Chicago Cubs Name Brennen Davis Minor League Player of the Year

CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago Cubs today named South Bend Cubs outfielder Brennen Davis and Double-A Tennessee Smokies right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott as the organization's Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. 

Davis and Abbott will be honored during an on-field ceremony prior to the Cubs 6:15 p.m. CT game Thursday, September 19, against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. 
The 19-year-old Davis, who started the 2019 season in extended spring training before joining South Bend on May 25, batted .305 (54-for-177) with nine doubles, three triples, eight homers, 18 walks, 33 runs scored and four stolen bases. He posted a .381 OBP and a .525 slugging mark, good for a .907 OPS, which would have led the Midwest League had he appeared in enough games to rank among qualified players. 
Davis takes home the Minor League Player of the Year Award despite missing a considerable amount of time in the second half due to multiple finger injuries after being hit by pitches up high. Including the postseason, Chicago's 2018 second round pick played in 57 games and was a mainstay as the everyday three-hitter in Manager Buddy Bailey's lineup when healthy. 
"I'm very honored and humbled to receive such an award," Davis said. "It just goes to show that it doesn't matter where you start, but instead it matters where you finish."
After arriving to the Midwest League, it only took Davis eight games to hammer his first professional home run. On a hard line drive laced over the left field wall in Dayton, the Chandler, Arizona native touched them all for the first time. One of the more memorable moments of the 2019 regular season was Davis' walk-off home run against Quad Cities at Four Winds Field on July 13. It was his first ever walk-off hit. 
Abbott, the former South Bend Cubs right-hander, went 8-8 with a 3.01 ERA (49 ER/146.2 IP) in 26 starts in his first season at the Double-A level. He led the Southern League in strikeouts with 166. The San Diego native is one of five South Bend Cub pitchers to strike out 11 or more in a single game. The list includes Abbott, Dylan Cease, Ryan Lawlor, Ricky Tyler Thomas, and Brailyn Marquez. 
About the South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs are the Class A minor league affiliate of the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. Over the past 32 seasons, the team has won four Midwest League titles, most recently in 2019, and has captured eight division titles. In 2019, the South Bend Cubs hosted the Midwest League All-Star Game. In June 2017, Four Winds Field, home of the South Bend Cubs, was voted Best Class A ballpark in the country by Ballpark Digest. In 2015 the team was named Ballpark Digest's Team of the Year and received the John H. Johnson President's Award, the highest award in minor league baseball. The team is owned and operated by Swing-Batter-Swing, LLC whose principal shareholder is Andrew T. Berlin of Chicago, Ill. More information is available at www.SouthBendCubs.com.