400 batting average for the year.

G AB R H AVG D T HR RBI

95 357 67 136 .381 29 1 20 78

If we examine the Canadian Baseball Network Top 10 lists for the past 10 years, we can confirm that Guerrero’s .381 batting average is the highest for a Canadian affiliated minor leaguer since 2011, when Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) batted .353 for Las Vegas 51s, a Jays’ affiliate in the triple-A Pacific Coast League.

As you would expect, Guerrero’s performance in 2018 garnered many accolades, whether it was from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline or Eastern League all-star honours. Not bad for a 19-year-old, in only his third year as a pro.

Guerrero led all Canucks in average and RBIs this season, was second in homers, was third in hits and was fourth in runs scored,

Guerrero beat out ... Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC), Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Jared Young (Prince George, BC). Nine voters were polled with Guerrero beating out O’Neill.

Tyler O’Neill spent 64 games playing for manager Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) at triple-A Memphis and 61 with the St. Louis Cardinals. O’Neill, 23, had nine doubles, two triples, 26 homers and 63 RBIs, as well as a 1.078 OPS. With the Cards, he batted .254 with five doubles, nine homers and 23 RBIs, with an .803 OPS.

O’Neill led in homers was second among Canucks in average and was sixth in RBIs.

Josh Naylor batted .297, with 17 homers, 74 RBIs and an .830 OPS in 128 games with the double-A San Antonio Missions. With the arrival of free agent 1B Eric Hosmer, Naylor, 21, moved to the outfield. He played 89 games in left, 29 at first and 13 at DH.

Naylor led all Canucks in hits, was second in runs scored, fourth in homers and RBIs, as well as eighth in average.

Jared Young was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 15th round in 2017. This was his second season in pro ball. Young, 23, put up some very impressive numbers while playing at the Single A level with South Bend Cubs (69 games) in the Midwest League, and with Myrtle Beach Pelicans (51) in the South Atlantic League.

In the current Canadian Baseball Network Top 10 lists, Young appears in all six offensive categories. A very versatile player in 2018, he appeared in over 80 games as an infielder plus 35 games as an outfielder and this versatility factor could be an important benefit in his success as a prospect, and his progress towards the big league level.

* * *

Canadian Baseball Network pitcher of the year - RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.), double-A New Hampshire; triple-A Buffalo.

In the current Toronto Blue Jays minor league hierarchy of top pitching prospects, Romano is ranked in the Top 10 and, based on the fact the Jays are now in the midst of a complete rebuild mode, it would appear that the opportunities for advancement for all of these 10 young pitchers in their system are now at a high.

Romano, a former Ontario Blue Jay who attended Oral Roberts, was active in 2018 with double-A New Hampshire and played a key role in the Fisher Cats winning the Eastern League championship. In 25 starts with the Cats, he won 11 games and pitched to a 4.13 ERA, including 125 strikeouts in 137 1/3 innings. His record for the year also includes an emergency start with Buffalo, a game in which he pitched five strong innings and picked up the win.

G W L S ERA ER IP H K WHIP

26 12 8 - 4.11 65 142.1 126 128 1.201

Romano led in wins and strikeouts amongst Canucks and was second in innings pitched.

Romano beat out ... Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) and Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC) in the closest of any of the races.

RHP Zach Pop started with the Great Lakes Loons in the Los Angeles Dodgers system, moved to the class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and was promoted to the double-A Tulsa Drillers when he was part of the deal which saw the Dodgers obtain Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles. Pop finished with the double-A Bowie Baysox.

Pop led all pitchers with the lowest ERA and the best WHIP, was tied for second in saves -- with Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, BC), and was second in appearances.

It may be somewhat presumptuous to call Rowan Wick, 25, a veteran, but based on his experiences and career path thus far, it might be appropriate. Originally drafted and signed in 2013 as a catcher by St. Louis, he was active at the Single A level in 2015, when the Cardinals made the decision to transition Wick to the mound, and over time the experiment worked out quite well.

