Triolo, Ortiz, Flowers, Thomas and Alvarez Take Home 2022 Team Awards
September 17, 2022 – Eastern League (EL) – Altoona Curve News Release
CURVE, PA – Prior to Altoona’s penultimate game of the 2022 season, the Curve are pleased to announce their 2022 recipients for their team awards.
Infielder Jared Triolo was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, relievers J.C. Flowers and Tahnaj Thomas were named the team’s Firemen of the Year, right-hander Luis Ortiz was named the team’s Pitcher of the Year and infielder Andres Alvarez was named the team’s Unsung Hero.
Triolo, the 72nd overall selection by the Pirates out of the University of Houston in 2019, earned the team’s Most Valuable Player Award after batting .282 with a .376 on-base percentage, 21 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 39 runs batted in in 112 games for the Curve. At the time of his placement on the injured list on August 30, Triolo ranked first in the Eastern League with 63 walks and had reached base safely in 40-of-his-last-45 games played. A native of Austin, Texas, Triolo became the second player in Altoona’s franchise history to hit three leadoff home runs in the same season, joining Alen Hanson in 2014, when he hit three in the span of nine days in early-August. In addition to his offensive prowess, Triolo has clearly been one of the Eastern League’s best defenders at third base
Altoona’s bullpen has ranked among the top-5 in the league in bullpen ERA throughout the 2022 season, on the strength of brilliant performances from the team’s Firemen of the Year, J.C. Flowers and Tahnaj Thomas.
Flowers, Pittsburgh’s fourth round selection in 2019 out of Florida State, has fulfilled a key role in the Curve bullpen providing length when the team needed it early in the season and fulfilling a high-leverage role as the season went on. Overall, Flowers has recorded a 2.88 ERA in 33 appearances, two starts, for the Curve this season. In 68.2 innings pitched, he’s allowed just 57 hits, 24 walks and struck out 62. Prior to his placement on the IL on August 30, Flowers had held opponents to a .157 batting average against in his last 13 appearances, covering 26.1 innings pitched.
Thomas, who was acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in 2018, turned in a career-best season in his first full season working in a relief role. In 37 appearances, one start, the native of Freeport in the Bahamas, he recorded a 3.02 ERA with the Curve. In 50.2 innings pitched, he allowed just 44 hits, walked 20 and struck out 52 batters before his placement on the Temporary Inactive List on September 10. In his final 17 appearances with the Curve, Thomas held his opponent scoreless 13 times and allowed just four earned runs in 23.0 innings pitched: good for a 1.57 ERA. Thomas turned in seven scoreless appearances in the month of July, allowing just six hits and one walk with 13 strikeouts in 10.0 innings pitched. Thomas is currently pitching for Team Great Britain in the WBC Qualifiers in Germany.
Altoona’s 2022 Pitcher of the Year, Luis Ortiz, ranks second among Pirates minor leaguers with 138 strikeouts on the season and made his major league debut on Tuesday, September 13 at Cincinnati tossing 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and three walks with five strikeouts. The 23-year-old right-hander from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic went 5-9 with a 4.64 ERA in 24 appearances and 23 starts for the Curve this season. Twice this season, Ortiz tossed an immaculate inning, setting down three straight batters on strikes on just nine pitches, becoming the first pitcher in team history to record more than one immaculate inning in a career. Ortiz became the first Curve pitcher to strike out 100 batters in a season since Taylor Hearn in 2018 and his 126 strikeouts rank as the fourth-most in a single-season in franchise history. Ortiz’s final outing of the season with the Curve saw him strike out 10 batters across 5.0 innings at Bowie, the most in a single outing by a Curve pitcher this season.
Andres Alvarez received the team’s Unsung Hero Award after claiming the first 20/20 season in Altoona’s franchise history. A 22nd round pick out of Washington State University in 2019, Alvarez has fulfilled a key role for Manager Kieran Mattison and the Curve, appearing at 3B, SS, 2B and in LF this season. Alvarez has recorded career-highs in games played, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, walks and stolen bases this year. A native of Chula Vista, California, Alvarez, and teammate Matt Gorski are the first Pirates minor league teammates to record a 20/20 season in the same year since 1992 when Keith Thomas and Al Martin both recorded 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same campaign. Altoona has two players with 20 home runs on the same team for the first time since 2005 (Jose Bautista/Josh Bonifay) and just the third time in 24 seasons of the franchise’s history. Alvarez and teammate Aaron Shackelford have recorded the 11th and 12th 20-homer seasons in franchise history.
Season Ticket packages for the 2023 season are on sale now, for more information on packages, click here. Flex books, group tickets, mini plans, as well as a full 2023 schedule with game times will be made available later.
For tickets and more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.
• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
