Five Hillcats named Carolina League All-Stars

Lynchburg, Va. -  Five players have been selected to represent the Lynchburg Hillcats at the 2019 Carolina League All-Star Game, the team announced in conjunction with the Carolina League of Professional Baseball on Tuesday. The 2019 Carolina League All-Star Classic, presented by Visit Frederick, will take place at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, the home of the Frederick Keys, in Frederick, Md. on Tuesday, June 18.
Hillcats players Nolan Jones , Oscar Gonzalez , Juan Hillman , Adam Scott , and Robert Broom  will represent the Hillcats on the Northern Division's All-Star team. Frederick manager Ryan Minor will lead the Northern Division along with the rest of his Keys coaching staff.

Jones, Scott and Broom pick up the first mid-season All-Star selections of their careers, while Gonzalez and Hillman are named an All-Star for the second time. The rosters were selected through a combination of voting by Carolina League managers and media.
Jones, a 21-year-old third baseman from Langhorne, Pa., is currently first in the league with 47 walks. He ranks first on the Hillcats and second in the league with a .438 on-base percentage. The left-handed hitter checks in with a .859 OPS, which is good for third-best in the Carolina League and first on the team. In May, Jones walked 27 times compared to 21 strikeouts. A second-round draft pick by the Indians in 2016 out of high school, Jones is ranked by Baseball America as the Indians' No. 2 prospect.
Gonzalez, signed by the Indians as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, has batted .336 with five home runs and a team-leading 39 RBI through 57 games. His average ranks second in the league and he leads the Hillcats with 22 multi-hit games. The 21-year-old put together a team-high 14-game hitting streak from May 15-29. He is tied for the most at-bats in the league with 232. Gonzalez was also a mid-season All-Star last season with Single-A Lake County in the Midwest League. Gonzalez is ranked by Baseball America as the Indians' No. 22 prospect.   
Hillman, a second-round pick by the Indians in 2015, was promoted to Lynchburg this season after playing each of the last two years in Single-A Lake County. The left-hander is currently 3-5 with a team-leading 2.90 ERA over 11 starts. From May 10-27, Hillman had a consecutive scoreless innings streak of 23.2 frames. A native of Orlando, Fla., he has the third-best ERA in the Carolina League among qualifying starting pitchers. The 22-year-old was previously a Mid-Season All-Star in the New York-Penn League with Short-Season Mahoning Valley in 2016.
Scott was drafted by the Indians in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Wofford. The left-hander struck out a career-high 11 batters over six scoreless innings against the Down East Wood Ducks on June 2. The Canandaigua, N.Y. native is 3-6 with a 3.33 ERA through 11 starts. Scott is averaging over a strikeout per inning, with 67 punch outs over 51.1 frames. The 23-year-old ranks third in the Carolina League in strikeouts. He has fanned seven or more in six of his 11 starts.
Broom, 22, appeared in 17 games out of Lynchburg's bullpen. He allowed just one earned run in 24.2 innings (0.36 ERA), striking out 35 batters before his promotion to Double-A Akron on June 6. Drafted in the 10th round by the Indians last year out of Mercer, Broom held Carolina League opponents to a .149 average, with right-handed hitters batting just .096 against him. Due to his promotion, Broom will not participate in the Carolina League All-Star game despite receiving the honor.
A complete timeline of this year's Carolina League All-Star Classic is as follows:
 
3 p.m.: Gates Open
3:00-3:45 p.m.: North Division Batting Practice and South Division Autographs
3:55-4:40 p.m.: South Division Batting Practice and North Division Autographs
5-6 p.m.: Skills Challenge
7 p.m.: Pregame Ceremonies Begin
7:15 p.m.: First Pitch
Frederick is hosting the All-Star game for the first time since 2005 and for the third time in franchise history. To book seats for the event, fans can call the Frederick Keys at 301-815-9939 or visit frederickkeys.com. Limited tickets are still available.
The Lynchburg Hillcats are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Hillcats are eight-time Carolina League Champions, having most recently won the Mills Cup Championship in 2017. The Hillcats play their home games at City Stadium, which has been home to Minor League Baseball in Lynchburg since 1963. Visit the Hillcats online at Lynchburg-hillcats.com, and follow the Hillcats on Twitter (@LynHillcats), Instagram (@LynHillcats) and Facebook (Lynchburg Hillcats). For more information about the Lynchburg Hillcats, please contact Max Gun at [email protected].