Eastern League Top MLB Prospect Award

The Eastern League Top MLB Prospect Award is an annual award given to the best rookie player in Minor League Baseball's Eastern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers.^[1] Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, and members of the media have previously voted as well.^[2] Though the league was established in 1938,^[3] the award was not created until 1993 as the Rookie of the Year Award.^[4] After the cancellation of the 2020 season,^[5] the league was known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021 before reverting to the Eastern League name in 2022.^[6][7] The Top MLB Prospect Award began to be issued instead of the Rookie of the Year Award in 2021.^[8]

Eastern League
Top MLB Prospect Award

Sport	Baseball
League	Eastern League
Awarded for	Best regular-season rookie in the Eastern League
Country	United States
Presented by	Eastern League
History
First award	Cliff Floyd (1993)
Most recent	Samuel Basallo (2024)

Fourteen outfielders have won the award, the most of any position. First basemen, with seven winners, have won the most among infielders, followed by third basemen and shortstops (3) and second basemen (1). Three catchers and one pitcher have won the award.

Eleven players who have won the Top MLB Prospect Award also won the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in the same season: Cliff Floyd (1993), Mark Grudzielanek (1994), Jay Payton (1995), Vladimir Guerrero (1996), Calvin Pickering (1998), Marlon Byrd (2001), Ryan Howard (2004), Jordan Brown (2007), Brandon Laird (2010), Darin Ruf (2012), and Cavan Biggio (2018).^[4] The only pitcher to win the award, Juan Acevedo (1994), also won the Pitcher of the Year Award in the same season.^[4]

Seven players from the Reading Fightin Phils have been selected for the Top MLB Prospect Award, more than any other team in the league, followed by the Harrisburg Senators (5); the Akron RubberDucks and Binghamton Rumble Ponies (4); the Altoona Curve, Chesapeake Baysox, and New Haven Ravens (2); and the Erie SeaWolves, Hartford Yard Goats, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland Sea Dogs, Somerset Patriots, and Trenton Thunder (1).

Seven players from the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the award, more than any other, followed by the Washington Nationals organization (5); the Cleveland Guardians and New York Mets organizations (4); the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yankees organizations (2); and the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations (1).

Winners

Cliff Floyd won the first Rookie of the Year Award in 1993.

Grady Sizemore, the 2003 winner, became a three-time MLB All-Star (2006–2008).^[9]

Ryan Howard, the 2004 winner, won the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year Award and the 2006 NL MVP Award.^[10]

Key

Position	Indicates the player's primary position
^	Indicates multiple award winners in the same year

Year	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	Ref(s).
1993	Cliff Floyd	Harrisburg Senators	Montreal Expos	First baseman	[11]
1994^	Juan Acevedo	New Haven Ravens	Colorado Rockies	Pitcher	[12]
	Mark Grudzielanek	Harrisburg Senators	Montreal Expos	Shortstop	[13]
1995	Jay Payton	Binghamton Mets	New York Mets	Outfielder	[14]
1996	Vladimir Guerrero	Harrisburg Senators	Montreal Expos	Outfielder	[15]
1997	Mark Kotsay	Portland Sea Dogs	Florida Marlins	Outfielder	[16]
1998	Calvin Pickering	Bowie Baysox	Baltimore Orioles	First baseman	[17]
1999	Pat Burrell	Reading Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman	[18]
2000	Alex Escobar	Binghamton Mets	New York Mets	Outfielder	[19]
2001	Marlon Byrd	Reading Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	[20]
2002	Dee Haynes	New Haven Ravens	St. Louis Cardinals	Outfielder	[21]
2003	Grady Sizemore	Akron Aeros	Cleveland Indians	Outfielder	[22]
2004	Ryan Howard	Reading Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman	[23]
2005	Chris Roberson			Outfielder	[24]
2006	Kory Casto	Harrisburg Senators	Washington Nationals	Third baseman	[25]
2007	Jordan Brown	Akron Aeros	Cleveland Indians	First baseman	[26]
2008	Wes Hodges			Third baseman	[27]
2009	Michael D. Taylor	Reading Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder	[28]
2010	Brandon Laird	Trenton Thunder	New York Yankees	Third baseman	[29]
2011	Starling Marte	Altoona Curve	Pittsburgh Pirates	Outfielder	[30]
2012	Darin Ruf	Reading Phillies	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman	[31]
2013	Alex Dickerson	Altoona Curve	Pittsburgh Pirates	Outfielder	[32]
2014	Michael A. Taylor	Harrisburg Senators	Washington Nationals	Outfielder	[33]
2015	Gavin Cecchini	Binghamton Mets	New York Mets	Shortstop	[34]
2016	Rhys Hoskins	Reading Fightin Phils	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman	[35]
2017	Francisco Mejía	Akron RubberDucks	Cleveland Indians	Catcher	[36]
2018	Cavan Biggio	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	Toronto Blue Jays	Second baseman	[37]
2019	José Azócar	Erie SeaWolves	Detroit Tigers	Outfielder	[38]
2020	None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)				[5]
2021	Adley Rutschman	Bowie Baysox	Baltimore Orioles	Catcher	[8][39]
2022	Ezequiel Tovar	Hartford Yard Goats	Colorado Rockies	Shortstop	[1][40]
2023	Jasson Domínguez	Somerset Patriots	New York Yankees	Outfielder	[41][42]
2024	Samuel Basallo	Bowie Baysox	Baltimore Orioles	Catcher	[43][44]

Wins by team

Active Eastern League teams appear in bold.

Team	Award(s)	Year(s)
Reading Fightin Phils (Reading Phillies)	7	1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016
Harrisburg Senators	5	1993, 1994, 1996, 2006, 2014
Akron RubberDucks (Akron Aeros)	4	2003, 2007, 2008, 2017
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Binghamton Mets)	3	1995, 2000, 2015
Chesapeake Baysox (Bowie Baysox)		1998, 2021, 2024
Altoona Curve	2	2011, 2013
New Haven Ravens		1994, 2002
Erie SeaWolves	1	2019
Hartford Yard Goats		2022
New Hampshire Fisher Cats		2018
Portland Sea Dogs		1997
Somerset Patriots		2023
Trenton Thunder		2010

Wins by organization

Active Eastern League–Major League Baseball affiliations appear in bold.

Organization	Award(s)	Year(s)
Philadelphia Phillies	7	1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016
Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)	5	1993, 1994, 1996, 2006, 2014
Cleveland Guardians (Cleveland Indians)	4	2003, 2007, 2008, 2017
Baltimore Orioles	3	1998, 2021, 2024
New York Mets		1995, 2000, 2015
Colorado Rockies	2	1994, 2002
New York Yankees		2010, 2023
Pittsburgh Pirates		2011, 2013
Detroit Tigers	1	2019
Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins)		1997
St. Louis Cardinals		2002
Toronto Blue Jays		2018