In February 2018, he was claimed off the waiver wire by the San Diego Padres, and assigned to start the season with the double-A San Antonio Missions in the Texas League. After 29 games with the Missions, he was promoted to the El Paso Chihuahuas in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. His numbers below reflect that he was a solid relief pitcher for both teams, pitching to a 2.67 ERA with 14 saves in a total of 49 game appearances.

G W L S ERA ER IP H K WHIP

49 4 4 14 2.67 16 54.0 38 64 1.278

The Padres were quite pleased with his performance in the minors and promoted him to the big league level. On Aug. 31, 2018, he made his big-league debut against the Colorado Rockies and eventually appeared in 10 games with the Padres.

Wick led all Canucks in saves and appearances, as well as the owning the fifth best ERA.

***

Canadian Baseball Network offensive player of the year, foreign or independent ball: Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns, Korea Baseball Organization.

Within the Top 10 listing for 2018 Independent/Foreign players, Romak, 33, led in six of the seven offensive categories, and finished fourth in the other with a .316 average. His 43 home runs were tied for the second most in the KBO, and his 107 RBIs placed him 11th.

After one closely examines the numbers shown below that Romak has put up in 2018 playing with the KBO’s SK Wyverns in Hangul, South Korea, it would be redundant to put forth any other offensive candidate in this category.

G AB R H AVG D T HR RBI

141 528 102 167 .316 19 - 43 107

The top Canadian drafted in 2003 -- in the fourth round from the London Badgers by Atlanta Braves scout Lonnie Goldberg -- Romak won for the second straight year. Last year he began the season with the triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas before his contract was purchased by SK Wyverns, he had 27 doubles, one triple, 42 homers, 89 RBIs and a .959 OPS in 127 games.

His 43 home runs set a single-season record for Canadian minor leaguers, surpassing his previous record of 42 from last year. Before Romak, the previous high was 37 by Morry Abbott (Duncan, BC), who played for the 1939 class-B Tacoma Tigers.

Romak led all Canucks in hits, runs scored, home runs, RBIs and games, as well as being fourth in average.

Romak, the only unanimous choice, beat out ... OF Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) and OF-DH Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.).

Crouse, 37, hit .279, with 18 doubles, seven triples, 17 homers and 73 RBIs in 109 games with Pericos de Puebla playing in Mexico with an .850 OPS. Among Canadians in the indy/foreign ranks. Crouse was second in home runs, RBIs, runs scored and games played, as well as being third in hits.

Boucher, 36, had 23 doubles, a triple, a homer and 53 RBIs while hitting .328 with an .835 OPS for the Ottawa Champions of the independent Can-Am League. The Ottawa native was second in hits, third in batting average, RBIs and games, fifth in runs scored.

***

Canadian Baseball Network top pitcher of the year, foreign or independent ball - LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.).

Based on his excellent performance in 2017 when he was in the Atlanta Braves system at triple A Gwinnett (12 wins, 2.61 ERA) and a strong finish in the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners (5-1, 3.51 in nine games), Andrew Albers, 32, was probably being considered for one of the prized spots in Mariners’ starting rotation for 2018. However, when he received a financial offer “he could not refuse” from the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s Pacific League, his plans took a serious turn.

The move proved to be a good one, both for Orix and for Albers because in short order, he established himself as a key member of the starting rotation (as you can see in his stat line below).

G W L S ERA ER IP H K WHIP

19 9 2 - 3.08 39 114.0 105 83 1.105

Albers signed a two-year contract extension with Orix in August.

The Saskatchewan-born southpaw was first in wins among Canucks, second in innings pitched, third in ERA and WHIP as well as being fourth in strikeouts. He earned Canadian Baseball Network minor league pitcher of the year honours in 2013 when he was in the Minnesota Twins system.

Albers barely beat out ... Scott Richmond (North Vancouver, BC) and Jay Johnson (Sussex Corner, NB).

Richmond was 4-3, with a 1.81 ERA pitching for Citta di Nettuno in the Italian League Series A. Richmond had the lowest ERA and the best WHIP, was second in strikeouts and fifth in innings pitched.

