# Midwest League Most Valuable Player Award

The Midwest League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Midwest League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, and members of the media have previously voted as well. Though the league was established in 1947, the award was not created until 1956. After the cancellation of the 2020 season, the league was known as the High-A Central in 2021 before reverting to the Midwest League name in 2022.
Twenty-four outfielders have won the MVP Award, the most of any position. First basemen, with 11 winners, have won the most among infielders, followed by third basemen (7), shortstops (4), and second basemen (2). Six catchers and three pitchers have also won the award.
Twenty-four players who have won the MVP Award also won the Midwest League Top MLB Prospect Award (formerly the Prospect of the Year Award) in the same season: Willie Wilson (1975), Paul Molitor (1977), Bill Foley (1978), Dave Stockstill (1979), Von Hayes (1980), Luis Medina (1986), Tom Redington (1989), Reggie Sanders (1990), Salomón Torres (1991), Steve Gibralter (1992), Pablo Ozuna (1998), Albert Pujols (2000), Adrián González (2001), Prince Fielder (2003), Brian Dopirak (2004), Carlos González (2005), Ben Revere (2008), Dee Strange-Gordon (2009), Mike Trout (2010), Rymer Liriano (2011), Byron Buxton (2013), Eloy Jiménez (2016), Bo Bichette (2017), and Andy Pages (2021). From 1956 to 2020, pitchers were eligible to win the MVP Award as no award was designated for pitchers. In 2021, the Midwest League established a Pitcher of the Year Award.
Nine players from the Cedar Rapids Kernels have been selected for the MVP Award, more than any other team in the league, followed by the Beloit Sky Carp, Burlington Bees, Kane County Cougars, Lansing Lugnuts, and Waterloo Indians (4); the Dubuque Packers, Great Lakes Loons, Peoria Chiefs, Springfield Cardinals, and West Michigan Whitecaps (3); the South Bend Cubs (2); and the Clinton Giants, Decatur Commodores, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Kenosha Twins, Kokomo Dodgers, Lake County Captains, Madison Muskies, Michigan Battle Cats, Midwest Dodgers, Rockford Royals, and Wausau Timbers (1).
Six players from the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the award, more than any other, followed by the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins organizations (5); the Detroit Tigers organization (4); the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations (2); the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, and Oakland Athletics organizations (2); and the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres organizations (1).

## Winners

Key :
| Position | Indicates the player's primary position |
| ^ | Indicates multiple award winners in the same year |
Winners :
| Year | Winner | Team | Organization | Position |
| 1956 | Deacon Jones | Dubuque Packers | Chicago White Sox | Second baseman |
| 1957 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1958 | Gus Sancimino | Kokomo Dodgers | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder |
| 1959 | Joel McDaniel | Decatur Commodores | Detroit Tigers | Pitcher |
| 1960 | Thomas Haake | Dubuque Packers | Pittsburgh Pirates | Pitcher |
| 1961 | Hector Cardenas | Dubuque Packers | Cleveland Indians | Outfielder |
| 1962 | Tony Torchia | Midwest Dodgers | Los Angeles Dodgers | First baseman |
| 1963 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1964 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1965 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1966 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1967 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1968 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1969 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1970 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1971 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1972 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1973 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1974 | None selected | None selected | None selected | None selected |
| 1975 | Willie Wilson | Waterloo Royals | Kansas City Royals | Outfielder |
| 1976 | Wayne Cato | Cedar Rapids Giants | San Francisco Giants | Catcher |
| 1977 | Paul Molitor | Burlington Bees | Milwaukee Brewers | Shortstop |
| 1978 | Bill Foley | Burlington Bees | Milwaukee Brewers | Catcher |
| 1979 | Dave Stockstill | Wausau Timbers | Chicago Cubs | Outfielder |
| 1980 | Von Hayes | Waterloo Indians | Cleveland Indians | Third baseman |
| 1981 | Ed Saavedra | Waterloo Indians | Cleveland Indians | Outfielder |
| 1982 | Tom Romano | Madison Muskies | Oakland Athletics | Outfielder |
| 1983 | Curt Ford | Springfield Cardinals | St. Louis Cardinals | Outfielder |
| 1984 | Joey Meyer | Beloit Brewers | Milwaukee Brewers | First baseman |
| 1985 | Eddie Williams | Cedar Rapids Reds | Cincinnati Reds | Third baseman |
| 1986 | Luis Medina | Waterloo Indians | Cleveland Indians | Outfielder |
| 1987^ | Greg Vaughn | Beloit Brewers | Milwaukee Brewers | Outfielder |
| 1987^ | Todd Zeile | Springfield Cardinals | St. Louis Cardinals | Catcher |
| 1988 | Lenny Webster | Kenosha Twins | Minnesota Twins | Catcher |
| 1989 | Tom Redington | Burlington Braves | Atlanta Braves | Third baseman |
| 1990 | Reggie Sanders | Cedar Rapids Reds | Cincinnati Reds | Outfielder |
| 1991 | Salomón Torres | Clinton Giants | San Francisco Giants | Pitcher |
| 1992 | Steve Gibralter | Cedar Rapids Reds | Cincinnati Reds | Outfielder |
| 1993 | Joe Biasucci | Springfield Cardinals | St. Louis Cardinals | Second baseman |
| 1994 | Sal Fasano | Rockford Royals | Kansas City Royals | Catcher |
| 1995 | Jesus Ibarra | Burlington Bees | San Francisco Giants | First baseman |
| 1996 | Larry Barnes | Cedar Rapids Kernels | California Angels | First baseman |
| 1997 | Robert Fick | West Michigan Whitecaps | Detroit Tigers | First baseman |
| 1998 | Pablo Ozuna | Peoria Chiefs | St. Louis Cardinals | Shortstop |
| 1999 | Aaron McNeal | Michigan Battle Cats | Houston Astros | First baseman |
| 2000 | Albert Pujols | Peoria Chiefs | St. Louis Cardinals | Third baseman |
| 2001 | Adrián González | Kane County Cougars | Florida Marlins | First baseman |
| 2002 | Jason Stokes | Kane County Cougars | Florida Marlins | First baseman |
| 2003 | Prince Fielder | Beloit Snappers | Milwaukee Brewers | First baseman |
| 2004 | Brian Dopirak | Lansing Lugnuts | Chicago Cubs | First baseman |
| 2005 | Carlos González | South Bend Silver Hawks | Arizona Diamondbacks | Outfielder |
| 2006 | Jeff Baisley | Kane County Cougars | Oakland Athletics | Third baseman |
| 2007 | Gorkys Hernández | West Michigan Whitecaps | Detroit Tigers | Outfielder |
| 2008 | Ben Revere | Beloit Snappers | Minnesota Twins | Outfielder |
| 2009^ | Dee Strange-Gordon | Great Lakes Loons | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shortstop |
| 2009^ | Kyle Russell | Great Lakes Loons | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder |
| 2010 | Mike Trout | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Outfielder |
| 2011 | Rymer Liriano | Fort Wayne TinCaps | San Diego Padres | Outfielder |
| 2012 | Kevin Pillar | Lansing Lugnuts | Toronto Blue Jays | Outfielder |
| 2013 | Byron Buxton | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Minnesota Twins | Outfielder |
| 2014 | Wynton Bernard | West Michigan Whitecaps | Detroit Tigers | Outfielder |
| 2015 | Ryan McBroom | Lansing Lugnuts | Toronto Blue Jays | First baseman |
| 2016 | Eloy Jiménez | South Bend Cubs | Chicago Cubs | Outfielder |
| 2017 | Bo Bichette | Lansing Lugnuts | Toronto Blue Jays | Shortstop |
| 2018 | Elehuris Montero | Peoria Chiefs | St. Louis Cardinals | Third baseman |
| 2019 | Alek Thomas | Kane County Cougars | Arizona Diamondbacks | Outfielder |
| 2020 | None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2021 | Andy Pages | Great Lakes Loons | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder |
| 2022 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Minnesota Twins | Third baseman |
| 2023 | Kala'i Rosario | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Minnesota Twins | Outfielder |
| 2024 | Cooper Ingle | Lake County Captains | Cleveland Guardians | Catcher |

