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International League

Scranton/Wilkes Barre's Duncan Named IL MVP; Lehr, Jackson, & Sweet Round Out 2009 Award Winners

September 1, 2009 - International League (IL1) News Release


The International League today announced its postseason All-Star Team and Award Winners as selected by the circuit's managers, coaches, media, and club representatives. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre outfielder Shelley Duncan has been named the IL's Most Valuable Player on the strength of his League-leading 29 home runs and 92 RBI. Right-handed veteran Justin Lehr has been named the IL's Most Valuable Pitcher. Lehr's 13 wins pitching for Lehigh Valley and Louisville are tied for the most in the League. 22-year-old outfielder Austin Jackson of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lived up to his billing by Baseball America as the Yankees top prospect this season, earning IL Rookie of the Year honors. Rounding out the list of 2009 Special Award Winners is Manager of the Year Rick Sweet of Louisville. Sweet's Bats have the League's best record (79-56) and have already clinched their second straight IL West Division championship.

Most Valuable Player - Shelley Duncan, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Less than a month before his 30th birthday, Shelley Duncan has been named the International League Most Valuable Player for 2009. He is the IL leader in home runs (29), RBI (92), and runs scored (81). Duncan has also been named to the International League Postseason All-Star Team for the second time in three years. Duncan started the year on fire, hitting .372 with 9 home runs and 27 RBI in April as the Yankees stormed out in front of the IL North. SWB now has a magic number of just five to clinch a wire-to-wire season in the division. In July, Duncan represented the IL at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland after receiving more online votes from fans than any other position player in either League. Duncan becomes the second member of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre franchise to win Most Valuable Player honors, following Shane Victorino in 2005.

Most Valuable Pitcher - Justin Lehr, Lehigh Valley & Louisville 32-year-old Justin Lehr dominated the competition this season to the tune of a 13-3 record with a 3.31 ERA in 20 starts between Lehigh Valley and Louisville. Lehr began the year with the IronPigs, earning IL Pitcher of the Week honors twice in the first five weeks of the season. Then after going 4-2 through late May, Lehr was traded to Cincinnati and assigned to Louisville (where he spent much of the 2008 campaign). Lehr proceeded to go 6-0 in six June starts, including a 3-hit shutout of Columbus. On July 15 Lehr was the starting pitcher for the IL at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland, working a perfect 1st inning to help lead the IL to victory. In late July, days after winning another Pitcher of the Week Award, Lehr was summoned to the Reds to make his first Major League appearance since 2006. In his second outing, he shutout the Chicago Cubs on four hits, and he now owns a 3-1 record with a 4.19 ERA in six starts for Cincinnati. Lehr is the first member of both the Lehigh Valley and Louisville franchises to be named the IL Most Valuable Pitcher.

Rookie-of-the-Year - Austin Jackson, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees top prospect Austin Jackson, just 22 years old, is the 2009 International League Rookie of the Year. Last season, Jackson led the Double-A Trenton Thunder to an Eastern League Championship as the EL Playoff MVP. Now in his first year at the Triple-A level, Jackson has helped lead his Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre club to the brink of another trip to the playoffs. Jackson is 3rd in the IL with 139 hits this season and is currently tied for 1st with 8 triples. He leads his Yankee team with 23 stolen bases to go along with a .293 batting average. Jackson was the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for the IL at the Triple-A All-Star Game in July, helping the cause with a triple and run scored. Jackson is the third player in SWB history to be named IL Rookie of the Year, following Marlon Anderson in 1998 and Brandon Duckworth in 2001. The Yankees are the first team to boast both the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year since Norfolk in 1995 (Butch Huskey and Jason Isringhausen).

Manager-of-the-Year - Rick Sweet, Louisville Rick Sweet, who will turn 57 on the final day of the regular season, is the first skipper to be named International League Manager of the Year in consecutive seasons since Eddie Haas of Richmond in 1981 and 1982. Sweet's Louisville Bats have clinched another West Division title thanks to an IL-best 79-56 record, achieved with a potent blend of power, speed, and pitching. The Bats are 3rd in the IL in runs scored (613), homers (126), and stolen bases (126), while the pitching staff is 2nd in the League in ERA (3.49), runs allowed (528), and shutouts (14). In July, Sweet piloted the IL All-Star team to a 6-5 victory over the PCL squad at the Triple-A All-Star Game in Portland, becoming the event's first three-time manager in the process. Last year Sweet led Louisville to a club-record 88 wins to become the franchise's first-ever IL Manager of the Year.

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In addition to outfielder Shelley Duncan, eleven other players have been named to the International League Postseason All-Star Team. Columbus, Gwinnett, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Toledo all lead the way with two players apiece on the All-Star Team, while eight clubs in total are represented.

 35-year-old first baseman Andy Tracy is 2nd in the IL in both home runs (24) and RBI (88), trailing only Shelley Duncan. Tracy leads all IL first baseman with a .991 fielding percentage. Lehigh Valley's cleanup hitter paces the IronPigs with 71 walks and 70 runs scored. Tracy was also a mid-season All-Star.

