Atlantic League Names Defensive Player of the Year
October 4, 2022 – Atlantic League (AtL) News Release
(New York) – The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball on Tuesday named Lancaster’s Melvin Mercedes as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in voting conducted by the league’s managers, coaches and front office staffs.
Mercedes was primarily the second baseman for the Atlantic League champion Barnstormers this season while also seeing action at third base and centerfield. In (122) regular season games, Mercedes had 560 total chances and committed just 14 errors, a fielding percentage of .976. He was a part of 74 double plays during the regular season.
A native of the Bronx, N.Y., Mercedes played at the University of Central Florida and was a 16th round pick of the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 MLB Draft. He joined the Barnstormers in 2019 and has spent the last three seasons in Lancaster. He owns a .290 career batting average in the Atlantic League and has a .974 career fielding percentage.
Mercedes is the third Atlantic League second baseman to receive the Defensive Player of the Year award and the sixth infielder in seven seasons.
The Atlantic League will name its Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday.
Defensive Player of the Year
2015 Dan Lyons, SS Long Island
2016 Eric Farris, 2B Somerset
2017 Michael Crouse, CF New Britain
2018 Edwin Garcia, SS So Maryland
2019 Edwin Garcia, SS So Maryland
2021 Steve Lombardozzi, 2B Long Island
2022 Melvin Mercedes, 2B Lancaster
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