The Arizona Rookie League came to an end over the weekend and on Monday evening the league handed out their awards. Two Cincinnati Reds prospects were named to the All-Star team. James Vasquez was named as the All-Star first baseman and Blake Butler was named as the All-Star second baseman.
Blake Butler hit .319/.350/.472 on the season for the Reds with 13 doubles, three triples and two home runs. They tweaked the system a little bit to get Butler onto the All-Star roster as he actually played second base less often than he played at both third base and shortstop, spending just 12 of his 45 games at second. He finished 8th in the league in average and 6th in doubles.
James Vasquez hit .359/.415/.669 to go along with 11 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. That was good enough to earn him league MVP honors. His 1.084 OPS was tops in the league and one of only two qualified hitters over .873 in the league. The first baseman won the league batting title, finished 5th in on-base percentage and easily led the league in slugging (his .669 was tops in the league, while second place was .541). His nine home runs were tops in the league as well. He spent 16 games at first base and 25 games as the designated hitter.
Blake Butler was the Reds 15th round pick in the 2015 draft out of the College of Charleston. James Vasquez was the 25th round pick in the 2015 draft out of Central Florida. While college players are expected to have some success in the Arizona Rookie League, the Reds drafted well with these two guys who were among the league leaders in several different categories and got them both named to the All-Star team after the season and even got Vasquez Most Valuable Player honors.