Anderson, Harris named Atlanta Braves Minor League Players of the Year

PEARL - The Atlanta Braves announced that OF Trey Harris and RHP Ian Anderson have been named its 2019 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year. Atlanta also awarded a top position player and pitcher with each of its seven affiliates. All honorees were recognized in an on-field ceremony prior to Sunday's game against Washington at Sun Trust Park.

Harris, 23, a native of Powder Springs, Ga., hit a combined .323/.389/.498 (152-for-470) with 14 home runs, 73 RBI and 73 runs scored in 131 games between three levels. Atlanta's 32nd round selection in last year's First-Year Player Draft began his first full professional season with Single-A Rome, before getting promoted to High-A Florida on June 4. Harris hit .303 (37-for-122) in 34 games with the Fire Frogs and was also Atlanta's Florida Player of the Year. The Atlanta Braves 32nd round pick out of Missouri hit .281 (41-for-146) with two home runs, seven doubles, three triples, and 15 runs over 41 games to finish the season. 

Anderson, 21, went a combined 8-7 with a 3.38 ERA (51 ER/135.2 IP) and 172 strikeouts between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett. The 6-foot-3, 170-pounder was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star, making 21 starts for the M-Braves and striking out 147 batters in 111.0 innings. The third overall pick of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft received his first promotion to Triple-A on August 5. Anderson struck out 25 batters in 24.2 innings with the Stripers. 

Over his final six M-Braves starts beginning with the combined no-hitter on June 28, Anderson went 2-0 with a league-best 1.39 ERA (5 ER/32.1 IP), six walks, 48 strikeouts, .185 BAA and 0.87 WHIP. Anderson set a new career-high with 14 strikeouts on June 28 vs. Jackson. The Atlanta Braves first-round pick (3rd overall) in 2016, posted an 11.4 SO/9 IP ratio. Anderson finished tied for fourth place in all MiLB with 172 strikeouts. Anderson finished third in the Southern League with 147 strikeouts on the season.

MLB.com currently ranks both Anderson (No. 3) and Harris (No. 18) as two of the best prospects in Atlanta's system. 

Outfielders Cristian Pache  and Drew Waters and pitchers Anderson and Tucker Davidson  shared Mississippi Braves Player of the Year awards. All four began the year with Mississippi and got promoted to Triple-A together on Aug. 5. Pache, MLB.com's current overall No. 10 prospect, had 47 extra-base hits in 104 games with the M-Braves, including a career-most 11 home runs. Waters, 20, was the Southern League Most Valuable Player, becoming the youngest player to win the award in 14 years. He set a single-season franchise record by hitting .319 (134-for-420), winning the league's batting title. Davidson had a 2.03 ERA (25 ER/110.2 IP) in 21 Double-A starts.