Over the next few days, we are going to be rolling out our awards for the year. Myself, Todd Johnson, and Greg Zumach all got together and voted for who we thought should be the hitter of the year, the pitcher of the year, the reliever of the year, the bounceback player of the year and the most underrated prospect.

Sit back and enjoy as we talk about each of these awards. We put out one a day this week.

Let’s get started with the Hitter of the Year.

The Contenders

Kevin Alcantara was only 19 this year and he flashed some power in Myrtle Beach hitting 15 homers. He also drove in 85 RBI in 112 games. Todd is really excited to see him play for South Bend next summer as NSB is going to get a good look at him, up close and personal.

Alexander Canario stormed through 3 levels of baseball hitting 37 HRs. The 22-year-old had an amazing Summer at Double-A with 24 HRs at that stop before he headed to Iowa.

Jake Slaughter also had a great summer with an outstanding tenure in Tennessee. In what amounted to just 86 games, he hit 20 dingers, stole 28 bases, and drove in 68 runs. That’s a pretty good two-thirds of a season at Double-A!

Then there is Pete Crow–Armstrong who tore up two levels of class A baseball and appeared in the Futures Game and is now a top 40 prospect. As well, PCA has moved to the top of the Cubs prospect list and played with what Todd liked to call “controlled abandonment.”

The Winner!

Mr. 119 RBI, otherwise known as Matt Mervis, is going to take home the 2022 Hitter of the Year award from North Side Bound. He came in first on two of our three ballots and second on the other. What we found most impressive about Mervis’ rise through three levels was that his K rate reduced at each level and his walk rate increased. For the year, he hit .309 with 36 home runs, the aforementioned 119 RBI, and a wRC+ of 159 along with an OPS of .986.

We will be back tomorrow with our Starting Pitcher of the Year award.