Three Naturals lead Double-A All-Stars

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Northwest Arkansas Naturals infielders Mike Moustakas, who won the Joe Bauman Trophy for leading Minor League Baseball in home runs, Triple Crown winner Clint Robinson and Johnny Giavotella are among the 10 players chosen for the Topps Double-A All-Star Team. The best performances in all Minor League Baseball classifications are again being honored by the Topps Company of New York in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.

Clint Robinson, 25, of Dothan, Ala., hit .335 with 29 homers and 98 RBIs to capture the Triple Crown in the Texas League. The Northwest Arkansas Naturals first baseman also led the league with 41 doubles and his 1.035 OPS was tops in Double-A. The Kansas City Royals drafted Robinson in the 25th round out of Troy University in 2007.

Johnny Giavotella, 23, of Harahan, La., led the Texas League with 168 hits and 92 runs. The Northwest Arkansas Naturals second baseman was also stellar in the field, with a league-best .978 fielding percentage among those at his position. The Kansas City Royals selected him in the second round in 2008 out of the University of New Orleans.

Mike Moustakas, 22, of Northridge, Calif., was named the Player of the Year in the Texas League for hitting .347 with 76 RBIs in just 66 games, before being promoted to Triple-A. He hit 21 of his 36 home runs as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals third baseman, on his way to claiming the Joe Bauman Trophy as the top slugger in Minor League Baseball. The Kansas City Royals took him with the second overall pick in the 2007 Draft out of high school.

Danny Espinosa, 23, of Santa Ana, Calif., hit .262 with 18 homers and 54 RBIs in 99 games for the Harrisburg Senators. The shortstop had 101 hits and 20 stolen bases, before being promoted in early August to Triple-A. The Washington Nationals drafted him in the third round in 2008 out of Long Beach State (CA) University. Espinosa was named the shortstop on last year's Topps Class A All-Star team.

Corey Brown, 24, of Tampa, Fla., ranked in the top three in the Texas League in batting average, triples, on-base percentage and OPS. The Midland RockHounds center fielder was consistent at the plate, hitting at least .310 in every full month he spent in the league, after starting his season in Triple-A. The Oakland Athletics took him with a supplemental pick after the first round (59th overall) in 2007 out of Oklahoma State University.

Brandon Guyer, 24, of Herndon, Va., finished in the top three in Double-A with a .344 batting average and a .986 OPS. The Tennessee Smokies outfielder was among the classification leaders with his 39 doubles and he led the Southern League with a .588 slugging percentage. The Chicago Cubs selected Guyer in the fifth round in 2007 out of the University of Virginia.

Eric Thames, 24, of San Jose, Calif., drove in a classification-best 104 runs for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The left fielder ranked among the top three in the Eastern League in homers, extra-base hits and runs. The Toronto Blue Jays chose him in the seventh round in 2008 out of Pepperdine University.

Wilin Rosario, 21, of Bonao, Dominican Republic, threw out 41% of the runners who attempted to steal bases on him. The Tulsa Drillers catcher hit .285 with 19 homers, before a knee injury ended his season in early August. The Colorado Rockies signed him as a non-drafted free agent in February 2006.

Matt Carpenter, 24, of Sugar Land, Texas, had a .973 fielding percentage with the Springfield Cardinals, tops among Texas League third basemen. He finished in the top five in the league in batting average, walks, runs, on-base percentage and OPS. The St. Louis Cardinals picked Carpenter in the 13th round in 2009 out of Texas Christian University.

Elih Villanueva, 24, of Tallahassee, Fla., led Double-A pitchers with a 2.26 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .212 batting average against and 179 innings of work. The Jacksonville Suns right-hander tied for the classification lead with four complete games. In 28 starts, Villanueva struck out 115 and walked only 34. The Florida Marlins selected him in the 27th round in 2008 out of Florida State University.

2010 Topps/Minor League Baseball Double-A All-Star Team

Position	Player	Club	League	MLB Affiliate	AVG-HR-RBI
First Base	Clint Robinson	NW Arkansas	Texas	Kansas City	.335-29-98
Second Base	Johnny Giavotella	NW Arkansas	Texas	Kansas City	.322-9-65
Third Base	Mike Moustakas	NW Arkansas	Texas	Kansas City	.347-21-76
Shortstop	Danny Espinosa	Harrisburg	Eastern	Washington	.262-18-54
Outfield	Corey Brown	Midland	Texas	Oakland	.320-10-49
Outfield	Brandon Guyer	Tennessee	Southern	Chicago-NL	.344-13-58
Outfield	Eric Thames	New Hampshire	Eastern	Toronto	.288-27-104
Catcher	Wilin Rosario	Tulsa	Texas	Colorado	.285-19-52
Des. Hitter	Matt Carpenter	Springfield	Texas	St. Louis	.316-12-53
Position	Player	Club	League	MLB Affiliate	W-L-ERA
Pitcher	Elih Villanueva	Jacksonville	Southern	Florida	14-4-2.26

(Statistics provided by Major League Baseball Advanced Media and do not reflect players' performances in other leagues.)

Next: Topps Class A All-Star Team, Nov. 23