| By PR Newswire |
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| September 4, 2012 06:41 PM EDT |
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MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Omaha Storm Chasers outfielder Wil Myers, whose 37 total home runs between Class AA and AAA this season was second in the minor leagues, has been named the USA TODAY Sports Minor League Player of the Year for 2012.
The 21-year-old Kansas City Royals prospect, a third-round pick out of Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, N.C., in 2009, is the 25th recipient in the history of the award, which was first presented in 1988 and has previously been awarded to future major league All-Stars including Prince Fielder (2003), Jose Reyes (2002) and Josh Hamilton (2000), among many others.
Full coverage of the award is featured in this week's issue of USA TODAY Sports Weekly, which hits newsstands Wednesday, September 5, and online at baseball.usatoday.com.
From among a group of five finalists, Myers earned the highest vote total from the USA TODAY Sports writers and editors as well as from online fan voting, which accounted for two of the 13 votes. The other four finalists were third baseman Mike Olt, who led the AA Texas League in home runs (28) and on-base-plus-slugging-percentage (.977) before being promoted to the Texas Rangers in early August; Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy, who went 9-3 overall with a 2.08 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 103+ innings between high and low Single A; shortstop Billy Hamilton, a Cincinnati Reds prospect who set professional baseball's all-time single-season stolen base record with 155 while batting .311 over a season spent between A and AA; and outfielder Oscar Taveras, the St. Louis Cardinals prospect who led the Texas League in batting average (.321) and doubles with 37.
Myers, who began the season with Northwest Arkansas of the AA Texas League, was promoted and played the majority of the season with Omaha, where he led the team in home runs (24) and runs batted in (79) despite playing only 99 games. Over a combined 134 games between the two circuits, Myers slugged 37 home runs, drove in 109 runs and scored 98, and had an OPS of .987, among the best in minor league baseball.
His play earned him selection to the 2012 All-Pacific Coast League team, as well as selection to the PCL mid-season All-Star team and an appearance in the Futures Game during Major League Baseball's All-Star events in Kansas City in July.
"For me, the biggest thing this year has been the confidence," said Myers. "I feel like every time I go to the plate I'm going to get a hit or hit the ball hard somewhere."
The USA TODAY Sports Minor League Player of the Year has been named annually since 1988. Following is a complete list of winners since its inception:
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USA TODAY SPORTS
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MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
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2012 Wil Myers (Omaha/NW Arkansas)
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1999 Rich Ankiel (Arkansas/Memphis)
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2011 Paul Goldschmidt (Mobile)
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1998 Gabe Kapler (Jacksonville)
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2010 Jeremy Hellickson (Charlotte/Durham)
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1997 Ben Grieve (Huntsville/Edmonton)
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2009 Jason Heyward (Myrtle Beach/Rome)
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1996 Andruw Jones (Durham/Greenville)
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2008 David Price (Vero Beach/Montgomery)
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1995 Andruw Jones (Macon)
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2007 Justin Upton (Visalia/Mobile Bay)
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1994 Billy Ashley (Albuquerque)
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2006 Matt Garza (Rochester)
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1993 Cliff Floyd (Harrisburg/Ottawa)
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2005 Francisco Liriano (New Britain/Rochester)
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1992 Carlos Delgado (Myrtle Beach/Syracuse)
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2004 Jeff Francis (Tulsa/Colorado Springs)
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1991 Mark Wohlers (Greenville/Richmond)
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2003 Prince Fielder (Beloit)
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1990 Tino Martinez (Calgary)
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2002 Jose Reyes (St. Lucie/Binghamton)
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1989 Todd Zeile (Louisville)
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2001 Josh Beckett (Portland/Brevard)
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1988 Mike Harkey (Pittsfield/Iowa)
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2000 Josh Hamilton (Charleston)
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The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY, as well as Gannett Co. Inc.'s 81 community newspaper properties and 23 broadcast television stations. It also includes the sports photography service U.S. Presswire, USA TODAY High School Sports and USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120103/PH28972LOGO )
SOURCE USA TODAY Sports Media Group
