Eastern League Pitcher of the Year Award

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SportBaseball
LeagueEastern League
Awarded forBest regular-season pitcher in the Eastern League
CountryUnited States
Eastern League
Pitcher of the Year Award
SportBaseball
LeagueEastern League
Awarded forBest regular-season pitcher in the Eastern League
CountryUnited States
Presented byEastern League
History
First awardBrad Arnsberg (1985)
Most recentJonah Tong (2025)

The Eastern League Pitcher of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best pitcher in Minor League Baseball's Eastern League. The award is based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers.[1] Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, and members of the media have previously voted as well.[2] Though the league was established in 1938,[3] the award was not created until 1985.[4] After the cancellation of the 2020 season,[5] the league was known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021 before reverting to the Eastern League name in 2022.[6][7]

From 1962 to 1984, pitchers were eligible to win the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) as no award was designated for pitchers. Three pitchers won the MVP Award: Frank Bertaina (1964), Tom Fisher (1966), and Mark Davis (1980).[4] One pitcher has also won the league's Top MLB Prospect Award (formerly the Rookie of the Year Award): Juan Acevedo (1994), who won both awards in the same season.

Six players from the Binghamton Rumble Ponies have been selected for the Pitcher of the Year Award, more than any other team in the league, followed by the Chesapeake Baysox and Portland Sea Dogs (4); the Akron RubberDucks and New Haven Ravens (3); the Albany-Colonie Yankees, Erie SeaWolves, Harrisburg Senators, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and Trenton Thunder (2); and the Altoona Curve, Glens Falls Tigers, Hagerstown Suns, Hartford Yard Goats, Nashua Pirates, New Britain Rock Cats, Reading Fightin Phils, Richmond Flying Squirrels, Somerset Patriots, Vermont Reds, and Williamsport Bills (1).

Six players from the and New York Mets Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the award, more than any other, followed by the Baltimore Orioles organization (5); the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees organizations (4); the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, and Detroit Tigers organizations (3); the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals organizations (2); and the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Francisco Giants organizations (1).

