Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Cardinals honor Allen Craig, Lance Lynn as top minor-league performers

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced Monday infielder/outfielder Allen Craig has been named their top player in the minor leagues, while Lance Lynn was named their top minor-league pitcher.

"For a player to get draftedlast year, and then in his first full year accomplish this, is remarkable," Cardinals' Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow said of Lynn, a supplemental pick in 2008. "Lance helped our (Class) AA (Springfield) team reach the playoffs and his future is very bright.

"Allen has been terrific every year since we drafted him and was a key part of the (Memphis) Redbirds championship run this year. This recognition is overdue for him."

Craig was an eighth-round pick in the 2006 draft.

Craig, 25, led Memphis in the Triple Crown categories, batting .322 with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs while slugging a team-leading .547.He finished fourth in the Pacific Coast League in batting, home runs, hits (152) and total bases (258), and played in 126 games splitting time between first base, third base and the outfield.

Craig had just five errors and a .990 fielding percentage.

In each of his three full seasons in the minors, Craig has batted over .300 with over 20 home runs and 80 RBIs, and was selected to the midseason and postseason All-Star teams in the Florida State League and Texas League.

Craig earned Cardinals organizational Player of the Month honors in July, batting .392 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs.

The right-handed hitting Craig was drafted out of the University of California-Berkeley and is the first player to win the award spending his entire season in Class AAA since Adam Kennedy in 1999.

Lynn, 22, climbed three levels in his second professional season joining the previous two winners, Jess Todd (2008) and P.J. Walters (2007) as the only Cardinals Pitcher of the Year honorees to accomplish that feat.

The right-hander combined for an 11-4 record with a 2.85 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 148 2/3 inningsbetween high Class A Palm Beach, Springfield and Memphis.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Lynn finished third in the Texas League in ERA (2.92) and tied for third with 11 wins. He earned the Cardinals Pitcher of the Month honors for May, going 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA in 28 1/3 innings with 23 strikeouts, helping Springfield to a first-half championship and a Texas League playoff berth.

He was named to the midseason and postseason Texas League All-Star teams.