Sands, de la Rosa capture player of year accolades
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers presented outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands and right-handed pitcher Rubby de la Rosa, both former-members of the 2010 Loons baseball team, with the organization’s top minor league awards Saturday, October 2, at Dodger Stadium.
Sands was designated as the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year during the pre-game presentation before the Dodgers home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks; De la Rosa was honored as the Dodgers Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Both Sands and De la Rosa helped the Great Lakes Loons to their 43-26 first-half record and the franchise’s first mid-season playoff berth. The two were promoted in the second half and finished the season as teammates for the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Sands led the Loons offense in the first half of the season, accumulating 48 runs, 81 hits, 18 home runs and 46 RBI in 69 games with the Loons for a .333 batting average and three Midwest League Player of the Week awards. Sands was one of seven Loons represented at the MWL All-Star Game on June 22, where he hit a first-inning home run and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Sands was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga on June 25 and finished the season as a Lookout. The 23-year-old slugger hit 17 dingers in Tennessee for a 2010 total of 35, tying for third-most in Minor League Baseball.
De la Rosa joined the Loons in late April and was primarily used as a piggy-back pitcher to Elisaul Pimentel, earning a 1-1 record and six saves in 11 appearances before the All-Star break. After the break, the 21-year-old Dominican was worked into the Loons starting rotation, where he went 3-0 in four starts for a 1.67 ERA (5 earned runs in 27.0 innings pitched) before earning a promotion to Double-A. As a starter in Chattanooga, De la Rosa pitched his first 22 innings without allowing an earned run. He finished with a 3-1 record for the Lookouts and a 1.41 ERA (8ERx51.0IP).
