Wednesday, September 10, 2014

2014 Dominican Summer League Cardinals Player Of The Year - Jonathan Rivera

Jonathan Rivera - 2014 DSL Player Of The Year


2014 Dominican Summer League Cardinals Monthly Hitting Breakdown

May/June
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
AVG
Bandes
25
97
14
27
7
0
5
13
6
13
.278
Rivera
23
96
9
32
5
1
3
16
2
26
.333
Talavera
25
89
18
24
6
4
0
9
15
28
.269
Cordoba
20
74
12
21
2
0
1
5
8
19
.284
Flores
17
65
9
18
1
1
1
4
5
17
.277
De La Cruz
18
64
5
10
1
0
1
5
5
25
.157
Rodriguez
16
56
5
12
2
0
0
8
8
11
.214
Linares
14
52
7
13
4
0
0
3
4
13
.250
Ortega
14
46
6
12
0
0
0
3
6
11
.261

The Cardinals began the the season with five strong hitters at the plate.  Luis Bandes, Jonathan Rivera, Carlos Talavera, Allen Cordoba, and Luis Flores helped to keep the Redbirds afloat at a 10-16 record to finish the month of June.  Bandes and Rivera were the power for the team with Cordoba and Flores contributing hits and Talavera showing he could get on base in various ways.

July
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
AVG
Cordoba
25
105
18
28
5
1
1
10
2
13
.267
Rivera
24
101
7
23
5
1
1
12
3
30
.228
Linares
24
95
9
15
4
1
0
3
8
37
.158
Talavera
24
92
9
17
2
0
0
3
11
29
.185
Flores
21
90
5
19
3
0
0
5
4
25
.211
Rodriguez
18
62
5
10
0
0
0
1
10
28
.161
Alvarado
15
62
3
12
1
0
0
3
0
20
.194
Ortega
17
56
8
10
0
0
0
3
12
13
.179
De La Cruz
17
53
3
6
0
0
0
2
10
13
.113

As the Cardinals moved into the middle of the season, injuries and heavy slumps took their tolls on the club.  Cordoba stayed at a steady pace Talavera, and Flores struggled at the plate.  Rivera dipped in the hitting department, but when he got a hold of the ball he made things happen for the team.  The Redbirds lost power-hitting Bandes to an injury and a handful of others were left to pick up the slack.  With the teams lack of hitting, they could only capture five games in the month of July out of the 21 played.

August
G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
AVG
Ynfante
18
68
8
18
3
2
2
7
4
20
.265
Cordoba
17
65
11
14
2
0
0
3
5
14
.215
Linares
18
65
7
10
0
2
0
3
3
20
.154
Flores
17
62
6
10
2
0
1
3
2
16
.161
Rivera
16
61
6
15
2
1
2
12
1
15
.246
Talavera
16
52
4
5
0
0
0
1
6
19
.096
Ortega
14
51
2
13
2
0
0
7
2
14
.255
Rodriguez
15
42
5
7
1
0
0
2
12
10
.167
De La Cruz
11
41
1
4
0
0
0
1
1
13
.098

Wadye Ynfante stepped up after riding the bench all season to lead the Cardinals in the last month of the season.  The club struggling to find some power at the plate found it in Ynfante, who lead the team in doubles, triples, and homers.  Ynfante was a big reason the club was able to climb out of the cellar and finish with a 7-11 record in August.  Rivera found a way for the third consecutive month to lead the Redbirds in runs batter in, while Cordoba scored the runs.

I have chosen Jonathan Rivera as the 2014 Dominican Summer League Cardinals Player of the Year.  He started the season off strong and finished off on a good note.  Despite a slight slump in the middle of the season, the 17-year right-handed hitter still knocked in the runs needed to keep the Cardinals going.  Rivera was also the only hitter from the team that was named to the 2014 DSL All-Star team.  Talavera and Flores started off really well, but fell off.  Cordoba got on base and scored runs but there had to be someone there to get him across the plate.  Bandes and Ynfante would receive consideration but both only showed up for short stints in the season, either at the beginning or end.

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