## Wins by team

Active Midwest League teams appear in bold.
| Team | Award(s) | Year(s) |
| Cedar Rapids Kernels (Cedar Rapids Giants/Reds) | 9 | 1976, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2010, 2013, 2022, 2023 |
| Beloit Sky Carp (Beloit Brewers/Snappers) | 4 | 1984, 1987, 2003, 2008 |
| Burlington Bees (Burlington Braves) | 4 | 1977, 1978, 1989, 1995 |
| Kane County Cougars | 4 | 2001, 2002, 2006, 2019 |
| Lansing Lugnuts | 4 | 2004, 2012, 2015, 2017 |
| Waterloo Indians (Waterloo Royals) | 4 | 1975, 1980, 1981, 1986 |
| Dubuque Packers | 3 | 1956, 1960, 1961 |
| Great Lakes Loons | 3 | 2009, 2021 |
| Peoria Chiefs | 3 | 1998, 2000, 2018 |
| Springfield Cardinals | 3 | 1983, 1987, 1993 |
| West Michigan Whitecaps | 3 | 1997, 2007, 2014 |
| South Bend Cubs (South Bend Silver Hawks) | 2 | 2005, 2016 |
| Clinton Giants | 1 | 1991 |
| Decatur Commodores | 1 | 1959 |
| Fort Wayne TinCaps | 1 | 2011 |
| Kenosha Twins | 1 | 1988 |
| Kokomo Dodgers | 1 | 1958 |
| Lake County Captains | 1 | 2024 |
| Madison Muskies | 1 | 1982 |
| Michigan Battle Cats | 1 | 1999 |
| Midwest Dodgers | 1 | 1962 |
| Rockford Royals | 1 | 1994 |
| Wausau Timbers | 1 | 1979 |

## Wins by organization

Active Midwest League–Major League Baseball affiliations appear in bold.
| Organization | Award(s) | Year(s) |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 6 | 1983, 1987, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2018 |
| Cleveland Guardians (Cleveland Indians) | 5 | 1961, 1980, 1981, 1986, 2024 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 5 | 1958, 1962, 2009, 2021 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 5 | 1977, 1978, 1984, 1987, 2003 |
| Minnesota Twins | 5 | 1988, 2008, 2013, 2022, 2023 |
| Detroit Tigers | 4 | 1959, 1997, 2007, 2014 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3 | 1979, 2004, 2016 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 3 | 1985, 1990, 1992 |
| San Francisco Giants | 3 | 1976, 1991, 1995 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 3 | 2012, 2015, 2017 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 2 | 2005, 2019 |
| Kansas City Royals | 2 | 1975, 1994 |
| Los Angeles Angels (California Angels) | 2 | 1996, 2010 |
| Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins) | 2 | 2001, 2002 |
| Oakland Athletics | 2 | 1982, 2006 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1 | 1989 |
| Chicago White Sox | 1 | 1956 |
| Houston Astros | 1 | 1999 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | 1960 |
| San Diego Padres | 1 | 2011 |