Minor League Baseball announced their Rawlings Gold Glove winners on Monday morning. For the second year in a row, Ke’Bryan Hayes has been named as the best defensive third baseman throughout the minors. He was the only repeat winner from last season.
Hayes won last year after he set a Florida State League record with a .974 fielding percentage. He did even better in that category over 116 games this season with Altoona, committing six errors in 278 total chances for a .978 fielding percentage. That fielding percentage was tops for all minor league third basemen.
Only nine Gold Gloves are handed out around all of minor league baseball, so it’s quite an accomplishment to be named as the best at your position for two seasons in a row. The 21-year-old Hayes should be at third base for Indianapolis to begin 2019, and if he hits like he did this year for Altoona, he might not be in the minors long enough to win a third straight Gold Glove. He’s currently the second best prospect for the Pirates after hitting .293/.375/.444, with 31 doubles, seven triples and seven homers in 2018.
