2011 MiLBY Award nominees feature many Giants minor leaguers

The annual Minor League Baseball Awards (The MiLBYs) will be announced in a few weeks and fans have a chance to vote for their favorite minor league baseball players, teams, and moments.

Several Giants minor leaguers are on the ballot this year:

• Gary Brown (Class-A Advanced San Jose) has been nominated for the Top Hitter award. Brown batted .336/.407/.519 with 14 HR, 34 doubles and 80 RBI. He stole a whopping 53 bases and scored 115 runs. As of today, he trails Winston-Salem’s Ian Gac in fan voting, 60% to 15%.
• Joe Panik (Class-A Short Season Salem-Keizer) has been nominated for Best Hitter for Class-A Short Season. The Giants’ top pick in the June draft topped the Northwest League in batting (.341), hits (92), OPB (.401) and RBI (54) en route to winning the MVP award. Currently, he’s fourth in fan voting, garnering just 12% of the vote.
• Eric Surkamp (Double-A Richmond) has been nominated for Best Double-A Starter of 2011. He led the Eastern League in ERA (2.02) and was second in strikeouts (165) before his promotion to the big leagues. Right now, Surkamp is fifth in fan voting, with just 4% of the vote.
• Chris Heston (Class-A Advanced San Jose) has been nominated for Best Class-A Advanced Starter of 2011. Heston racked up 12 wins in the hitter-friendly Cal League and led the circuit with a 3.16 ERA. He sits last (sixth) in fan voting today at just 3%.
• The San Jose Giants have been nominated for Best Class-A Advanced Team of 2011. While San Jose had the best record in Class-A Advanced (90-50), they were unable to capture their third consecutive Cal League championship, losing to Lake Elsinore. San Jose is tied for third place in fan voting right now, at just 9%.
• In the category of Best Class A Advanced Game of 2011, San Jose Giants catcher Hector Sanchez has been nominated for his 15-game RBI streak in May. That game is fifth in fan voting at just 4%.
• The Richmond Flying Squirrels may take home the bacon, er, I mean the Best Theme Night award. The Giants’ Double-A affiliate held a Tribute To Bacon Night on May 24. Fans who attended that game got to enter a drawing for a year’s worth of free bacon and there was even an appearance by Kevin Bacon (no, not THE Kevin Bacon. A local detective by the same name got to throw out the first pitch). With 23% of the fan vote, it’s the second-most popular promotion right now, behind — ironically – Memphis’ Organ Donor Night (34%).
• The only appearance the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies are making in the 2011 MiLBY Awards nominations is in the Miscellaneous Promo Of The Year category for their Taco Truck Throwdown. That promotional night, which featured eight taco trucks from Visalia to Madera gathered at Chukchansi Park, leads the pack at 42% of the vote.

C’mon, Giants fans. Help your minor league affiliates win some MiLBYs! Go here to vote.