Cincinnati Reds 2014 Minor League Awards

It's almost awards season!

So, who should win X or Y end-of-season-award? It's one of the most exciting, and debatable topics of the season, and since the minor league season is over, we can replicate that to some extent while looking at the Cincinnati Reds farm system.

Though the season was filled with some mixed results from top prospects, there are plenty of players who deserve recognition for their outstanding accomplishments.

In this piece, I took the major end-of-season awards—excluding Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards—and applied them directly to the Reds farm system. So, going through this slideshow will give you a detailed look at the system's Rookie of the Year, Delivery Man, Cy Young, Hank Aaron and Most Valuable Player Award winners.

Let's get to it.

All stats are current through Sept. 16, 2014 and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Rookie of the Year: Alex Blandino

Given the fact that none of the players featured in this piece are, as Major League Baseball defines, rookies, I decided to adapt the award and give it to the first-year player who had the best season as a Reds minor leaguer.

This year, that award goes to first-round pick, Alex Blandino.

After being selected 29th overall, Blandino received an immediate assignment to the Reds' rookie affiliate in the Pioneer League where he proceeded to dominate opposing pitchers. Over 29 games, Blandino posted a .309/.412/.527 batting line with four home runs, 10 doubles, 16 RBI, 20 runs, six steals and an 18-16 K/BB ratio.

The 21-year-old's performance was strong enough to earn him a promotion up to Single-A Dayton, where he continued to hit the ball well. In 34 games with the Dragons, Blandino logged a .261/.329/.440 slash line with peripheral stats nearly identical to the ones he posted in the Pioneer League, including four home runs, 10 doubles, 16 RBI, 20 runs, one steal and a 42-13 K/BB ratio.

Though at times he proved to be overmatched by Single-A pitching, Blandino's appearance at the level was an overall success.

All-in-all, Blandino's season stat line was impressive. Over a combined 63 games, the Stanford Unversity product slashed .283/.367/.480 with eight home runs, 20 doubles, two triples, 32 RBI, 40 runs, seven steals and a 60-29 K/BB ratio. 

Others Considered: Taylor Sparks, Wyatt Strahan, Gavin LaValley and Brian Hunter

Delivery Man: Jumbo Diaz

Al Behrman/Associated Press

There were a few deserving candidates for the Delivery Man Award—given to the best relief pitcher—but none more so than Jumbo Diaz.

Diaz' impressive season started all the way back in February, when, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer's C. Trent Rosecrans, the 30-year-old showed up to spring training a whopping 69 pounds lighter than his playing weight from the end of the 2013 season.

From there, the career minor leaguer dominated at Triple-A Louisville, allowing just a 1.35 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, while averaging 8.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 3.10 K/BB and 6.8 H/9. Diaz' performance in Louisville earned him a midseason call up to the big league club in Cincinnati.

Diaz' first three appearances were rough sailing, as he allowed four earned runs over just three innings pitched—good for a 12.00 ERA. Since then, however, the hard-throwing righty has been outstanding, allowing just a 2.49 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP over 27 games—25.1 innings pitched.

Diaz' total stat line this season was easily the best of any reliever with a full season of work. Over a combined 60 appearances—60.2 innings pitched—Diaz logged 18 saves, while allowing just a 2.34 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, with season averages of 8.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 2.73 K/BB and 7.0 H/9.

Others Considered: Jake Johnson, Carlos Gonzalez and Alejandro Chacin

Cy Young: Ben Lively

Every bit of me wanted to give this award to Michael Lorenzen. The first-year starter had an outstanding showing at Double-A Pensacola, but it wasn't quite enough to upset Ben Lively.

Lively began the year at High-A Bakersfield, where he was nearly unhittable, allowing a 2.28 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP, while averaging 10.8 K/9 and just 1.8 BB/9. 

Lively then moved on to the Double-A level, and although he had a few more missteps than he did at High-A, the UCF product's time spent in Pensacola was still productive. Over 13 starts—72 innings pitched, Lively allowed a 3.88 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and per-nine averages of 9.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.

Over a combined 26 starts between the two levels, the 22-year-old totaled a 13-7 record, while allowing a 3.04 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP, with season averages of 10.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 3.29 K/BB and 7.0 H/9. 

Lively thoroughly dominated opposing hitters all season long and led all minor league starters in strikeouts (171), per-Baseball-Reference.com.

The young righty will surely receive an invite to Spring Training next season, and given the impressive command he showed this season—more so at Bakersfield than Pensacola—it wouldn't be a surprise if he made his big league debut early on in 2015.

Others Considered: Michael Lorenzen and Wyatt Strahan

Hank Aaron Award: Marquez Smith

The Hank Aaron Award, given to the best hitter from the current league season, is one of the most prestigious awards in Major League Baseball. This year, the best hitter in the Reds farm system was Marquez Smith. 

Smith came into the 2014 season as a roster filler for the High-A club in Bakersfield, but turned in easily the best performance of any Reds prospect this year. Over his first 68 games with the team, Smith tallied up an impressive stat line, including a .298/.419/.576 slash line with 15 home runs, 19 doubles, 67 RBI, 50 runs scored and a 53-50 K/BB ratio.

Smith's outstanding showing earned him a call-up to Double-A, where he struggled mightily, logging just five hits (one home run) over 34 plate appearances.

Upon being demoted back to High-A Bakersfield, Smith took off, slashing .358/.465/.687 with 14 home runs, 13 doubles, 59 RBI, 39 runs scored and a 40-33 K/BB ratio over just 219 plate appearances.

On the year, Smith appeared in 134 games between High-A and Double-A, slashing .311/.424/.601 with 30 home runs, 34 doubles, 131 RBI, 93 runs scored and a 105-85 K/BB ratio.

Some of you reading this are probably already wondering, why isn't Smith up with the Reds, acting as that right-handed power bat the team has been searching for since the end of the 2012 season?

Well, unfortunately, Smith is 29 years old. Although he was beyond impressive this season, Smith played nearly 90 percent of his games at a level in a league where he was, on average, 5.8 years older than opposing pitchers.

Despite the fact that Smith is likely to wind up as a career minor leaguer, there's no denying that he had the best season of any Reds minor leaguer.

Others Considered: Sebastian Elizalde, Yorman Rodriguez, Jesse Winker and Zach Vincej

Most Valuable Player: Sebastian Elizalde

When it comes to awarding an MVP, I'm all about giving it to the best all-around player—yes, I think Mike Trout should have won each of the last two AL MVP Awards. So, when it came to finding this year's Reds minor league MVP, I looked at all aspects of a player's season to come up with the best player both at the plate, and in the field.

This year, that player was Sebastian Elizalde.

The 22-year-old made his presence felt early on at Single-A Dayton, working to a .311/.439/.503 slash line with seven home runs, 12 doubles, 34 RBI, 29 runs scored, nine stolen bases and a 48-41 K/BB ratio. After 55 games with the club, Elizalde was promoted to High-A Bakersfield.

Elizalde wasn't quite as good at Bakersfield, but he was good, nonetheless. In 66 games, the Mexico native logged 267 plate appearances, and slashed .272/.330/.461 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, 37 RBI, 35 runs scored, 10 stolen bases and a 44-19 K/BB ratio.

Between the two levels, Elizalde totaled a .289/.380/.479 batting line with 16 home runs, 29 doubles, 71 RBI, 64 runs scored, 19 stolen bases and a 92-60 K/BB ratio.

In the field, Elizalde was equally impressive, and tallied five outfield assists over 91 games played in left field, center field and right field. At first base, Elizalde made just two errors in 199 chances and logged an impressive 12 assists with an RF/G of 8.95.