Toronto Blue Jays players Bo Bichette and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were handed some offseason accolades by local writers Wednesday.
The Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America named Bichette rookie of the year and Gurriel Jr. player of the year and most improved player.
Bichette, 21, burst onto the scene in July with a record-breaking performance that included an 11-game hitting streak and 15 extra-base hits in his first 15 career games. He stood out even among other high-profile Toronto rookies Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio for the final months of the season, finishing the season with a .311 batting average in 48 games and 61 hits over 212 plate appearances. Those hits, and 11 home runs, stand as the most ever by a Blue Jay to start a career. Bichette also became the first-ever MLB player to hit a double in nine consecutive games during his emergence on the MLB scene.
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Gurriel Jr.'s awards come after his second MLB season, in which he slashed .277/.327/.541 over 84 games played with 20 home runs and 50 runs batted in to boot. The Cuba native became the first player in MLB history to lead his team in home runs (16) at the All-Star break after not homering in the team's first 50 games. Gurriel also provided stellar defense — in his 63 games spent in left field, he led all Major League left fielders with nine assists. These feats followed the 26-year-old's rookie season in 2018, in which he hit 11 home runs and knocked in 35 runs, slashing .281/.309/.446 over 65 games.
Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles won the chapter's pitcher of the year award after leading AL relievers in strikeout rate (39.9 percent) and MLB in save percentage (95.8). Giles finished the season with a 2-3 record and a 1.87 ERA in 53 innings. His 2.4 wins above replacement (bWAR) stood as second-highest among all Blue Jays pitchers.
Finally, first baseman Justin Smoak won the association's John Cerutti Award "for displaying goodwill, cooperation and character." The 32-year-old hit 22 home runs and drove in 61 runs over 121 games in 2019, leading the Blue Jays in walks (79) along the way. Smoak was nominated for a Gold Glove at first base for his impressive fielding (.995 fielding percentage).