Taveras, Maness earn organizational honors

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

On the same day that Baseball America named the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate its Minor League Team of the Year, the Cardinals announced that two key contributors on that Springfield (Mo.) club had earned organizational honors.

Outfielder Oscar Taveras and right-hander Seth Maness have been named the Cardinals’ Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, following their standout seasons. Both players will be recognized at the Jan. 20 St. Louis Baseball Writers’ Dinner during the club’s Winter Warm-Up weekend.

Taveras, who was already honored as the Texas League’s top player, hit .321 with 37 doubles, 23 homers and 94 RBIs while helping lead Springfield to a Texas League championship. He led all Cardinal minor leaguers in hits, extra-base hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS.

Maness began the season with high-A Palm Beach before joining Springfield’s rotation in mid-May. He finished with 11 wins and a 3.27 ERA in the Texas League. Including his numbers with Palm Beach, Maness went 14-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 169 2/3 innings in 2012.

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