Eloy Jimenez Named Midwest League Player Of The Year

The Midwest League announced their postseason honors today and South Bend's Eloy Jimenez was named both Player and Prospect of the year. Pitcher Preston Morrison, now with Myrtle Beach, was named to the Postseason All-Star Team and South Bend manager Jimmy Gonzalez was named Midwest League Manager of the Year.

From the press release:

The 19-year old outfielder is currently hitting  .337 through 106 games with 12 home runs and 77 runs batted in. In addition to the post-season awards, earlier this year, Jimenez was the Midwest League All-Star MVP after hitting a three run homer to tie the game for the Eastern Division team in the top of the 9^th inning.

"Oh man, I feel excited and happy," said Eloy Jimenez. "It’s tough to explain right now. I feel so happy to win this award for my team."

"I think it’s an honor for South Bend to win the Prospect of the Year award two years in a row as a Cubs affiliate. But to win both awards is a tremendous honor for Eloy. That’s not an easy thing to do," said Manager Jimmy Gonzalez.

The award is the second straight Prospect of the Year Award for South Bend as the award went to since-traded Gleyber Torres last season. It's the first Manager of the Year award for Gonzalez.

Morrison went 9-4 with a 2.24 ERA in 17 starts before his promotion to High-A Myrtle Beach.

The award is voted on by the 16 managers of the Midwest League.