Minnesota.Twins.MLB.com

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

Jason Kubel batted .300 after being called up by the Twins in August. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

On Monday, both players earned some of the organization's highest honors.

Kubel, an outfielder, was named the recipient of the Sherry Robertson Award as the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year, while Baker was named the Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Beginning the season with Double-A New Britain, the 22-year-old Kubel batted .377 in 37 games for the Rock Cats. After his promotion to Triple-A Rochester on May 21, he went on to lead the International League with a .343 average.

"He didn't miss a beat when we moved him up," said Rantz, the Twins' longtime minor league director. "He stayed hot and made the adjustments. His numbers at Triple-A came in a short period of time. Normally it takes a month to adjust. It took him a week to 10 days."

Combined for both levels, Kubel hit 22 home runs with 100 RBIs. He earned his first Major League call-up on Aug. 31 in time to be eligible for Minnesota's roster in the postseason. In 23 big league games, he batted .300 with two homers and seven RBIs.

This season made Kubel an elite prospect and had the Twins hoping he would make a bid for a spot in the starting lineup next season. But a serious knee injury suffered in the Arizona Fall League on Oct. 20 will likely keep him sidelined for most of 2005.

Baker, a right-handed pitcher, began this season at Class A Fort Myers and worked his way up to Rochester. The 2003 second-round pick was 4-2 with a 2.40 ERA, six walks and 37 strikeouts in seven starts at Fort Myers. With New Britain, he was 5-3 with a 2.43 ERA, walking 13 and striking out 72.

The 23-year-old Baker earned bids to the All-Star teams at two levels, the Florida State League and Eastern League.

"I don't think we've ever had a player named to two All-Star teams in one year," Rantz said. "That's pretty tough to do."

Baker went 1-3 with a 3.97 ERA in nine starts at Rochester to end the season and is also participating in the Arizona Fall League. He will likely have a chance to battle for a spot in the Twins' rotation next season.

"He dominated at two levels and went to the next level and did alright," Rantz said. "He handled it pretty good, both on and off the field. He's a great competitor and a good teammate."

The Sherry Robertson Award, named in honor of the Twins' first farm director, was established in 1970. Beginning in 2002, the award began recognizing the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year while an additional award was created to recognize the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

Past winners of the Robertson Award include Butch Wynegar (1974), Kent Hrbek (1981), Marty Cordova (1992), LaTroy Hawkins (1993 and '94), David Ortiz (1997), Doug Mientkiewicz (1998), Michael Restovich (1999), Michael Cuddyer (2001), Lew Ford (2002) and Joe Mauer (2003). J.D. Durbin (2002) and Jesse Crain (2003) are the past winners of the Rantz Award.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

print this page    |    email this page