A man in a navy blue baseball jersey and cap
Brad Arnsberg won the first Pitcher of the Year Award in 1985.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with a navy cap
Jon Lester, the 2005 Pitcher of the Year, became a five-time MLB All-Star (2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018).[8]
A man in a white baseball uniform and a black cap
Michael Fulmer, the 2015 winner, was selected for the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2016.[9]
Key
Record The pitcher's win–loss record during the regular season
Saves The number of saves earned by the pitcher, if any, during the regular season
ERA The pitcher's earned run average (ERA) during the regular season
SO The number of strikeouts recorded by the pitcher during the regular season
Winners
Year Winner Team Organization Record Saves ERA SO Ref(s).
1985 Brad Arnsberg Albany-Colonie Yankees New York Yankees 14–2 0 1.59 82 [10]
1986 Jim Neidlinger Nashua Pirates Pittsburgh Pirates 12–7 0 2.42 98 [11]
1987 Rob Lopez Vermont Reds Cincinnati Reds 13–4 0 2.40 82 [12]
1988 Cesar Mejia Glens Falls Tigers Detroit Tigers 14–5 0 2.43 99 [13]
1989 Rod Imes Albany-Colonie Yankees New York Yankees 17–6 0 2.73 128 [14]
1990 Mike Gardiner Williamsport Bills Seattle Mariners 12–8 0 1.90 149 [15]
1991 Arthur Rhodes Hagerstown Suns Baltimore Orioles 7–4 0 2.70 115 [16]
1992 Bobby Jones Binghamton Mets New York Mets 12–4 0 1.88 143 [17]
1993 Joey Eischen Harrisburg Senators Montreal Expos 14–4 0 3.62 110 [18]
1994 Juan Acevedo New Haven Ravens Colorado Rockies 17–6 0 2.37 161 [19]
1995 Paul Wilson Binghamton Mets New York Mets 6–3 0 2.17 127 [20]
1996 Carl Pavano Trenton Thunder Boston Red Sox 16–5 0 2.63 146 [21]
1997 Mike Vavrek New Haven Ravens Colorado Rockies 12–3 0 2.57 101 [22]
1998 Brent Stentz New Britain Rock Cats Minnesota Twins 1–2 43 1.98 65 [23]
1999 Michael Tejera Portland Sea Dogs Florida Marlins 13–4 0 2.62 152 [24]
2000 Greg Wooten New Haven Ravens Seattle Mariners 17–3 0 2.31 115 [25]
2001 John Stephens Bowie Baysox Baltimore Orioles 11–4 0 1.84 130 [26]
2002 Ryan Madson Reading Phillies Philadelphia Phillies 16–4 0 3.20 132 [27]
2003 Sean Burnett Altoona Curve Pittsburgh Pirates 14–6 0 3.21 86 [28]
2004 Gustavo Chacín New Hampshire Fisher Cats Toronto Blue Jays 16–2 0 2.86 109 [29]
2005 Jon Lester Portland Sea Dogs Boston Red Sox 11–6 0 2.61 163 [30]
2006 Adam Miller Akron Aeros Cleveland Indians 15–6 0 2.75 157 [31]
2007 Alan Horne Trenton Thunder New York Yankees 12–4 0 3.11 165 [32]
2008 Brad Bergesen Bowie Baysox Baltimore Orioles 15–6 0 3.22 72 [33]
2009 Jeanmar Gómez Akron Aeros Cleveland Indians 10–4 0 3.43 109 [34]
2010 Kyle Drabek New Hampshire Fisher Cats Toronto Blue Jays 14–9 0 2.94 132 [35]
2011 Brad Peacock Harrisburg Senators Washington Nationals 10–2 0 2.01 129 [36]
2012 Chris Heston Richmond Flying Squirrels San Francisco Giants 9–8 0 2.24 135 [37]
2013 Anthony Ranaudo Portland Sea Dogs Boston Red Sox 8–4 0 2.95 106 [38]
2014 Henry Owens 14–4 0 2.60 126 [39]
2015 Michael Fulmer[a] Binghamton Mets
Erie SeaWolves		 New York Mets
Detroit Tigers		 10–3 0 2.14 116 [41]
2016 Germán Márquez Hartford Yard Goats Colorado Rockies 9–6 0 2.85 126 [42]
2017 Corey Oswalt Binghamton Rumble Ponies New York Mets 12–5 0 2.28 119 [43]
2018 Keegan Akin Bowie Baysox Baltimore Orioles 14–7 0 3.27 142 [44]
2019 Matt Manning Erie SeaWolves Detroit Tigers 11–5 0 2.56 148 [45]
2020 None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) [5]
2021 Grayson Rodriguez Bowie Baysox Baltimore Orioles 6–1 0 2.60 121 [46][47]
2022 Tanner Bibee Akron RubberDucks Cleveland Guardians 6–1 0 1.83 81 [1][48]
2023 Richard Fitts Somerset Patriots New York Yankees 11–5 0 3.48 163 [49][50]
2024 Brandon Sproat Binghamton Rumble Ponies New York Mets 4–1 0 2.45 77 [51][52]
2025 Jonah Tong Binghamton Rumble Ponies New York Mets 8–5 0 1.59 162 [53][54]

Wins by team

Active Eastern League teams appear in bold.

Team Award(s) Year(s)
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Binghamton Mets) 6 1992, 1995, 2015, 2017, 2024, 2025
Chesapeake Baysox (Bowie Baysox) 4 2001, 2008, 2018, 2021
Portland Sea Dogs 1999, 2005, 2013, 2014
Akron RubberDucks (Akron Aeros) 3 2006, 2009, 2022
New Haven Ravens 1994, 1997, 2000
Albany-Colonie Yankees 2 1985, 1989
Erie SeaWolves 2015, 2019
Harrisburg Senators 1993, 2011
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 2004, 2010
Trenton Thunder 1996, 2007
Altoona Curve 1 2003
Glens Falls Tigers 1988
Hagerstown Suns 1991
Hartford Yard Goats 2016
Nashua Pirates 1996
New Britain Rock Cats 1998
Reading Fightin Phils (Reading Phillies) 2002
Richmond Flying Squirrels 2012
Somerset Patriots 2023
Vermont Reds 1987
Williamsport Bills 1990

Wins by organization

Notes

References

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