CUNNINGHAM'S MINOR LEAGUE STATS
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves announced their 2012 Organizational Awards on Thursday and former Jacksonville State outfielder Todd Cunningham was named the organization's Player of the Year.
Cunningham, a native of Jacksonville and standout for head coach
Jim Case and the Gamecocks from 2008-10 before being drafted by Atlanta as the 53rd overall pick (2nd round) of the 2010 draft.
He, 2012 Minor League Pitcher of the Year J.R. Graham and honorees from each of the Braves' minor league levels will be honored prior to Atlanta's game with the Washington Nationals at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday at Turner Field. The honorees will be available for an autograph session and Q and A with fans from 2:15-3:15 p.m. at the fan plaza before being presented with their awards on the field at about 3:45 p.m.
The switch hitter spent the entire 2012 season with the Brave's Double-A club in Mississippi and, in 120 games, hit .309 with 23 doubles, six triples, three home runs and 51 RBI. He boasted a .364 on-base percentage and stole 24 bases in just 32 tries.
He finished the season in third in the race for the Southern League's batting title and was also third with 77 runs scored, while he boasted the fourth-most hits in the league with 144. His on-base percentage ranked ninth, while his six triples were 10th in the league.
Cunningham was selected to start the Southern League All-Star Game in June, where he went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. He is currently listed among the Braves' top 15 prospects in their farm system.
Cunningham was drafted by the Braves following a junior season in 2010 that saw him hit .359 with 17 doubles, four triples, 11 homers and 43 RBI and lead JSU to the OVC Tournament Title and a berth in the NCAA Regionals. He was a First Team All-OVC selection.
A preseason First Team All-America selection by Baseball America, Cunningham boasted a team-high .465 on-base percentage and scored 61 times for JSU in 2010, mostly from the leadoff spot.
Cunningham was an All-OVC second-team honoree as a freshman in 2008, when he also earned Freshman of the Year recognition, before being named to the league's all-tournament team in 2009. He was named the league's Player of the Week on March 5 and boasted a .400 average with seven home runs and a .513 on-base percentage in conference play. In those league games, he was 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts and committed just one error in the field.
In the summer of 2009, Cunningham led the prestigious Cape Cod League with a .378 batting average for the Falmouth Commodores to win the Thurmon Munson Batting Award. He also led the league in hits (59) and on-base percentage (.458) while winning the batting title by 36 points.
The switch-hitting outfielder was second in the Cape in runs scored (31) and slugging percentage (.500), while posting 12 extra-base hits with 22 RBI. He also drew 19 walks to post a .458 on-base percentage.
