Bregman, Musgrove Headed to Futures Game
CORPUS CHRISTI - The 2016 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, set for Sunday, July 10 at San Diego's Petco Park, will have a number of Corpus Christi connections.
Hooks shortstop Alex Bregman, former pitchers Joe Musgrove and Josh Hader, and Arizona prospect Anthony Banda of Sinton comprise the South Texas delegation.
Major League Baseball announced the U.S. and World team rosters Tuesday afternoon. MLB, in conjunction with Baseball America, selected 50 of the game's elite prospects. Each organization is represented and there are 15 first-round draft picks and four second-round selections.
The World squad is made up of players from the Dominican Republic, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Lithuania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Taiwan, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Bregman, 22, is Houston's top-rated prospect. The second overall pick in last year's draft, he earned first-team All-American honors at LSU. At the Texas League All-Star break, Bregman tops the circuit in runs (54), on-base percentage (.415), slugging percentage (.559) and OPS (.975). He's tied for third in home runs (14), fourth in RBIs (46), and seventh in doubles (16). Bregman has also drawn 42 walks, good for third place.
Musgrove is a 23-year-old right-hander who was promoted to Triple-A Fresno from Corpus Christi on May 13. He went 2-1 with a 0.34 earned run average over six Texas League appearances (four starts), allowing just one earned run, 19 hits, and three walks while striking out 30 in 26 1/3 innings.
Musgrove was 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in eight 2015 Hooks appearances. In seven Pacific Coast League starts, he stands 3-3. Musgrove was originally selected by Toronto with the 46th overall pick in 2011.
Hader, a 22-year-old lefty who's played in the Baltimore, Houston, and Milwaukee systems, was promoted to the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, Colorado Springs, earlier this month. Hader pitched in 17 games and made 10 starts for the 2015 Hooks, going 3-3 with a 3.17 ERA. He walked 24 and struck out 69 in 65 1/3 innings. Hader collaborated with Chris Devenski on the first and only no-hitter in Hooks history at Arkansas on May 29 of last year.
Banda graduated from Sinton High School five years ago and recently reached Triple-A Reno. The southpaw was honored at January's South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet as South Texas Professional Player of the Year for 2015.
Now in its 18th year, the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game features the top Minor League prospects competing on All-Star Sunday. The U.S., which has won each of the last six contests, leads the all-time series, 11-6. MLB Network will exclusively televise as MLB.com streams the contest at 6 p.m. (CDT), with Matt Vasgersian, Mark DeRosa, Heidi Watney, and MLB.com prospect expert Jonathan Mayo on the call.
SiriusXM, the Official Satellite Radio Partner of Major League Baseball, provides live play-by-play coverage of the game on MLB Network Radio (XM channel 89; Sirius channel 209) in addition to SiriusXM's other comprehensive live coverage from San Diego. The game is also available to SiriusXM subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App for smart phones and mobile devices, and online at SiriusXM.com. All-Star Sunday is the first of three days of All-Star events at Petco Park, culminating with the 87th All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12th.