(actually written by the incredible Baron, so don't let this sway your votes in the 'Most Informative Poster' award...that still belongs to Xanthan.  :)  I'm just posting this since somehow, there hasn't been a thread posted yet.)

The Augusta Greenjackets turned around from sub-.500 April record to face the hardware of a championship season. The most successful team in the San Francisco Giants organization got the trophy already, and the prospects awards were already handed out. New honors were bestowed upon the young Greenjackets team: Best Overall Team and Class A Team of the Year, as named by MLB.com.

A trio of highly touted prospects led the team to the league title. Their seasons somewhat mirrored the team's overall disposition. Madison Bumgarner didn't truly catch fire until May. Angel Villalona's first full professional season was not consistent, at the plate nor with the glove. Nick Noonan was perhaps the most solid Greenjacket in 2008, the model of a good hitter as the Giants drafted him in the supplemental round last year.

Bumgarner went 2-2 in April and then proceeded not to lose a game until after the All Star break. He won MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Most Outstanding Pitcher award following his Triple Crown winning season. Villalona showed immense maturity and growth, improving upon a promising 2007 season to hit for power in 2008. Noonan finished as the Greenjackets' best overall hitter. All three appeared on Baseball America's Top 20 SAL Prospects list for 2008.

The SAL title was not won with just three horses. The team burned through the second half of the season at a .681 winning percentage and went on to sweep West Virginia for the league title. The starting pitchers not named after a former president stepped up: Daryl Maday won nine games before earning a promotion to AA Connecticut and TJ Brewer was a ten-game winner. Brewer won four games down the stretch for Augusta, allowing eight runs and striking out twenty batters in that time. Scott Barnes was clutch in both the regular season and the post-season. The eighth-round pick posted a 1.38 ERA with Augusta and he was on the mound for both series wins in the playoffs.

The bullpen was excellent, a necessity for any championship team. Danny Otero was nearly untouchable for the first half of the season, posting 18 saves and a 0.33 earned run average. Andy De La Garza led the relief pitchers with 53 appearances. Mitch Lively, a free agent pickup from the United League, pitched well in the final month for the Greenjackets. Lively made nine consecutive scoreless appearances and did not allow a run until the last day of the regular season.

On a team not known for a bunch of power, Thomas Neal stood out. Neal, a young blossoming power hitter, had fifteen home runs in 2008. He was also the leading RBI man for the team with 81. A strong outfield made a difference for Augusta with Garrett Baker and Shane Jordan playing nearly every day. Both had over 100 hits for the year. Jordan also led the team in stolen bases at 35. 

Augusta would have suffered when Charlie Culberson struggled through the first half of the season. Brock Bond saved the day, hitting .333 while filling in. Once Culberson figured his hitting and fielding problems out, he returned and hit .293 in July. Andrew Davis was quietly one of six Augusta hitters who had over 100 hits.

The best news for these kids, some not even old enough to toast to their victory: they have a good chance at repeating with advanced A San Jose in 2009.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081026&content_id=3646282&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

(Blatant plug inserted solely to avoid the minimum word count below)

http://www.sfdugout.com/content/publish/minors/Augusta_Wins_2_MiLBY_Awards.shtml