Adam Eaton was never the Springfield News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year. He never won the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year award.

The 2007 Kenton Ridge High School graduate, a 19th-round pick in 2010 out of Miami University, has excelled at every level and been an All-Star or first-team performer numerous times, but the highest of honors had eluded him.

The wait ended Thursday, though, when Eaton, an outfielder with the Triple-A Reno Aces, was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League. The list of past PCL MVPs includes Joe Dimaggio (1935), Tony Perez (1964), Bobby Valentine (1970), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1988-89) and, more recently, Geovany Soto and Nelson Cruz, of the Texas Rangers.

“I’m pretty excited,” Eaton said. “It’s a great honor. It’s nice to get it at the highest level (of the minor leagues). We have such a great team and a great staff, from top to bottom, from our trainer to our manager.”

Eaton has had one of the best seasons in all of professional baseball this season and has been mentioned as a candidate for minor league player of the year. He began the season in Double-A Mobile, but was promoted to Reno (Nev.) in April. He leads the league in batting average (.379), hits (181), stolen bases (tied with 37), doubles (44), on-base percentage (.452), and runs (117).

If you add in his totals in Mobile, he owns the minor league lead in hits (193), runs (128), batting average (.373) and on-base percentage (.452).

To hit close to .380, Eaton has had to get two hits almost every time out.

“That was my goal,” he said. “It’s tough. If I get one hit, I’ve got to get three the next day. I just try to stay consistent and continue to do what I do day in and day out. It’s been a special year.”

Eaton suffered a concussion last week sliding into third. He hit his head on the knee of the shortstop, who was covering as Eaton tried to go from first to third on an infield hit. Eaton is coming off the seven-day disabled list today.

Eaton could be promoted to the Arizona Diamondbacks any day. He has seen many of his teammates already get the call, including Ryan Wheeler, who’s going to be in Eaton’s December wedding to fellow Miami alum Katie Osburn.

Wheeler is taking the place of Cody Kaglic, one of Eaton’s teammates on the 2007 Cougars’ state runner-up team and a member of the “Four Horsemen,” the seniors who started for that team. Kaglic will miss the wedding because he’s serving overseas in the Air Force.

Whether the big-league call comes or not, it’s been a big year for Eaton.

“I would like to be up there helping out the big-league team, but you have to put your faith in the Diamondbacks,” Eaton said. “They know what the best time is.”