Roden named Team MVP as Bisons announce 2024 Player Awards
As part of Fan Appreciation Night at Sahlen Field on Friday, the Buffalo Bisons announced the winners of the 2024 team awards, including outfielder Alan Roden being named the team’s Stan Barron Most Valuable Player for his contributions to the team over the course of the entire season. Righty Andrew
As part of Fan Appreciation Night at Sahlen Field on Friday, the Buffalo Bisons announced the winners of the 2024 team awards, including outfielder Alan Roden being named the team’s Stan Barron Most Valuable Player for his contributions to the team over the course of the entire season.
Righty Andrew Bash was named the Warren Spahn Most Valuable Pitcher after spending parts of his third straight season with the Bisons and serving several different roles on the pitching staff. After suffering an injury that ended his 2023 season early, RHP Paxton Schultz was named the Judge Michael Dillion Comeback Player of the Year, in addition to RHP LUIS Quinones being selected as the Jimmy Griffin Hometown Hero Award winner.
The team also announced that RHP Hayden Juenger was named the Frank “Fremo” Vallone Community Service Award winner for his efforts in supporting the Bisons’ community initiatives this past season. LHP Brandon Eisert was selected by his teammates as the Joe DeSa Most Inspirational Player as well.
Most Valuable Player - OF Alan Roden
Alan Roden was promoted from the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in June and has been an everyday outfielder for the Bisons since his promotion. After a slow start to his Triple-A career, the 24-year-old has been one of the hottest hitters offensively in the International League since the All-Star break. His .314 batting average is the highest on the team among any batter with at least 200 at-bats. He has also hit 15 doubles, three triples and nine home runs while driving in 48 runs in 71 games with the Herd.
Roden was named the International League Player for the Month of August where he batted .354, which was fourth in the league, while leading in the league with 34 hits and 57 total bases in the month. He was able to increase his batting average by more than 60 points thanks to the 26-game stretch. He has carried that success into September, where he has averaged .382 with 19 RBI in just 15 contests. An extremely consistent hitter in all situations, Roden has averaged .317 against left-handed pitchers and .313 against righties while also averaging .357 with runners in scoring position.
Most Valuable Pitcher -Andrew Bash
Right hander Andrew Bash has been the most valuable arm in Casey Candaele’s pitching staff in 2024, excelling for the Herd as both a starter and as a reliever. He began the season in Buffalo’s rotation and didn’t allow more than three earned runs in any of his 16 starts. Prior to suffering an injury in mid-June, the 27-year-old made 13 straight starts for the team, going 2-0 with a 4.38 ERA.
Bash then was even tougher for opponents to hit out of the Bisons bullpen, posting a 0.89 WHIP and a 2.66 ERA in his 11 appearances as a reliever. He enjoyed a stretch of five straight games without allowing an earned run from August 29 through September 13, totaling 9.1 innings pitched.
Bash has not allowed an inherited runner to score in any of his relief appearances to-date and has pitched three innings of relief twice for the team since August 22. He recorded 72 strikeouts for the first time in Triple-A this season, allowing 35 total walks. Opponents are batting .209 against the right hander, and in in three seasons overall, opponents have a .207 batting average across 145.1 total innings pitched.
Hometown Hero -Luis Quinones
No pitcher had ever started the season with 10 straight victories in the Bisons Modern Era before Luis Quinones accomplished the feat this year. The right hander won his 10th straight decision on August 24 against the Omaha Storm Chasers at Sahlen Field. It was one of his seven home wins this season. Quinones also has a 3.28 ERA in front of the home crowd, nearly half of what he has recorded away from Downtown Buffalo. In 36.1 innings pitched at home, Quinones struck out 44 batters while allowing 24 walks with opponents’ batting .178 against him. All of those numbers are significantly lower than his numbers on the road in 2024.
Most Inspirational Player -Brandon Eisert
Brandon Eisert has been a stalwart out of the Bisons’ bullpen for three straight seasons, helping him set the Modern Era record for appearances which currently sits at 145 games pitched. This season the left hander has made 41 appearances, including four starts for the Bisons. He has added three saves in addition to four victories, tying his season high reached each of the previous two seasons.
Eisert’s efforts were rewarded with his first Major League promotion on June 17 when his contract was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made his MLB debut that same night with two innings of scoreless relief against the Boston Red Sox. The former 18th round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Oregon State has been promoted several other times this season, logging 4.2 innings total.
Comeback Player of the Year -Paxton Schultz
The Herd’s Comeback Player of the Year returned to the Bisons after suffering a late-season injury that prematurely ended his 2023 campaign with the team. But Paxton Schultz returned to Buffalo in 2024 to be one of the most reliable arms on the Herd’s pitching staff.
In his sophomore year at Triple-A, Schultz led the Bisons with 88.1 innings pitched as well as with 109 strikeouts. Overall, the righty posted a 6-3 record in 7 starts and 32 relief outings, including a perfect 5-and-0 record at Sahlen Field. On the season, Schultz held opponents to just a .232 average aginst.
His 39 outings currently rank fourth on the team, while he leads all Bisons pitchers in innings pitched with and is the only member of the pitching staff to reach 100 strikeouts on the year.
Community Service Award -Hayden Juenger
Hayden Juenger was a regular member of the Bisons again in 2024, volunteering for virtually all of the team’s community events. The O’Fallon, IL native was one of the Bisons’ representatives at the annual Play Ball weekend event in Buffalo, in addition to his participation in the annual kids camp held at Sahlen Field.
Juenger is in his third season with the Bisons and has been a member of Buffalo’s Opening Day each of the past two years. He has been a regular among the players volunteering for events, and for those efforts has been named the team’s community service award winner.
On the field, Juenger delivered another solid campaign for the Herd, posting 64 strikeouts in 53 outings with the club, ranking in the Top 5 in the International League in total appearances.
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.