NEWSLETTER
The Southern League All-Stars have been announced, and once again the list is highlighted by a lot of Cubs prospects.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kris Bryant, arguably the best hitter in all of minor league baseball today, made the list. Bryant currently leads the Southern League in pretty much every offensive category you’d care to name, and probably several you wouldn’t. So much praise has already been heaped on his 2014 campaign that at some point I’m going to run out of words with which to describe his season and will have to make up some new ones. Bryantesque? Sparkletastic?
Joining Bryant on the All Star roster will be second baseman Stephen Bruno. Bruno’s impressive season includes fifteen doubles, an OPS of .864, and an ISO of .196. He also leads the league in plunks, having been hit with a pitch eleven times.
John Andreoli, the outfielder with the .362 OBP and 26 steals, also made the cut. His walk rate this season is an impressively high 14.9%, and that has allowed him to be one of the most productive leadoff hitters in the Southern League despite a batting average that currently sits in the .230 range.
Catcher Rafael Lopez will not play in this All-Star game due to his (well deserved) promotion to Iowa, but he was honored with a selection. Not only did he put up a ridiculously high 16.4% walk rate (as opposed to just a 14.7% strikeout rate), he also compiled an OPS of .879 while gunning down 49% of the runners who tried to steal against him.
The one member of the Smokies starting rotation who has mostly managed to stay healthy is also an All-Star this summer. Corey Black has walked quite a few this year (5.33 BB/9), but he has also struck out 55 in his 52.1 innings on the mound, good for a 9.5 K/9. When he is throwing strikes he has been very good this season, and has allowed just 5.8 hits per nine innings. His six innings, eight strikeout, no hit performance on April 23 is a good example of just how dominant this guy can be.
Closer Armando Rivero is the final Smokie to make the All Star list. He is a late inning strikeout artist (13.5 K/9) who allows very few hits (4.2 H/9) and even fewer walks (3.9 BB/9). Those are great attributes in a closer, so it is no surprise that he has finished 17 of the 20 games in which he has appeared. He is having such a good season with the Smokies that I would not be surprised if he moved on up the system before too much longer.
If you want to see Bryant and his comrades in All-Star action first hand, the game will be June 17 in Chattanooga.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa didn’t have a lot of offense (just six hits) but they had enough for the 4-2 win.
Tennessee – Thanks to a Bryant bomb and great pitching, the Smokies finally broke through for a win. The final was 3-0.
Daytona – Daytona used a four run fourth to propel them to a 6-5 win.
Kane County – The Cougars had the day off.
Performances of Note
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