Brown, Díaz Named Houston Astros Minor League Players of the Year

Hunter Brown and Yainer Díaz were named the Houston Astros 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.

The two headliners of the 2022 Minor League Baseball season for the Houston Astros were Hunter Brown and Yainer Díaz. The top-five prospects represented the Astros in the Futures Game in July and were rightfully pegged as Houston's minor league players of the year Tuesday.

Astros player development named Brown the Minor League Pitcher of the Year after the righty posted a 2.55 ERA with 134 strikeouts across 23 appearances for the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. 

Brown threw 106 innings for Triple-A Sugar Land before his September call-up. And in his first Major League stint, the 24-year-old has allowed just two runs across 18 innings of work. Striking out 19 batters, Brown has issued six walks and yielded 15 hits.

Houston Astros Catcher Yainer Díaz / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Díaz started his 2022 campaign with the Corpus Christi Hooks. And after hitting to the tune of an .871 OPS, the righty proved he was ready for a Triple-A promotion. But what has stood out the most in Díaz's development is that he started the 2021 season in Low-A.

Playing for four different affiliates in the last two seasons, the 24-year-old continued his success with the Space Cowboys. Through 48 games played, Díaz slashed .294/.342/.587 before receiving his first Major League call-up in September.

Díaz didn't see the field as often with Houston in the last couple weeks, appearing in just six games — only two of those as a starter. Now on the taxi squad, Díaz has the opportunity to continue soaking in some big league experience behind veterans Martín Maldonado and Christian Vázquez.

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