Dodgers tab Lux top Minor League player
Gavin Lux and Josiah Gray -- two of the Dodgers' premier prospects -- have received player-of-the-year honors from the club.MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect, Lux batted .347/.421/.607 with 26 homers, 99 runs and 76 RBIs across two levels en route to garnering the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the
Gavin Lux and Josiah Gray -- two of the Dodgers' premier prospects -- have received player-of-the-year honors from the club.
MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect, Lux batted .347/.421/.607 with 26 homers, 99 runs and 76 RBIs across two levels en route to garnering the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year award. He was promoted to the Major Leagues on Sept. 2.
The 20th overall pick in the 2016 Draft hit .313 with 13 dingers, 45 runs and 37 RBIs in 64 games with Double-A Tulsa before jumping to Triple-A Oklahoma City on June 27. The Texas League All-Star also played in the Futures Game.
Lux batted .392 with 13 long balls, 54 runs and 39 RBIs in 49 games with Oklahoma City. Among Pacific Coast League batters with at least 200 plate appearances, the 21-year-old ranked second in average (.392), first in on-base percentage (.478), fourth in slugging (.719) and third in OPS (1.197).
The infielder hit safely in his first 16 games at Triple-A, including a two-tater, five-RBI showing July 17 at Iowa. It was one of three multi-homer games for Lux and tied his single-game high for runs batted in. The next night, he posted a career-high five hits, including another dinger.
"It's special to watch," Los Angeles No. 4 prospect Will Smith said after the game. "There's hot and then there's what Gavin Lux is right now."
In Lux's big league debut against Colorado on Sept. 2, he went 2-for-5 and scored three times -- the first Dodger in franchise history to cross the plate three times in his first game.
Gray, the fourth-ranked Dodgers prospect, was the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He toiled at three levels this season and finished 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA. He struck out 147 batters and walked only 31 across 130 innings.
The 21-year-old began the season with Class A Great Lakes. He went 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts before his promotion to Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. He made 12 starts for the Quakes, going 7-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 67 1/3 frames.
On July 12, Gray carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning as Rancho Cucamonga beat San Jose, 4-0, en route to winning his first eight decisions.
The right-hander was bumped up to the Texas League on July 17 and posted a 3-2 record and a 2.75 ERA in nine appearances for Double-A Tulsa. He established a single-game career high with nine strikeouts on May 16 with Rancho Cucamonga and matched that total three other times, including Aug. 25 with Tulsa.
Gray went 3-0 down the stretch as the Drillers advanced to the postseason. He made two starts in the playoffs and finished with a 3.27 ERA with eight strikeouts over 11 frames.
The 2018 second-round selection was acquired along with fifth-ranked Jeter Downs in a trade with Cincinnati on Dec. 21.
Lux and Gray will receive their awards during pregame ceremonies Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Duane Cross is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @DuaneCrossMiLB.
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