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2017 Eastern League All-Star Rosters Revealed

Devers, Sheffield highlight group of top prospects coming to N.H.
June 28, 2017

Manchester, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, in conjunction with the Eastern League of Professional Baseball, have announced the rosters for the 2017 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game, which will be hosted at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium on July 12 at 7:05 p.m. The All-Star festivities also

Manchester, N.H. - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, in conjunction with the Eastern League of Professional Baseball, have announced the rosters for the 2017 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game, which will be hosted at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium on July 12 at 7:05 p.m. The All-Star festivities also feature an Army vs. Celebrity Softball Game and Jordan's Furniture Tempur-Pedic Home Run Derby on July 11. Tickets are available at NHFisherCats.com/AllStar
View the Eastern All-Star Roster (statistics current as of June 27)
View the Western All-Star Roster (statistics current as of June 27)
The Eastern and Western divisions will each be represented by 24 players -- 10 pitchers and 14 position players -- who were selected by the Eastern League's managers, media members and fans. The rosters feature two of Baseball America's Top 25 prospects, three of MLB.com's Top 100 prospects, and four former first-round draft picks.
"The All-Star festivities are just two weeks away, and we couldn't be more thrilled," said Fisher Cats President Mike Ramshaw. "We can't wait to showcase our beautiful stadium and wonderful community to fans across the league, while watching some of the best young talents baseball has to offer."
The Eastern Division All-Stars are headlined by Red Sox top prospect Rafael Devers and prized Yankees pitching prospect Justus Sheffield. Baseball America ranks Devers as the No. 14 prospect in all of baseball, and lists Sheffield at No. 85.
Devers, a 20-year-old third baseman, is hitting .291 and ranks among the Eastern League's top 10 in home runs (14), RBIs (45), and OPS (.904) for the Portland Sea Dogs. Sheffield was originally drafted by the Indians in the first round of the 2014 draft before being dealt to the Yankees as part of the trade for Andrew Miller. The 21-year-old lefty ranks second in the league with 69 strikeouts for the Trenton Thunder, behind only Binghamton's P.J. Conlon (71), who will represent the Mets organization in the All-Star Game.
Indians top prospect Francisco Mejia and Tigers first-rounder Christin Stewart will lead the way for the Western Division. Mejia, a 21-year-old catcher for the Akron Rubberducks, is ranked No. 21 on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list, and leads the Eastern League with a .349 batting average. Mejia recorded a 50-game hitting streak last season, the fifth-longest streak in the history of professional baseball. Stewart, ranked No. 2 among Tigers prospects by Baseball America, leads the Eastern League with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs for the Erie SeaWolves. The Tigers selected Stewart in the first round of the 2015 draft out of Tennessee.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats will be well represented with five All-Star selections, including flamethrower Conner Greene (Blue Jays No. 2 pitching prospect), who regularly hits triple digits on the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium radar gun. Catcher Danny Jansen (Blue Jays No. 21 prospect - MLB.com) will bring his .302 batting average to the Mid-Summer Classic, while Gunnar Heidt (9 HR) and Ryan McBroom (8 HR) will add some power to the Eastern lineup. Fisher Cats reliever Dusty Isaacs (3.13 ERA, .214 BAA) will join a talented pitching staff, including former Red Sox second-round pick Teddy Stankiewicz as well as Hartford Yard Goats ace Yency Almonte (2-3, 1.96) and closer Shane Broyles (2-0, 1.80 ERA).
The Altoona Curve (Pirates), Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) and Bowie Baysox (Orioles) each tied the Fisher Cats with five players voted into the All-Star Game.

Other Eastern Division selections of note include Binghamton catcher Tomás Nido, ranked No. 9 among Mets prospects by Baseball America and Yankees infield prospect Thairo Estrada (No. 29 - MLB.com), whose .322 batting average is good for fourth in the league. Former Red Sox sixth-round pick Danny Mars is just two spots behind Estrada at .315, and will join the Eastern All-Stars as well.
The Western Division lineup should provide some serious pop with three of the league's top four active home run hitters: Stewart (18), Akron's Yu-Cheng Chang (17), and Altoona's Jordan Luplow (16). Garabez Rosa (.319) of Bowie and Miguel Gómez (.313) of Richmond are both among the Eastern League's top eight in batting average.
The Western pitching staff features Tigers prospect Jairo Labourt (1.67 ERA), who the Blue Jays sent to Detroit in the 2015 David Price trade, and Altoona closer Montana DuRapau (1.38, 11 SV). Bowie's Lucas Long leads all qualifying pitchers with a 2.01 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, while Richmond's Matt Gage heads to the All-Star Break on a tear (3-0, 1.29 ERA in June).
Fisher Cats Manager Gary Allenson and his staff will lead the Eastern Division All-Stars, while the defending champion Akron Rubberducks will send Manager Mark Budzinski and his staff to helm the Western Division.
The Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Classic begins on Tuesday, July 11 at 5 p.m. with the Celebrity vs. Army Softball game. The Jordan's Furniture - Tempur-Pedic Home Run Derby, which gives eight lucky fans the chance to win a Tempur-Pedic mattress valued at $2,800, is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. First pitch of the Eastern League All-Star Game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12.
Tickets to the sporting event of the summer at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium are available at NHFisherCats.com/AllStar or by calling (603) 641-2005. For media requests or to apply for press credentials, please contact Tyler Murray at [email protected].