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09/10/2009 9:28 PM ET
Astros announce Minor League MVPs
Honorees to be recognized at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, Sept. 26
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HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros Player Development Department announced the 2009 Most Valuable Players for the team's minor league affiliates today. The eight MVPs, selected by the field staff of each team, will be recognized at a special pre-game ceremony at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, September 26, prior to the Astros 6:05 p.m. game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Infielder Tommy Manzella was named MVP of the Round Rock Express, the Astros Triple A affiliate. He hit .289 (153x530) in 133 games with nine home runs, 31 doubles and 56 RBI and finished the PCL season ranking second in at-bats (530) and third in hits (153). Known for his defensive ability, Manzella earned Round Rock's Defensive Player of the Month honors twice this season and was named by Baseball America as the organization's best defensive infielder prior to the 2009 campaign. This year, he posted a .977 fielding percentage in 130 games as Round Rock's everyday shortstop. A September addition to the Astros, Manzella is making his first appearance on a Major League roster. He is a native of Chalmette, LA, and was drafted in the third round of the June 2005 draft.
In Corpus Christi, the Astros Double A affiliate, outfielder Drew Locke was named MVP after hitting .338 (170x503) with 20 home runs, 109 RBI and a .389 on-base percentage. He was a Midseason All-Star and finished first in the Texas League in batting average, hits and RBI, second in slugging percentage (.531), third in runs scored (81), and fourth in on-base percentage. Acquired by Houston in the minor league phase of the 2008 Rule V Draft, Locke finished second among all Astros minor leaguers in batting average and RBI.
Lancaster's Koby Clemens captured MVP honors for the JetHawks, the Astros Advanced Class A affiliate. Clemens put together a remarkable season, hitting .345 (146x423) with 22 homers, 45 doubles and a minor-league leading 121 RBI. The right-handed hitting catcher slugged .636 and posted a .419 on-base percentage for an OPS of 1.055. Clemens was a California League Postseason All-Star and led the league in RBI and slugging percentage, while ranking tied for first in batting average and doubles. He also had the highest average and RBI totals among all Astros minor leaguers.
Lexington Legends outfielder/first baseman Brian Pellegrini finished with a .291 average (102x351) with 27 home runs and 74 RBI en route to claiming team MVP honors. He finished first in the South Atlantic League in home runs, while ranking second in both slugging (.578) and on-base percentage (.396). Among Astros prospects, Pellegrini finished the season ranking second in home runs (34) and fourth in RBI (89) in combined totals between Lexington and Lancaster.
The Tri-City ValleyCats (SS-A) named infielder Barry Butera team MVP after he hit .267 (54x202) with 16 stolen bases in 61 games. Butera, a 21st-round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, finished his first professional season by winning Tri-City's Offensive Player of the Month in August. In the month, he posted a .358 (34x95) average with eight RBI.
With the Greeneville Astros (R), infielder Jose Altuve hit .324 (58x179) with 20 doubles, 21 steals and a .408 on-base percentage to earn team MVP honors. The 2009 Appalachian League All-Star finished his campaign ranking third in the league in steals and fourth in batting average and OBP. His performance earned him a late-season promotion to Tri-City, where he played in 21 games for the ValleyCats.
For the Astros Gulf Coast League affiliate, infielder Enrique Hernandez earned team MVP honors by hitting .295 (61x207) with 27 RBI and 35 runs scored in 53 games. A sixth-round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Hernandez finished the season ranking third in the league in hits and fourth in runs scored.
Infielder Hector Rodriguez was tabbed MVP of the Astros Dominican Summer League team after posting a .269 (53x197) average in 55 games. The 20-year-old native Dominican was signed as a non-drafted free agent by Astros scouts Julio Linares and Arturo DeFreitas prior to the 2008 season.
The Astros currently have three of the organization's former minor league MVP honorees on their active roster, including Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence and the Express' 2009 MVP Tommy Manzella. In 1998, Berkman won the award at Double A Jackson with a .306 average, 24 home runs and 89 RBI. Pence was named MVP for Class A Lexington in 2005 after hitting .338 with 25 home runs and 60 RBI in 80 games.
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