ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced today the club's selections for 2009 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, tabbing infielder/outfielder Allen Craig (8th round, 2006) and pitcher Lance Lynn (1st round supplemental, 2008) as this year's top performers.

"For a player to get drafted last year, and then in his first full year accomplish this, is remarkable," said Cardinals' vice president of scouting and player development, Jeff Luhnow, about Lynn. "Lance helped our Double-A team reach the playoffs, and his future is very bright."

"Allen has been terrific every year since we drafted him and was a key part of the [Memphis] Redbirds championship run this year," said Luhnow. "This recognition is overdue for him."

Craig, 25, led Memphis in the Triple Crown categories, batting .322 with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs, while slugging a team-leading .547. He finished fourth in the Pacific Coast League in batting, home runs, hits (152) and total bases (258). He played in 126 games, splitting time among first base, third base and the outfield, committing only five errors for a .990 fielding percentage.

In each of his three full seasons in the Minors, Craig has batted above .300 with more than 20 home runs and 80 RBIs. He was selected to the midseason and postseason All-Star teams in the Florida State League (MVP of 2008 game) and Texas League. Craig earned Cardinals organizational Player-of-the-Month honors this past July, batting .392 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI.

The right-handed hitting Craig was drafted by the Cardinals in the 8th round (No. 256 overall) of the June 2006 First-Year Player Draft, out of the University of California-Berkeley, and is the first player to win the award while spending his entire season at Triple-A since Adam Kennedy accomplished the feat with Memphis in 1999.

Lynn, 22, climbed three levels in his second professional season, joining the previous two winners, Jess Todd (2008) and P.J. Walters (2007) as the only Cardinals Pitcher of the Year honorees to accomplish that feat.

The right-hander combined for an 11-4 record with a 2.85 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings (28 games) between Palm Beach (Class A Advanced), Springfield (Double-A) and Memphis (Triple-A).

The 6-foor-5, 250-pound Lynn finished third in the Texas League in ERA (2.92), and was tied for third with 11 wins. Lynn earned the Cardinals Pitcher-of-the-Month honors for May, going 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA in 28 1/3 innings with 23 strikeouts, helping Springfield to a first-half championship and a Texas League playoff berth. He was named to the midseason and postseason Texas League All-Star teams.

A complete listing of the Cardinals' Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Year Award selections since 1995 follows:

St. Louis Cardinals
Minor League Players of the Year
Year -- Name, Position, Team(s)
1995 -- Mike Gulan, 3B, Louisville/Arkansas
1996 -- Dmitri Young, IF, Louisville
1997 -- Brent Butler, IF, Peoria
1998 -- Pablo Ozuna, IF, Peoria
1999 -- Adam Kennedy, IF, Memphis
2000 -- Albert Pujols, 3B, Peoria/Potomac
2001 -- Covelli Crisp, OF, Potomac
2002 -- John Gall, 1B, New Haven
2003 -- John Gall, 1B, Tennessee/Memphis
2004 -- Reid Gorecki, OF, Palm Beach/Tennessee
2005 -- Travis Hanson, 3B, Springfield
2006 -- Colby Rasmus, OF, Quad Cities/Palm Beach
2007 -- Colby Rasmus, OF, Springfield
2008 -- Daryl Jones, OF, Palm Beach/Springfield
2009 -- Allen Craig, OF/IF, Memphis

St. Louis Cardinals
Minor League Pitchers of the Year
Year -- Name, Throwing arm, Team(s)
1995 -- Mike Busby, RHP, Louisville/Arkansas
1996 -- Britt Reames, RHP, Peoria
1997 -- Cliff Politte, RHP, Prince William/Arkansas
1998 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP, Peoria/Prince William
1999 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP, Arkansas/Memphis
2000 -- Bud Smith, LHP, Arkansas/Memphis
2001 -- Jimmy Journell, RHP, Potomac/New Haven
2002 -- Tyler Johnson, LHP, Peoria
2003 -- Dan Haren, RHP, Tennessee/Memphis
2004 -- Anthony Reyes, RHP, Palm Beach/Tennessee
2005 -- Mark Worrell, RHP, Palm Beach
2006 -- Blake Hawksworth, RHP, Palm Beach/Springfield
2007 -- P.J. Walters, RHP, Quad Cities/Palm Beach/Springfield
2008 -- Jess Todd, RHP, Palm Beach/Springfield/Memphis
2009 -- Lance Lynn, RHP, Palm Beach/Springfield/Memphis

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