Former South Carolina stars each recognized as MLB teams’ top minor league pitcher

The hardware continues to roll in for former South Carolina star pitchers on the pro level, as both Wil Crowe and Taylor Widener were named minor league pitcher of the year this week by their respective organizations, the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Crowe shared the award with an old SEC rival, Ben Braymer after posting an 11–5 record with a 3.40 ERA in 22 games in his second year of professional baseball. He also had a perfect 11-0 record with the Nationals’ High-A affiliate, the Potomac Nationals, and was promoted to Double-A by the end of the season. He was also named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year earlier this month for his performance in High-A.

According to the Nationals, Crowe’s 11 wins tied for the most among Washington’s minor league pitchers, and his ERA ranked fourth, despite a rough adjustment to Double-A, where he posted an 0-5 record with a 6.15 ERA.

Also in the course of the 2018 season, Crowe overcame an injury scare that sidelined him for several weeks. He is now rated by MLB Pipeline as the Nationals’ No. 5 overall prospect and second-best pitching prospect.

Widener joined the Diamondbacks in an offseason trade after spending two years in the New York Yankees organization. He put together a 5-8 record with a 2.75 ERA in Double-A Jackson this year, allowing a .197 batting average against and striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings to go with a 4.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Widener led all minor league pitchers in Arizona’s organization in ERA and strikeouts. He is the Diamondback’s No. 3 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 12:36 PM.