Loons, Kernels top MWL All-Stars

The Midwest League announced its East and West Division All-Star teams on Tuesday, and there will be no shortage of young stars at Fort Wayne's Parkview Field on June 22.

The Western Division All-Stars are led by a triumvirate of terrific hiting prospects. Burlington catcher Wil Myers (Royals), Beloit outfielder Aaron Hicks (Twins) and Angels outfielder Mike Trout (Angels) should give the West a formidable attack. Trout, a 2009 first-round pick, has been especially good this season, leading the league in batting average (.366), stolen bases (31), hits (79), on-base percentage (.444) and runs scored (49).

Great Lakes Loons outfielder Jerry Sands (Dodgers) heads the Eastern Division batsmen. Sands leads the Midwest League in just about every offensive category that Trout doesn't. The 2008 25th-round pick is first in home runs (16), slugging percentage (.688), extra-base hits (33) and total bases (139) and is tied for first in RBIs (39). Lake County Captain Chun-Hsiu Chen (Indians), who is second to Sands in slugging and second to Eastern Division teammate Matt Davidson (D-backs) of South Bend in doubles, will also give the East Lineup a boost.

Each team's pitching staff has at least one 2009 first-round pick on its roster. For the West, it is Jake Odorizzi (2-1, 3.81) of Wisconsin, the 32nd overall pick by the Brewers. For the East, there's Jacob Turner (1-3, 4.01) from West Michigan, the player Detroit made the ninth overall pick in June, as well as Lansing's Chad Jenkins (4-4, 3.48), whom the Blue Jays selected 20th overall.

Cedar Rapids' Fabio Martinez (3-2, 4.10) leads the Midwest League in strikeouts with 86, and he finds himself on the West roster along with a pair of pitchers sporting sub-2.00 ERAs -- Nick Bucci (3-2, 1.74 ERA) and Trey McNutt (4-0, 1.81). Back East, comeback story Will Savage (6-1, 2.42) of Great Lakes and young lefty Giovanni Soto (4-3, 1.99) of West Michigan are key cogs on a 15-man staff.

Both rosters have 31 players, and a pair of affiliates of Southern California Major League clubs -- Great Lakes (Dodgers) and Cedar Rapids (Angels) -- lead the way with seven representatives each.

The Burlington coaches will direct the West squad, while the host Fort Wayne coaches lead the East. The Bees and TinCaps met in the Midwest League championship series in 2009, with the TinCaps winning in a three-game sweep.

2010 Midwest League All-Star Teams
Eastern Division All-Star Team				Western Division All-Star Team
Pitchers
PLAYER	POS	TEAM		PLAYER	POS	TEAM
Alexander Colome	RHP	Bowling Green		Tyler Sample*	RHP	Burlington
Wilking Rodriguez	RHP	Bowling Green		Kane Holbrooks	RHP	Beloit
Jerry Sullivan	RHP	Fort Wayne		Bryan Paukovits	RHP	Burlington
Nick Schumacher	RHP	Fort Wayne		Fabio Martinez	RHP	Cedar Rapids
Allen Webster	RHP	Great Lakes		Garrett Richards	RHP	Cedar Rapids
Will Savage	RHP	Great Lakes		Mike Kenney*	RHP	Cedar Rapids
Luis Vasquez	RHP	Great Lakes		Tyler Skaggs	LHP	Cedar Rapids
Miles Mikolas*	RHP	Fort Wayne		Brian Moran	LHP	Clinton
Nick Sarianides	RHP	Lake County		Erasmo Ramirez	RHP	Clinton
Aaron Loup	LHP	Lansing		Ian Krol	LHP	Kane County
Eric Smith	RHP	South Bend		Trey McNutt	RHP	Peoria
Charles Brewer	RHP	South Bend		Connor Hoehn*	RHP	Kane County
Jacob Turner	RHP	West Michigan		Eric Fornatero	RHP	Quad Cities
Giovanni Soto	LHP	West Michigan		Jake Odorizzi	RHP	Wisconsin
				Nick Bucci	RHP	Wisconsin
Starting Position Players
PLAYER	POS	TEAM		PLAYER	POS	TEAM
Tyson Van Winkle*	C	South Bend		Wil Myers	C	Burlington
Jerry Sands	1B	Great Lakes		Matt Adams	1B	Quad Cities
Henry Rodriguez	2B	Dayton		Ryan Gennett	2B	Wisconsin
Chris Owings	3B	South Bend		Anderson Hidalgo	3B	Beloit
Christian Lara	SS	Great Lakes		Hak-Ju Lee	SS	Peoria
Chris Murrill	OF	Bowling Green		Aaron Hicks	OF	Beloit
Danny Payne	OF	Fort Wayne		Michael Trout	OF	Cedar Rapids
Bo Greenwell	OF	Lake County		Khris Davis	OF	Wisconsin
				Vinnie Catricala	DH	Clinton
Reserve Position Players
PLAYER	POS	TEAM		PLAYER	POS	TEAM
Chun-Hsiu Chen	C	Lake County		Max Stassi	C	Kane County
Nate Freiman	INF	Fort Wayne		Casey Haerther	INF	Cedar Rapids
Rafael Ynoa	INF	Great Lakes		Jean Segura	INF	Cedar Rapids
Ryan Schimpf	INF	Lansing		Matt Cerda	INF	Peoria
Matt Davidson	INF	South Bend		Nick Franklin	INF	Clinton
Jeudy Valdez*	INF	Fort Wayne		Logan Watkins	INF	Peoria
Angelo Songco	OF	Great Lakes		D'Marcus Ingram	OF	Quad Cities
Coaches
NAME	POS	TEAM		NAME	POS	TEAM
Jose Flores	Mgr.	Fort Wayne		Jim Gabella	Mgr.	Burlington
Bronswell Patrick	Pitching	Fort Wayne		TBA	Pitching	Burlington
Tom Tornincasa	Batting	Fort Wayne		Omar Ramirez	Batting	Burlington
Nate Stewart	Trainer	Fort Wayne		Mark Stubblefield	Trainer	Burlington
Nick SantaBarbara	Strength	Fort Wayne		Keith Eichas	Strength	Burlington

* The Midwest League announced on June 15 that Chris Owings will replace the promoted Mark Sobolewski (Lansing) as the starting third baseman for the East. Jeudy Valdez replaces Sobolewski on the roster. Also for the East, Miles Mikolas will replace Trey Haley (Lake County), who is on the disabled list. For the West, Scott Schneider will replace pitcher Tom Stuifbergen (Beloit), who is on the disabled list. Mike Kenney will replace pitcher Jeremy Berg (Cedar Rapids), who has been promoted. On June 16, Chris Kirkland replaced the promoted James Leverton (Peoria) on the West roster. Later on June 16, the Midwest League announced that Tyler Sample will replace Scott Schneider (Quad Cities) and that Connor Hoehn will replace Kirkland. On June 21, Lansing catcher A.J. Jimenez was placed on the DL. He will be replaced on the East roster by Tyson Van Winkle. Lake County catcher Roberto Perez is injured and will not play. Lansing pitcher Chad Jenkins has been promoted.