The Los Angeles Dodgers named Gavin Lux as the Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year and Josiah Gray as the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Both Dodgers prospects were ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 update for the conclusion of the 2019 season.
The honor is the latest in what’s been a season full of accomplishments for Lux and second time he’s received the honor. He began the year with Double-A Tulsa and was named a Texas League All-Star before earning a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Lux batted .313/.375/.521 with seven doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 37 RBI in 64 games for the Drillers. He continued to shine with the Dodgers’ top affiliate and was named to the 2019 MLB Futures Game.
Lux began his time in Oklahoma City by hitting safely in his first 16 Triple-A games, which also included a stretch of at least one home run in five consecutive contests. When including time with the Drillers and OKC Dodgers, Lux had a 50-game on-base streak from early June to the middle of August.
He was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for the period fo July 15-21, and PCL Player of the Month for July. Overall with OKC, he batted .392/.478/.719 with 18 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 49 games.
That factored into the Dodgers promoting their top prospect for his MLB debut and they are considering including him on their postseason roster.
Lux joins Billy Ashley (1993-94), Paul Konerko (1996-97), Chad Billingsley (2004-2005), Joe Thurston (2000, 2002), James McDonald (2007-08), Zach Lee (2013, 2015) and Joc Pederson (2010, 2012) as two-time Branch Rickey Award recipients.
Meanwhile, a newcomer to the Dodgers organization this season after being acquired in the trade that sent Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to the Cincinnati Reds, Gray was nothing short of impressive.
In a combined 26 games (25 starts) between Low-A Great Lakes, High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa, he finished with an 11-2 record and a 2.70 ERA and 147 strikeouts against just 31 walks.
After earning a promotion to the Quakes, Gray went 7-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 12 California League starts. He continued to excel at the Double-A level, pitching to a 2.75 ERA in nine games (eight starts) for the Drillers.
Lux and Gray will both be presented with their respective awards and honored during a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
