MVN: Most Valuable Network

This year's HWB featured another group of four teams filled with the future young stars of baseball -- both Major League and Japanese Professional -- and capped off with a showdown between the Waikiki BeachBoys (19-17) and the West Oahu CaneFires (19-14) in the Championship game.

In that game, the BeachBoys beat the CanFires 5-1 behind excellent pitching performances from Mitsuo Yoshikawa (Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters) -- 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K -- and Steven Richard (Seattle Mariners) -- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K.  Offensively, the team was led by Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants, pictured, photo by Icon SMI) who went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in the seventh.

In addition to the Championship game, the league officials and media selected an All-League Team and various awards to recognize the talented young players of this year's edition.  Here is a quick rundown of the stars of this year's HWB and "future stars" of professional baseball:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Mark Hallberg (Arizona Diamondbacks) - .362 BA, .906 OPS, 3 HR, 21 RBI
The 22-year-old Hallberg was the 9th Round selection by the Diamondbacks in '07.  Born in Saudi Arabia, Hallberg played his college ball at Florida State.  For the past two seasons, Hallberg played Class A ball in the D-backs organization.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Cyle Hankerd (Arizona Diamondbacks) - .318 BA, .938 OPS, 5 HR, 30 RBI
Hankerd, 23, played the last three seasons in the D-backs organization and played at the Double-A level in '08.  He was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school in '03 but chose to go to USC and was drafted again in the third round of '06 by the Diamondbacks.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Marquez Smith (Chicago Cubs)
Smith, 23, was drafted four times -- twice by the Cubs.  The fourth time was the charm when the Cubs drafted Smith in the 8th round of the '07 draft by Chicago.  Smith was drafted in '03 by the Twins, '04 by the Angels, '06 by the Cubs and again in '07 while attending Clemson.  The last two years, Smith spent at various levels of Class A ball in the Cubs organization.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Satoshi Nagati (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles) - 4-2, 1.94 ERA, 0.86 WHIP
Nagati was the team's #1 draft pick in 2007.

HWB ALL-LEAGUE TEAM

C: Jason Castro (Houston Astros) - .333 BA, .925 OPS, 2 HR, 13 RBI
The 21-year-old Castro decided against joining the Red Sox after they drafted him in '05 out of high school.  Instead, Castro attended Stanford and was drafted by the Astros in '08 in the 1st round (10th overall).  After signing with the Astros, Castros played a short stint at Class A ball.

1B: Yonder Alonso (Cincinnati Reds) - .308 BA, .929 OPS, 4 HR, 21 RBI
Alonso, 21, signed with the Reds in enough time to play in 6 games at Class A Sarasota.  He was originally drafted in '05 by the Twins but went to the University of Miami instead.  He was then drafted in '08 by the Reds as the 7th overall pick.

2B: Mark Hallberg (Arizona Diamondbacks)

3B: Brad Emaus (Toronto Blue Jays) - .333 BA, .940 OPS, 2 HR, 12 RBI
The 22-year-old Emaus played in the Blue Jays organization in '06 and '07.  He played college ball at Tulane instead of joining the Atlanta Braves organization where he was drafted in '04.  The Georgia native then was drafted by the Blue Jays in '07 in the 11th round.

SS: Kyle Martin (Kansas City Royals) - .245 BA, .792 OPS, 6 HR, 26 RBI
Martin who turns 24 on Saturday was a 29th round selection in '07 by the Royals out of Texas Tech.  He played Rookie League ball in '07 and joined the Class A Burlington Bees in '08 where he hit .316 with nine homers in 56 games.

OF: Dominic Brown (Philadelphia Phillies) - .389 BA, 1.047 OPS, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Brown, 21, was selected by the Phillies in '06 in the 20th round.  Drafted out of Redan HS in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Brown has played the last three years in the Phillies organization at the Rookie and Class A level.

OF: Kyle Peter (Detroit Tigers) - .370 BA, .883 OPS, 1 HR, 12 RBI
The Tigers wanted Peter so badly they drafted him in '05, '06 and '07.  The 22-year-old was also drafted by the Red Sox in '04 but ultimately signed after being the 34th round selection of the Tigers in '07.  Peter's home run in the HWB was his first at the professional level -- he played 154 Minor League games in '07 and '08 without one.

OF: Cyle Hankerd (Arizona Diamondbacks)

UTILITY: Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants) - .338 BA, .797 OPS, 0 HR, 15 RBI
Posey, 21, was the 5th overall selection in the 1st round of the '08 draft by the Giants.  He played 10 games at Rookie League and Class A ball after signing with the club and delivered the big blow in the HWB Championship game.

STARTING PITCHER: Satoshi Nagati (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles)

STARTING PITCHER: Jeremy Bleich (New York Yankees) - 3-2, 1.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Stanford's Bleich was the 1st round supplemental pick by the Yankees in '08.  After being drafted by the Yankees, the 21-year-old started one game with the Class A Staten Island team.

STARTING PITCHER: Kyle Bloom (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.87 WHIP
Bloom, 25, was the 5th round selection of the Pirates in '04.  In his 5th year in the Pirates organization, he started the year at the Double-A level and went 5-8 with a 4.19 ERA with Altoona.

RELIEF PITCHER: Kaimi Mead (Cleveland Indians) - 0-0, 2 Saves, 1.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP
Mead attended Hawaii Pacific University and was drafted by the Indians in the 18th round of the '08 draft.  Mead, 23, made 15 starts at Class A Mahoning Valley where he went 5-8 with a 5.52 ERA.

RELIEF PITCHER: Jeremy Papelbon (Chicago Cubs) - 1-0, 7 Saves, 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
Jonathan's little brother was the Cubs 19th round selection in '06.  The 25-year-old reliever led the HWB in saves and also posted impressive numbers with three different Class A teams in the Cubs organization over the past three seasons.

RELIEF PITCHER: David Pfeiffer (Los Angeles Dodgers) - 1-0, 3 Saves, 1.59 ERA, 0.65 WHIP
Pfeiffer, 23, was the Dodgers 14th round selection in '03.  He spent the last five years at Rookie and Class A ball.