Four Wood Ducks Claim Year-End Honors

Kinston, N.C. - Three Down East Wood Ducks players have been named to the Carolina League Year-End All-Star team, the league announced today. Left-hander Sal Mendez garnered a spot among the league's top starting pitchers, while right-hander Joe Kuzia was named the top reliever in the league this season. Down East catcher Sam Huff was selected as the designated hitter in year-end balloting. Additionally, Wood Ducks manager Corey Ragsdale was crowned the Carolina League Manager of the Year.

Overall, Down East claimed three of the 15 spots on the postseason squad, more than any other team in the league.
After beginning the season in the bullpen, Mendez was inserted into the starting rotation in May, and has since become one of the top starters in the league. He holds a league-best 2.34 ERA, which as a starter is even lower, at 2.03. Eight of Mendez' 11 starts have been quality outings, and he has posted a record of 6-1 this season. Overall this season Mendez has worked 107.2 innings, striking out 83, while walking just 29. Mendez WHIP of 1.17 is also the second best in the league this season.
Originally a 40^th round draft pick in 2013 out of Weehawken High School, Mendez began his career for the Rangers in 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The postseason recognition for Mendez is the first award the 24-year-old has received in his professional career.
Kuzia joined the Wood Ducks May 9, after a pair of outings with Triple-A Nashville. It didn't take long for Kuzia to assume the closers role, where he has gone on to convert 18 of 19 save opportunities, ranking him second in the league. In the process, the right-hander has worked to a record on 4-1, and an ERA of 1.03. He has held opponents to a .224 batting average and posted a WHIP of just 1.11, striking out 50 in 46 innings of work.
The Seymour, Conn. native went undrafted despite garnering All-Big East First Team honors at St. John's. He went on to play independent ball in the Canadian-American Association in 2015 and in the Atlantic League in 2016, before the Rangers signed him prior to the 2017 campaign. The All-Star recognition is the first of his career.
After belting 15 home runs in 30 games played for Single-A Hickory, Huff joined the Wood Ducks on May 9. With Down East, the Phoenix, Ariz. native has batted .273, while ranking second in the league in slugging at .460, while posting an OPS of .799, which ranks fourth among Carolina Leaguers. The 21-year-old has also blasted 13 more home runs, tying him for fifth in the circuit.
Huff was selected to the SiriusXM Futures Game and crushed a game-tying home run in the seventh inning to collect MVP honors. He joins Joey Gallo as the only Rangers in history to win MVP of the contest. Huff was also named a Year-End All-Star with the AZL Rangers in 2017, and last season was tabbed a Mid-Season All-Star, and a Rangers Organizational All-Star by MLB.com.
With Ragsdale at the helm this season, the Wood Ducks posted the second-best half in Carolina League history, going 50-20 (.714). The Wood Ducks are currently one win away from tying the 1990 Port Charlotte Rangers (85-53) for the highest win total ever by a Rangers High-A affiliate. Additionally, the Woodies need 8 wins over their final 12 regular season games in 2019 to match the 92-win Gastonia Rangers team in 1989, the highest win total ever produced by a Texas minor-league affiliate.
This is Ragsdale's first Manager of the Year Award, in his fifth season managing in his career. He skippered the AZL Rangers in 2012, and then went on to lead the Hickory Crawdads 2013-15. The Jonesboro, Ark. native was recognized as the Rangers Bobby Jones Player Development Man of the Year in 2015, after leading the Crawdads to their first South Atlantic League championship. In addition to his managerial duties, Ragsdale is in his fourth season as the Rangers Field Coordinator.
Ragsdale becomes the first Manager of the Year in Kinston since 2011 when Aaron Holbert skippered the Kinston Indians. He is also the 14^th Kinston manager all-time to receive the honor, joining the likes of Torey Lovullo (2004), Eric Wedge (1999), Joel Skinner (1997), Mike Hargrove (1987), and Grady Little (1985) who all went on to manage at the Major League level.