Will Lookouts Produce Another Southern League MVP?

Cincinnati's Joey Votto Won In 2006

  • Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Joey Votto spent the entire 2006 season with the Lookouts
Joey Votto spent the entire 2006 season with the Lookouts
photo by Tim Evearitt

In 1999 Lookouts' Brady Clark won the Southern League's Most Valuable Player award and in 2006 Joey Votto became the last Lookouts' player to win the MVP.

It would appear that with the arrival of center fielder Byron Buxton and third baseman Miguel Sano the Lookouts could have another SL MVP on their team this year.  

For the second straight year, MLB.com has ranked Buxton as the No. 1 prospect in the game.

Buxton got top honors despite appearing in just 31 games in the minors last season due to a left wrist injury and a concussion. The 21-year-old then suffered a small fracture in his left middle finger during the Arizona Fall League and required surgery. However, the injuries aren’t considered a long-term concern and the tools remain. When he’s healthy and on the field, he can do it all.

Sano was in the spotlight even before he signed with the Twins in 2009 for $3.15 million, a club record for an international player. But since reaching the professional ranks, he has shown what all the fuss is about.

Sano has prodigious raw power and knows how to use it in games. He hit 35 home runs between Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain in 2013. With Sano's power, however, comes a lot of swings and misses. He has struck out more than 140 times in both of his years in full-season ball.

Will either Buxton or Sano be the Lookouts' next Southern League Most Valuable Player?

Not too fast here. Consider that if Buxton and Sano get off to a torrid start, they could be gone before summer is officially here on June 21st. Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig, who is now making a name for himself with the L. A. Dodgers, played just 40 games for the Lookouts before being promoted to the Major Leagues, June 3, 2013.

Meanwhile, Brady Clark is no longer in the Major Leagues but Votto, who won the 2010 National League's Most Valuable Player, is playing for the Cincinnati Reds.

Lookouts' fans remember Votto's stellar 2006 season in which he finished the season with a .319 average, 162 hits, 46 doubles (one shy of record), 67 extra-base hits, 85 runs scored, a .408 on-base percentage and a .547 slugging percentage. He was also ranked third in the league with 77 RBI, and tied for second with 22 home runs. 

Except for the fact that he made his Spring Training debut a few days late on March 7, Votto's camp has been otherwise normal. There has been no need to bring up the distal strain of the left quadriceps that both dominated and marred his 2014 season.

For the rest of the month when Votto has played, he's hit normally, run normally, slid normally and fielded normally.

Other than Marlon Byrd, the Reds made no other acquisitions to bolster their lineup after winning 76 games in 2014. Instead, they are counting heavily on the healthy returns of such core players as Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips, as well as the further growth of Todd Frazier and Devin Mesoraco.

But if the Reds are to contend in the National League Central, the presence of the 31-year-old Votto -- the team's best hitter -- is the most critical.

Since Votto debuted in the Majors on Sept. 4, 2007, his .417 on-base percentage is best among Major League hitters and his .310 batting average is second best. He's also third in average with runners in scoring position (.334) and walks (611) and fifth in slugging percentage (.533).

The quad strain limited Votto to only 62 games last season and none after July 5. He batted a career-worst .255 with six home runs and 23 RBIs but still had an OBP of .390 and a .409 slugging percentage. He fielded criticism from fans and some in the media for not playing when the team struggled in the second half.

It remains unclear if Votto will bat second or third in the lineup. Wherever he is, he will continue to have a selective approach that maximizes swinging at good pitches and not expanding his strike zone for bad pitches.

Votto may not have the power that delivered a career-high 37 homers and 113 RBIs in 2010, when he won the NL MVP Award, but when healthy, he should be a presence in the lineup.

--- Source: MLB.com

The presence of Byron Buxton in the Lookout's lineup will be worth the price of a ticket.
The presence of Byron Buxton in the Lookout's lineup will be worth the price of a ticket.
photo by USA Today
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