Blue Jays minor leaguers bring home the hardware

DUNEDIN, FL - MARCH 3: General view as the Toronto Blue Jays prepare to host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the spring training opener for both teams at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on March 3, 2015 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DUNEDIN, FL - MARCH 3: General view as the Toronto Blue Jays prepare to host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the spring training opener for both teams at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on March 3, 2015 in Dunedin, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Although the Toronto Blue Jays had a disappointing season in the standings their minor league affiliates did very well with a number of farmhands bringing home multiple awards.

Cavan Biggio had a breakout campaign with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats hitting .254/.392/.506 with 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 130 games. For his efforts, Biggio was awarded the Eastern League MVP and voted the Rookie of the Year.

Also taking home hardware on the Fisher Cats was Biggio’s manager John Schneider. The skipper was voted Manager of the Year for leading the Cats to a 76-61 record during the regular season. New Hampshire finished one-game back of the Trenton Thunder for first place in the Eastern League.

Current Jays manager John Gibbons (1998) and bench boss DeMarlo Hale (1999) were also both past recipients of the Manager of the Year honour.

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Patrick Murphy of the Dunedin Blue Jays took home Pitcher of the Year for the Florida State League. The 23-year old went 10-5 with a 2.64 earned run average while leading the league with 135 strikeouts on the season. Murphy was selected in the 3rd round of the 2013 amateur draft by the Jays and is not even regarded as one of the organizations Top 30 prospects by MLB.com.

The baby Jays of Dunedin also saw two of their players share the Batting Title crown as Ivan Castillo and Rodrigo Orozco both hit .304 on the season. Castillo hit .304/.345/.448 with 118 hits including 25 doubles, 8 triples, 5 homers, and 8 stolen bases in 108 games.

Orozco who is a native of Panama hit .304/.375/389 with 115 hits including 23 doubles, 3 triples, one homer and 18 stolen bases in 112 games. The duo Castillo and Orozco were ironically also roommates this year on the farm.

Rounding out the Dunedin hardware was Connor Eller who was selected as the 2018 recipient of the Blue Jays Community Service Award for his dedication to helping the local community throughout the 2018 campaign.

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There was also a number of All-Stars throughout the various minor league ranks on their respective teams. All in all, it was a very successful season for the Blue Jays minor league players and bodes well for the future of the organization.