Cloyd, Ruf Named Owens Award Winners
Right-hander Tyler Cloyd and outfielder Darin Ruf have been named the recipients of the 2012 Paul Owens Awards as the best pitcher and player, respectively, in the Phillies minor league system, Joe Jordan, Director, Player Development announced today.
The awards will be presented on the field on September 21, prior to the Phillies’ 7:05 p.m. game against the Atlanta Braves.
Cloyd, 25, is 15-1 with a 2.26 ERA and one shutout in 26 combined starts for triple-A Lehigh Valley and double-A Reading this year. The starting pitcher for the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game, Cloyd has pitched at least 6.0 innings in 25 of the 26 starts, falling one out shy of accomplishing the feat in every start (5.2 innings on May 26 at Charlotte). He has held opposing hitters to a .214 batting average and had an ERA under 2.00 in three of the five regular season months. His teams are 20-6 in his starts. Currently, Cloyd leads the International League in ERA (2.35) and is tied for second in wins (12). Overall, his 15 wins are tied for the most in all of minor league baseball.
Cloyd is scheduled to make his major league debut tonight against the New York Mets in place of left-hander Cole Hamels, who has a gastrointestinal illness. Yesterday, Cloyd was named Pitcher of the Year in the International League, becoming the second IronPig to win the award following Justin Lehr in 2009.
Ruf is hitting .317 with 31 doubles, 37 home runs and 98 RBI in 133 games for Reading, tying the club’s single-season home run record (Ryan Howard, 2004). Since August 3, he has 19 home runs and 31 RBI in 26 games, for a 1.000 slugging percentage, including homers in five straight games (8/11-15). Ruf, 26, leads all minor league hitters in home runs and leads the Eastern League in RBI and batting average. Earlier this year, he was selected to the EL Eastern Division All-Star team and was also selected as a postseason All-Star.
“Both Tyler and Darin have had outstanding seasons,” said Jordan. “Tyler got off to a great start with Reading and never let up, carrying his success over to Lehigh Valley after his promotion. Darin was the model of consistency this year with his batting average never going below .300 and his power numbers only improving as the season went on. We couldn’t be more proud of both guys.”
Cloyd and Ruf were both originally drafted by the Phillies. Cloyd was selected in the 18th round of the 2008 draft and Ruf in the 20th round in 2009.
Instituted in 1986, the award is named for the late Paul Owens, who spent 48 years in the Phillies organization as a scout, farm director, general manager, manager and senior advisor.
Now, we wait for Darin Ruf to get the call to the majors after tearing through the minors so far this season. He shouldn’t be far behind.
Excellent season for both.
