Former River Bandit Josh Hader wins organizational Pitcher of the Year
DAVENPORT, Iowa (September 17, 2014) - Brett Phillips, who played 103 games as an outfielder this season for the Quad Cities River Bandits, has been named the Houston Astros Minor League Player of the Year, the major league club announced on Wednesday.
Former River Bandits left-handed pitcher Josh Hader, who pitched for Quad Cities in 2013 and won the Midwest League title-clinching game a year ago, was named Houston's Minor League Pitcher of the Year this season. Both Phillips and Hader will be honored during the pregame ceremonies on Sunday at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
In 130 games between Quad Cities and Class-A Advanced Lancaster, Phillips hit .310 with 29 doubles, 14 triples, 17 home runs, 69 RBI and 23 stolen bases. He posted a .375 on-base percentage, .529 slugging percentage and .905 OPS. In the California League playoffs, Phillips led the JetHawks with 11 hits while playing all eight games in the team's run to the California League Championship.
Already named a Midwest League postseason All-Star and the Class-A Player of the Year by Baseball America, Phillips is the first River Bandit to win an annual organizational award since Shelby Miller was the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010.
Over 103 games this season with the River Bandits, Phillips led the team in hits (116), triples and slugging while ranking second in doubles (21), home RBIs (58) and OPS, tied for second in home runs (the first 13 of his career) and third in walks (36) and stolen bases (18). Phillips became the first Quad Cities player since at least 1998 to homer in five straight games when he did so July 26-30.
Houston's sixth-round pick in 2012 out of Seminole (Fla.) High School, Phillips was promoted to Class-A Advanced Lancaster on August 4, but he finished the season first in the Midwest League in slugging percentage (.521), second in OPS (.883) and third in both batting average (.302) and triples (12). Among all-time Quad Cities single-season marks, his 12 triples place him in a tie for second while his .521 slugging percentage is ninth. Phillips' 14 outfield assists this season are also the most in the Midwest League.
The 20-year-old Seminole, Fla., native was a starting outfielder for the 2014 Midwest League All-Star Game June 17 in West Michigan and was the youngest position player selected for the Western Division roster. Ranked as the Houston Astros' No. 30 prospect before the season by Baseball America, Phillips also won Quad Cities Player of the Month in April, when he posted a .301 batting average with three triples, two home runs and a team-high 13 RBIs. Phillips had a .394 on-base percentage, .446 slugging percentage, and .840 OPS in 23 games.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: Having been named Ballpark Digest's winner of Best Ballpark Improvement in America under $1 million, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop-N-Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.
