Red Sox announce winners of 2024 Minor League Awards

By | September 26, 2024

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today announced the winners of the organization’s 2024 Minor League Awards:

Additionally, left-handed pitcher Cam Booser has been recognized as the 2024 recipient of the Lou Gorman Award. Created in 2011, the award is given annually to a Red Sox minor league player who has demonstrated dedication and perseverance in overcoming obstacles while working his way to the Major League team.

The 2024 Minor League Awards are selected by the Red Sox baseball operations department and minor league roving instructors. The recipients will be honored during a pre-game, on-field ceremony at Fenway Park tomorrow prior to Boston’s 7:10 p.m. game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Campbell, 22, was named Baseball America’s 2024 Minor League Player of the Year and The Athletic’s 2024 Prospect of the Year. The 2024 Eastern League Most Valuable Player is ranked by Baseball America as the Red Sox’ No. 3 prospect, as well as baseball’s No. 24 overall prospect. In his first full professional season, the right-handed hitter batted .330 (142-for-430) with 32 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs, 94 runs scored, and 77 RBI in 115 games with High-A Greenville (40 games), Double-A Portland (56 games), and Triple-A Worcester (19 games). He made 35 starts at second base, 32 at shortstop, 25 in center field, 16 as the designated hitter, and five at third base, while ranking second among all full-season minor league players in on-base percentage (.439) and OPS (.997). The Tennessee native was selected by Boston in the fourth round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was signed by Kirk Fredriksson.

Taylor, 21, batted .233 (95-for-407) with 26 doubles, eight home runs, 54 RBI, 63 walks, and 33 steals in 111 games between Single-A Salem (101 games) and High-A Greenville (10 games). He made 59 starts in center field, 25 in left field, 17 in right field, and 10 as the designated hitter. A left-handed hitter, Taylor was named the Red Sox minor league Defensive Player of the Month in May and August. Selected by Boston in the 11th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of Polk State College (FL), he was signed by Dante Ricciardi.

Dobbins, 25, is ranked as the Red Sox’ No. 21 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com. The right-hander began the season with Double-A Portland, going 7-3 with a 3.17 ERA (37 ER/105.0 IP) and 98 strikeouts over 21 games (all starts), with his ERA ranking eighth among Double-A pitchers (min. 100.0 IP) at the time of his promotion to Triple-A Worcester on August 22. For Worcester, the Texas native posted a 2.61 ERA (6 ER/20.2 IP) with 22 strikeouts in four games (all starts). Dobbins was selected by Boston in the eighth round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas Tech University. He was signed by Chris Reilly.

Shugart, 27, has made five appearances for the Red Sox in 2024, his Major League debut, posting a 4.70 ERA (4 ER/7.2 IP) with one save. The right-hander also went 6-2 with a 4.46 ERA (35 ER/70.2 IP) and 80 strikeouts in 36 games (five starts) with Triple-A Worcester. In his final eight Triple-A outings of the season, Shugart recorded a 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11.0 IP) and .190 opponent batting average (8-for-42). The Texas native was selected by Boston in the 12th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft. He was signed by Brandon Agamennone.

Arias, 18, is ranked as the Red Sox’ No. 6 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com, as well as baseball’s No. 92 overall prospect by Baseball America. The right-handed hitter split the season between the FCL Red Sox (51 games) and Single-A Salem (36 games), batting .309 (97-for-314) with an .896 OPS, 25 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 54 RBI, 50 walks, 59 runs scored, and 35 stolen bases (41 attempts). He made 57 starts at shortstop, 20 at second base, and nine as the designated hitter. Following the FCL season, he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, having led qualified FCL players in batting average (.355), on-base percentage (.471), slugging percentage (.584), and OPS (1.055). The Venezuela native was signed by Alex Requena as an international free agent in January 2023.

Gonzales, 17, led the DSL Red Sox Blue in batting average (.327), RBI (26), on-base percentage (.395), slugging percentage (.516), OPS (.911), hits (52), doubles (10), triples (four), extra-base hits (18), total bases (82), and runs scored (27). In the postseason with the DSL Red Sox Red, he batted .444 (12-for-27) with nine RBI over seven games, including a 4-for-5 performance in the clinching game of the DSL Championship Series. A right-handed hitter, Gonzales was named the Red Sox minor league Offensive Player of the Month for August. The Dominican native made 31 regular season starts at first base, 13 in right field, two in center field, and one as the designated hitter. He was signed by Juan Carlos Calderon, Todd Claus, and Jason Karegeannes.

Ruiz, 18, made 11 starts for the DSL Red Sox Red, going 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA (9 ER/45.2 IP), 0.92 WHIP, and .172 opponent batting average (27-for-157). The right-hander ranked third among qualified DSL pitchers in opponent batting average, seventh in WHIP, and eighth in ERA. He allowed two or fewer ER in all 11 of his starts, including a stretch of seven starts from June 14 to July 26 in which he allowed two earned runs and 10 hits total over 29.2 IP (0.61 ERA; 10-for-97, .103 opponent batting average). The Venezuela native also went 2-0 in his two postseason appearances, including a 2.0-inning scoreless relief outing in Game 1 of the Championship series. Ruiz was signed by Cesar Morillo and Rolando Pino.

Booser, 32, has posted a 3.38 ERA (16 ER/42.2 IP) with 43 strikeouts in 43 games for Boston this season, his Major League debut. Prior to his professional career, Booser persevered through a broken femur, dislocated knee, and torn knee ligaments in 2007, a fractured vertebrae in 2010, and Tommy John surgery in 2011 during his freshman year at Oregon State University. After leaving Oregon State in 2012, he pitched at Central Arizona College in 2013 and was signed by the Minnesota Twins as a non-drafted free agent in August 2013.

Following 78 minor league games over five seasons in the Twins’ organization, Booser retired from professional baseball in 2017 and joined a Seattle-area carpenters union. Four years later, the Washington native returned to baseball and pitched for the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association in 2021. He signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a minor league free agent in February 2022 but was released that July. The left-hander finished 2022 pitching for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League and was signed by the Red Sox as a minor league free agent on February 6, 2023. He was signed by Trevor Brown.

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