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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates handed out awards for its Minor League system on Tuesday with the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a Class A ball club, being named staff of the year by the Pirates.
The announcement was made by Player Development chief Michael Chernow.
The staff includes manager Blake Butler, along with his staff which includes Matt Myers, Jon Prieto, Jonathan Roof, Phil Wellman, Steph Lombardo, Coleman Duke, Nick Ritchey, Mary Alice Baldwin, Kelliann Harnden and Alonzo Whiteside.
Greensboro finished with 88 wins, the most by a Greensboro team since the 1982 season (96). It led the South Atlantic League in home runs with 165. The pitching staff's ERA of 3.55 ranked fourth in the SAL. The Grasshoppers played in the SAL championship, losing two games to one to Brooklyn (N.Y. Mets).
Also winning an award on Tuesday was Edward Florentino, who was voted Rookie-level player of the year. Florentino played for the Pirates team in the Florida Complex League.
The 18-year-old batted .347 with six doubles, two triples, six home runs and 23 RBIs, along with 23 runs scored in 29 games.
After being promoted to the Bradenton Marauders, he batted .262 in 54 games with 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 36 RBIs, 37 runs scored and 29 stolen bases.
The winner of the Rookie-Level pitcher of the year honor was Yonleg Gaetano, who played in the Dominican Summer League for the Pirates Gold team.
The 20-year-old went 2-2 with five saves and an 0.93 ERA, 39 strikeouts over 13 appearances. His batting average against was .168 and his WHIP was 0.90. Working out of the bullpen, he did shine in one start, going five scoreless innings, giving up no hits while striking out five.