 The International League's leading hitter is the All-Star second baseman, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Kevin Russo. Despite two trips to the Disabled List in the first half of the season, Russo, 25, has hit .335 this year and is 3rd in the League with a .412 on-base percentage. The Yankees' leadoff man has been particularly effective down the stretch, hitting .380 with 4 homers and 15 runs scored in August as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre closes in on a playoff berth.

 The 2009 All-Star shortstop is Toledo's Brent Dlugach. The 26-year-old Triple-A rookie missed most of the last two seasons recovering from right shoulder injury. Having spent the entire 2009 campaign with the Mud Hens, Dlugach is 4th in the International League with 137 hits and 2nd with 36 doubles. He leads all IL shortstops with a .955 fielding percentage, complimented by his .294 batting average, 9 home runs, and 59 RBI. Dlugach, also a mid-season IL All-Star, was promoted to Detroit today.

 Third baseman Andy Marte was arguably the International League's hottest hitter when he was promoted to Cleveland on July 28, days before he was named the Topps IL Player of the Month. Entering the season with a lifetime average of .261, the 25-year-old Marte hit his stride with the Clippers in 2009 and was making a run at the League's batting title at the time of his promotion. In 82 games with Columbus, Marte hit .327 with 18 homers and 66 RBI.

 The catcher on the IL Postseason All-Star Team is Erik Kratz of Indianapolis. Kratz is hitting .280 and leads all IL catchers with 11 home runs and 42 RBI. He was named "Top Star" for the IL at the Triple-A All-Star Game in July after going 2-2 with a double and a two-run homer. Since the break, the 29-year-old Kratz has remained red hot, hitting .305 with 6 homers and 19 RBI in 26 games.

 Another mid-season All-Star to make the Postseason All-Star Team is 25-year-old outfielder Jordan Brown. In his second season at the Triple-A level, Brown is 2nd in the League with a .332 batting average through 106 games with Columbus. He leads his team with 132 hits and 34 doubles. Brown, who played both left-field and right-field for the Clippers, is the first Columbus outfielder to make the IL Postseason All-Star Team since Billy Masse in 1993. (Masse is now a coach for Buffalo.)

 In his third season with the Durham Bulls, outfielder Jon Weber leads the International League with 60 extra-base hits and 46 doubles. The 31-year-old Weber is also 5th with 136 hits and 8th with a .302 batting average to go along with 14 home runs and 69 RBI. Weber hit .360 for the Bulls in August to help propel Durham to the top of the IL South Division race. Primarily a left fielder, Weber has also seen action in both center and right field for the Bulls this season.

 Though he didn't beat out Justin Lehr for the Most Valuable Pitcher Award, Charlotte's Carlos Torres will be honored as the starting pitcher on the IL Postseason All-Star Team. Torres is 10-4 with a sparkling 2.39 ERA and even a 4-inning save to his credit this season. He is currently 2nd in the hunt for the International League ERA title, and he's 3rd in the circuit with 130 strikeouts. The 26-year-old Triple-A rookie today received his third promotion to the White Sox this season.

 Gwinnett closer Luis Valdez (promoted today to Atlanta) has been elected as the relief pitcher on the IL Postseason All-Star Team. Valdez leads the League with 26 saves and 57 games pitched in 2009. Valdez has struck out 74 hitters in 70.1 innings, while allowing just 19 walks. The 25-year-old, in his first season at the Triple-A level after eight years in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, has helped the Gwinnett Braves pull within reach of their first playoff appearance (magic number of five over Syracuse to clinch the Wild Card).

 In July, 29-year-old Barbaro Canizares was elected a mid-season IL All-Star for the second straight year, and now for the first time, he is an International League Postseason All-Star. The designated hitter on the All-Star Team, Canizares leads the League with 143 hits while pacing his team in each of the Triple Crown categories (.297, 12 HR, 77 RBI).

 The final All-Star spot goes to Toledo's Don Kelly, who has been selected as the International League's top utility player for 2009. The 29-year-old Kelly was primarily an outfielder this season, but he also saw time at each spot around the Mud Hens' infield. Kelly received votes at three positions in the All-Star voting. He is currently 3rd in the IL with a .330 batting average and 4th with a .401 on-base percentage. Kelly has collected 6 homers, 39 RBI, and 26 stolen bases while hitting in eight different positions in the Toledo batting order.

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2009 INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

Most Valuable Player Shelley Duncan, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Most Valuable Pitcher Justin Lehr, Lehigh Valley IronPigs & Louisville Bats

Rookie of the Year Austin Jackson, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Manager of the Year Rick Sweet, Louisville Bats

2009 INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM

First Baseman Andy Tracy, Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Second Baseman Kevin Russo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Shortstop Brent Dlugach, Toledo Mud Hens

Third Baseman Andy Marte, Columbus Clippers

Catcher Erik Kratz, Indianapolis Indians

Outfielders Jordan Brown, Columbus Clippers

Shelley Duncan, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Jon Weber, Durham Bulls

Designated Hitter Barbaro Canizares, Gwinnett Braves

Utility Player Don Kelly, Toledo Mud Hens

Starting Pitcher Carlos Torres, Charlotte Knights

Relief Pitcher Luis Valdez, Gwinnett Braves

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