Pearl, MS - The Atlanta Braves announced the Pitchers and Players of the Year for the organization and five M-Braves were honored. Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Matt Young, Kyle Cofield and Cory Gearrin were all honored by the parent club.
Heyward was named the Atlanta Braves' Minor League Player of the Year while Young was named the Mississippi Braves' Player of the Year for the second straight season. Kimbrel was named the Atlanta Braves' Minor League Pitcher of the Year and Gearrin was named the Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Pitcher of the Year.
Heyward has taken home numerous honors after hitting .323 with 17 homers and 63 RBI with Myrtle Beach, Mississippi and Gwinnett. He ranked third in the organization in batting, third in home runs and sixth in RBI.
Kimbrel split the season between Rome, Myrtle Beach, Mississippi and Gwinnett as he posted 18 saves in 18 opportunities on the season. He fanned 103 batters and walked 45 through 60.0 innings.
Young was named the M-Braves' player of the Year again in 2009 after leading Mississippi in average (.289), games (130), runs (81), hits (133), triples (10), walks (94), stolen bases (42), and on-base percentage (.421). His 81 runs scored, 42 stolen bases, 94 walks and .421 on-base percentage were all new team records. Young's 97 total walks on the year ranked fifth in all of minor league baseball.
Cofield led the M-Braves with 10 wins and held opponents to a .236 average. He fanned 87 while walking 89 on the year. Cofield was only the second M-Braves hurler to reach double-digit wins.
Gearrin converted 17 of 18 save opportunities for the Pelicans in 2009. He posted an ERA of 1.84 through 27 games (29.1 IP) and struck out 32 while walking only three. He held Carolina League opponents to a .198 average.
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