Gallo anchors Short-Season All-Stars

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Minor League Baseball™ and the Topps Company announced today that Arizona League MVP Joey Gallo and Pioneer League Player of the Year David Dahl are among the nine players selected to the Topps Short Season-A™/Rookie® All-Star Team. The squad also includes four players chosen in the first round in this year's June Draft. The Chicago Cubs organization has a pair of infielders on the team in Dan Vogelbach and Gioskar Amaya. The best performances in all Minor League Baseball classifications are again being honored by the Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.

Dan Vogelbach (19) of North Ft. Myers, Fla., led short-season players with 62 RBIs and tied for the lead with 41 extra-base hits. The first baseman, who began his season in the Arizona League with the Cubs and then was promoted to the Boise Hawks, ranked second in homers (71), slugging percentage (.641) and OPS (1.051). The Chicago Cubs drafted Vogelbach in the second round in 2011 out of high school.

Gioskar Amaya (19) of Carabobo, Venezuela, tied for the lead among short-season players with 12 triples and was fourth with 61 runs. The Boise Hawks second baseman ranked among the top five in the Northwest League in runs (1st), slugging percentage (.496, 3rd), OPS (.877, 3rd), stolen bases (15, 4th) and batting average (.298, 5th). The Chicago Cubs signed Amaya as a free agent in July 2009.

Dorssys Paulino (18) of Bani, D.R., finished second in the Arizona League in batting average (.355) and third in OPS (1.015) and slugging percentage (.610) in 41 games for the Indians. The shortstop was then promoted to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the NY-Penn League. The Cleveland Indians signed Paulino as a free agent in July 2011.

Joey Gallo (19) of Las Vegas, Nev., topped short-season players with 22 homers, a .660 slugging percentage and 1.072 OPS. The Arizona League MVP and third baseman for the Rangers set a new circuit mark by clubbing 18 homers. Gallo also led the AZL in RBIs (43) and slugging percentage (.733), before being promoted to the Spokane Indians in the Northwest League. The Texas Rangers selected Gallo in the first round (39th overall) in this year's draft out of high school.

Mike Zunino (21) of Cape Coral, Fla., hit .373 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs for the Everett AquaSox. The catcher had a .736 slugging percentage and 1.210 OPS and was promoted all the way to Double-A® after just 29 games. The Seattle Mariners drafted Zunino in the first round (3rd overall) in this year's draft out of The University of Florida.

Andrew Aplin (21) of Suisun, Calif., played 44 games for the Tri-City ValleyCats, before moving up to Class A®. The outfielder hit .348 with 20 stolen bases for Tri-City with an OPS of .978. The Houston Astros took Aplin in the fifth round in this year's draft out of Arizona State University.

David Dahl (18) of Birmingham, Ala., led short-season players with a .379 batting average and 106 hits and tied for the lead with 41 extra-base hits. The Grand Junction Rockies outfielder was second with 62 runs and third in slugging percentage (.625) and OPS (1.048). The Colorado Rockies took the Pioneer League Player of the Year in the first round (10th overall) in this year's draft out of high school.

Jesse Winker (19) of Windermere, Fla., hit .338 and ranked third among short-season players with a .443 on-base percentage. The Billings Mustangs outfielder's batting average tied for second best in the Pioneer League and his OPS of .943 was third. The Cincinnati Reds selected Winker in the first round (49th overall) in this year's draft out of high school.

Taylor Cole (23) of Las Vegas, Nev., went 6-0 and had the lowest ERA among short-season starters at 0.81. The Vancouver Canadians right-hander ranked second in WHIP (0.80) and batting average against (.161). The Toronto Blue Jays picked Cole in the 29th round in 2011 out of Brigham Young University.

 

(Statistics do not reflect players' performances in other leagues)