Eight Baseball Factory Alumni were selected as award winners this week, being recognized as the best at their position either offensively or defensively in their respective leagues.

In the American League,  Detroit 2^nd Baseman Ian Kinsler finally was recognized for his incredibly steady career, taking home his first career gold glove. Kinsler only committed nine errors on the year and was credited with 12 defensive runs saved above average, which actually was not near his career highs. Kinsler did, however, tie a career high with a fielding percentage of .988.

The other Factory Alum to win an American League Gold Glove Award was rising superstar Francisco Lindor, the shortstop for the AL Champion Cleveland Indians. His knack for the spectacular play, in addition to having a stellar fielding percentage of .982 was a major reason for the Indians advancing as far as they did. His 17 defensive runs saved above average is an astounding number for a young player. He is just scratching the surface of his potential.

The only American League Silver Slugger winner to come out of the Baseball Factory Program, Josh Donaldson, capped off a sensational run through the regular season by maintaining a career high OPS of .953. The 2015 American League MVP and Silver Slugger at third base, Donaldson slashed .284/.404./549 while clobbering 37 home runs and putting himself right back in the AL MVP discussion for the 2016 season.

In the National League, Arizona pitcher Zack Greinke won his third career gold glove, cementing himself as one of the best fielding pitchers of his time. San Francisco Shortstop Brandon Crawford won his 2^nd straight Gold Glove as well, finishing with 19 runs saved above average and recording a stellar fielding percentage of .983. Florida Marlins OF Christian Yelich won his first Silver Slugger award, breaking out at the age of 24 to the tune of 21 home runs, 98 RBI’s and a .483 slugging percentage. The 24-year-old Thousand Oaks, CA native was previously a Gold Glove winner in 2014 and attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Azusa, CA back in 2007.

Two Baseball Factory Alumni won both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award. Nolan Arenado, the third baseman for the Colorado Rockies, won his 4^th straight Gold Glove, as he solidified his stranglehold as the best defensive player in baseball. He also led the National League in homers for the 2^nd straight year, mashing 41 to go along with 133 RBIs and a slash line of .294/.362/.570.

Anthony Rizzo, who not only won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, but also helped bring a title to the north side of Chicago for the first time since 1908, earned his first career Gold Glove, in part thanks to a memorable catch that he made that involved going up on top of the brick wall at Wrigley Field to snag a ball before it went into the stands. He also had a fielding percentage of .996, which was the second best of his career. At the plate, Rizzo hit 32 HR and knocked in 109 to match a slash line that was .292/.385/.544, of which the batting average and slugging percentage were career highs.

Congratulations to all of our Baseball Factory alumni and we wish our alumni nominated for awards next week the best of luck!