Image credit:
Konnor Griffin (Tom Priddy/Four Seam Images)
Farmers donâ€t get to choose the weather. No matter if it rains all summer or the soil dries out and cracks, harvest comes and silos are either filled or left empty.
When it comes to picking Baseball America’s end-of-season awards, we’re a bit like farmers. We cannot control whether itâ€s a bumper crop or a fallow period.Â
Each year since 1981 (with the exception of the cancelled 2020 season), we’ve chosen a Minor League Player of the Year. We added a Minor League Pitcher of the Year award in 2022. So, that’s two major award winners we have to pick whether itâ€s a year overflowing with top prospects having standout seasons or one in which no one clearly stood out. Some years we have a bounty of choices, some years we face slim pickings.
This year, we’re happy to say the silos were overflowing.
MiLB Player of the Year
The 2025 season was one of those years in which multiple prospects were worthy of the POY award. In the end, we felt like we had a clear choice, but it was is a year in which the runners-up would have been excellent choices, as well.
In many years, Kevin McGonigle would have been a slam dunk choice. The Tigers shortstop, who only turned 21 late in the season, showed off his polished hitting ability by slashing .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs in 88 games, the final 46 of which came with Double-A Erie. He knows the strike zone better than some of the umpires, as his 59 walks to 46 strikeouts attests.
Notably, McGonigle also began to grow into his power in 2025. In his standout 2024 season, which was spent mostly at Low-A, he hit just five homers in 74 games.
This is a perfect encapsulation of why heâ€s one of the game’s best overall prospects. If you surveyed evaluators about the best pure hitter in the minors, the lefthanded-hitting McGonigle would likely have his name on the most ballots.
But as good as his season was, Konnor Griffinâ€s was even better.Â
The 19-year-old Pirates shortstop took home our 2025 MiLB Player of the Year Award in part because was younger and less experienced than McGonigle, but he finished at the same level, Double-A. Griffinâ€s performance was also equally excellent, but he did it for a full season, while McGonigle missed a month.Â
Defensively, Griffin is a plus center fielder. But that feels like a waste, because heâ€s also a plus defender at shortstop. His arm is plus-plus, allowing him to make plays many shortstops cannot consider. Heâ€s also sure-handed and reliable. Griffin committed just seven errors at shortstop in 89 games, making him one of three teenage shortstops with at least 75 games at the position and fewer than 10 errors (Franklin Arias of the Red Sox and George Lombard Jr. of the Yankees are the others).
Griffin also has top-of-the-scale speed that led to 65 stolen bases in 78 attempts.
Most importantly, Griffin addressed the one big concern he faced coming into pro ball—his hitting ability. Over the course of 2025, Griffin’s hit tool has proven to be a strength. His .333 average is the best by a teenager in the full-season minor leagues since 2018, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit .381.
Griffin was also wonderfully consistent this season. He hit .328 or better at all three stops from Low-A to Double-A. His strikeout rate didnâ€t climb, and his walk rate didnâ€t dip significantly as he was being promoted. His exceptional season also included 21 home runs to give him a rare combination of power and speed production for a teenage prospect.
MiLB Pitcher of the Year
Itâ€s good we have a Minor League Pitcher of the Year award these days. A few years ago, we realized the reduction in minor league pitchers†workloads made it unlikely that a pitcher could ever again win the POY award.
In the past 20 years, only Blake Snell in 2015 and Jeremy Hellickson in 2010 have won our POY award.
This yearâ€s Pitcher of the Year is Mets righthander Jonah Tong. While itâ€s hard to argue that his 113.2 minor league innings outweigh Griffinâ€s 563 plate appearances, his season made a strong case as the most impressive performance of the year.
Baseball America has tracked the overall minor league leaders in every season since 1993. In that time, never before had a pitcher led the minors in ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (179). Tong did that while also leading in opponent average (.149), strikeout rate (40.5%) and K-BB% (29.9). He had to settle for No. 2 in WHIP at 0.92.
Tong posted those outlandish numbers despite working through a slightly rocky April, as he gave up seven earned runs in his first three starts for Double-A Binghamton. From then on, he starred every time he took the mound. He didnâ€t allow three runs again in an outing again even once over his final 19 minor league starts. In fact, his 10 scoreless starts outnumbered his six one-run outings and two two-run starts combined.
His 113.2 innings just barely edges over the line to qualify for the MiLB ERA title because he was called up at the end of August to play a key role in the Mets†playoff push. In fact, the rulebook doesnâ€t address whether Tong actually qualifies or not, but at Baseball America, we are treating him as a qualifier.
As far as dominant minor league pitching performances in the 21st century, Tongâ€s season ranks alongside other standouts like:
- Justin Verlander in 2005, when he pitched to a 1.29 ERA in 118.2 innings
- Cristian Javier in 2019, when he led the minors with a 1.74 ERA and .130 opponent average
- Josh Beckett in 2001, when he led the minors with a 1.53 ERA and .170 opponent average
Verlanderâ€s ERA and Javierâ€s opponent average are the best overall marks since 1993—and maybe longer, but we canâ€t verify that.
McGonigleâ€s season was special. Tong had a year for the record books. And Griffinâ€s breakout season is one anyone who saw him play in person will remember for decades to come.
It was a great year for anyone who loves seeing great prospects provide exceptional performances. Here’s hoping for more full silos in 2026.
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