Johnson took a two-year leave from the game of baseball ( 2016-2017) but, as it sometimes does with pro players who retire early, the desire to re-start his career became serious and he decided he still wanted to compete. In early 2018, he signed as a free agent with Quebec Capitales in the IND Can Am League, and his excellent performance as a key member of their bullpen staff confirmed that he certainly made a wise decision.

G W L S ERA ER IP H K WHIP

28 7 2 1 2.62 24 89.0 70 77 1.112

This was his sixth season in the pro ranks, and he was used primarily as a reliever but on occasion was called upon to start the odd game. As the above numbers clearly indicate, he excelled in both roles.

Johnson was second in ERA among Canucks, third in wins fifth in strikeouts and fifth in appearances,

HONOUR ROLL

AFFILIATED PLAYERS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

(Starting in 2011 the award was named after The Honourable Mr. Justice Randall Echlin, former head of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame selection committee, a lifelong fan and a man with a baseball-shaped heart.)

2008 _ Tim Smith (Toronto, Ont.) Rangers.

2009 _ Tyson Gillies (Langley, BC) Mariners.

2010 _ Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Brewers.

2011 _ Taylor Green (Comox, BC) Brewers and Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) Jays.

2012 _ Oscar Taveras (Montreal, Que.) Cardinals.

2013 _ Sean Jamieson (Simcoe, Ont.) Diamondbacks.

2014 _ Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Blue Jays.

2015 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2016 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners.

2017 _ Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) Mariners/Cardinals and Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays.

2018 _ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) Blue Jays

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

2008 _ Scott Diamond (Guelph, Ont.) Braves.

2009 _ James Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) Brewers and John Axford (Port Dover, Ont.) Brewers.

2010 _ Scott Mathieson (Langley, BC) Phillies.

2011 _ Mark Hardy (Campbell River, BC) Padres..

2012 _ James Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) Brewers.

2013 _ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) Twins

2014 _ Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) Nationals.

2015 _ Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC) Phillies and Shane Dawson (Drayton Valley, Alta.) Blue Jays.

2016 _ Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Tex.) Pirates and Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC), Phillies.

2017 _ Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) Braves.

2018 _ Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) Jays

Affiliated award winners from:

Organizations: Blue Jays 6, Brewers 5, Mariners 4, Phillies 3, Braves 2, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Padres, Pirates, Rangers, Nationals and Twins one each.

Provinces: BC 12, Ontario 6, Alberta 4, Quebec 3 and Saskatchewan one each.

INDEPENDENT/FOREIGN LEAGUE PLAYERS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

2008 _ Drew Miller (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2009 _ Pete LaForest (Hull, Que.) Quebec Capitales and Colin Moro (Calgary, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2010 _ Drew Miller (Medicine Hat, Alta.) Calgary Vipers.

2011 _ Matt Rogelstad (Port Moody, BC) Edmonton Capitals.

2012 _ Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) Quebec Capitales.

2013 _ Jonathan Malo (Laval, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2014 _ Sebastien Boucher (Ottawa, Ont.) Quebec Capitales.

2015 _ Jim Adduci (Burnaby, BC) Lotte Giants, Korea.

2016 _ Carter Bell, (Courtenay, BC) Joliet Slammers.

2017 _ Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns/triple-A El Paso.

2018 _ Jamie Romak (London, Ont.) SK Wyverns.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

2008 _ Michel Simard (Charlesbourg, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2009 _ Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, Ont.) New Jersey Jackals.

2010 _ Aaron Cotter (Kitimat, BC) Sioux Falls Pheasants.

2011 _ John Mariotti (Toronto, Ont.) Quebec Capitales

2012 _ Jeff Duda (Surrey, BC) Quebec Capitales.

2013 _ Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2014 _ Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2015 _ Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2016 _ Karl Gelinas (Iberville, Que.) Quebec Capitales.

2017 _ Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC) Yomiuri Giants

2018 _ Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) Orix Buffaloes.

Indy foreign lands winners from

Provinces: Quebec 8, BC 6, Ontario 5 and Alberta 2 and Saskatchewan 1

*Bold print indicates that the player has played in the major leagues.