Crawford, Bell highlight EL All-Stars
The 2015 Eastern League All-Star will take place at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, but the two headliners could give the game a definite Pennsylvania feel.
Top Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford (Reading) and third-ranked Pirates farmhand Josh Bell (Altoona) headline the 2015 Eastern League Eastern and Western Division All-Star rosters, respectively, as announced by the Double-A circuit Wednesday. The 2015 Sullivan Tire All-Star Classic is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, at 7 p.m. ET.
Crawford missed the beginning of the season with an oblique strain and joined the Fightin Phils on May 30 after a stint at Class A Advanced Clearwater. In 30 games with the club, the 20-year-old shortstop has a .268/.376/.409 line with two homers, two triples, eight doubles, 12 RBIs and a favorable 15-to-22 K/BB ratio. He's ranked as MLB.com's No. 16 overall prospect but will likely move up those rankings later this summer.
Bell, MLB.com's No. 28 overall prospect, is spending his second straight season with Altoona after playing 24 games with the Curve at the end of last season. The switch-hitter has a .321/.393/.437 line with three homers, six triples, 11 doubles and a 31-to-35 K/BB ratio in 71 games upon his return. A second-round pick in 2011, Bell is in his first season as a full-time first baseman after making the move to the position in last year's Arizona Fall League.
Last week, Crawford and Bell were both named to the US Team for the upcoming All-Star Futures Game. They'll be joined there by fellow Eastern League All-Stars Gary Sanchez (Trenton) and Brandon Nimmo (Binghamton), who feature on the Eastern Division roster with Crawford.
Here are the complete Eastern League Eastern and Western Division All-Star rosters:
Eastern Division
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers | |||
| Danny Barnes^ | RHP | New Hampshire | TOR |
| Shane Carle^ | RHP | New Britain | COL |
| Luis Cessa | RHP | Binghamton | NYM |
| William Cuevas^ | RHP | Portland | BOS |
| Zach Eflin^ | RHP | Reading | PHI |
| Nick Goody^ | RHP | Trenton | NYY |
| Austin House | RHP | New Britain | COL |
| Eric Ruth | RHP | Trenton | NYY |
| Robby Scott | LHP | Portland | BOS |
| Paul Sewald^ | RHP | Binghamton | NYM |
| Catchers | |||
| Tom Murphy^ | C | New Britain | COL |
| Gary Sanchez** | C | Trenton | NYY |
| Infielders | |||
| Carlos Asuaje | 2B | Portland | BOS |
| J.P. Crawford | SS | Reading | PHI |
| Jorge Flores | SS | New Hampshire | TOR |
| Marco Hernandez | SS | Portland | BOS |
| Eric Jagielo^ | 3B | Trenton | NYY |
| Josh Rodriguez^ | 3B | Binghamton | NYM |
| Brock Stassi | 1B | Reading | PHI |
| Jantzen Witte | 1B | Portland | BOS |
| Outfielders | |||
| Jake Cave | OF | Trenton | NYY |
| Brandon Nimmo | OF | Binghamton | NYM |
| Cameron Perkins | OF | Reading | PHI |
| Roman Quinn% | OF | Reading | PHI |
| Dwight Smith Jr.^ | OF | New Hampshire | TOR |
Western Division
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchers | |||
| Joe Biagini^ | RHP | Richmond | SF |
| Jason Creasy^ | RHP | Altoona | PIT |
| Paul Demny | RHP | Harrisburg | WAS |
| Terry Doyle | RHP | Bowie | BAL |
| Mychal Givens^** | RHP | Bowie | BAL |
| Jeff Johnson^ | RHP | Akron | CLE |
| Kelvin Marte | LHP | Richmond | SF |
| Josh Turley^ | LHP | Erie | DET |
| Austin Voth^ | RHP | Harrisburg | WAS |
| Catchers | |||
| Rossmel Perez | C | Bowie | BAL |
| Pedro Severino^ | C | Harrisburg | WAS |
| Infielders | |||
| Josh Bell | 1B | Altoona | PIT |
| Yandy Diaz^ | 3B | Akron | CLE |
| Adam Frazier | SS | Altoona | PIT |
| Dan Gamache | 3B | Altoona | PIT |
| Dean Green | 1B/DH | Erie | DET |
| Todd Hankins | 2B | Akron | CLE |
| Rando Moreno^ | SS | Richmond | SF |
| Max Moroff^ | 2B | Altoona | PIT |
| Ricky Oropesa | 1B | Richmond | SF |
| Outfielders | |||
| Wynton Bernard^** | OF | Erie | DET |
| Anthony Gallas | OF | Akron | CLE |
| Mike Yastrzemski^ | OF | Bowie | BAL |
^=fan vote, %=inactive player, **=on Major League 40-man roster
Sam Dykstra is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.