Four Yard Goats Named to Eastern League All-Star Team

Four Yard Goats Named to Eastern League All-Star Team   
Yard Goats will be well represented next month for Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Classic    

Hartford, Conn- The Hartford Yard Goats Baseball Club, the Double-A Eastern League Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, has been informed by the Eastern League that four players have been named to the 2017 Eastern League All-Star team. RHP Yency Almonte , RHP Shane Broyles , INF Ashley Graeter and OF Drew Weeks have been selected to play for the Eastern Division. The 2017 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Classic will take place on Wednesday, July 12th at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire, home of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Almonte, 23, is leading the Yard Goats starting rotation with a 1.96 ERA in his first nine starts of the season. The Miami, Florida native is on the Rockies 40-Man Major League Roster and recorded a franchise-high 10 strikeouts in Hartford's first ever win at Dunkin' Donuts Park on April 20 vs Harrisburg.   He has allowed just 8 runs over his last seven starts (35.1 IP) and won back-to-back starts, April 20 vs Harrisburg and April 28 vs Richmond. Almonte is rated as the 16th best prospect in the Rockies organization by MLB.com and heading into his start on May 3rd, ranked 3rd in the Eastern League with 1.52 ERA. He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on April 24^th. The 2017 season is Yency's second as a Colorado Rockies farmhand and his 6th season in professional baseball as he spent 3 years with the Angels' organization and one year in the White Sox chain. Last season, he was a California League Post Season All-Star, and led the entire Rockies system with 156 strikeouts.
Broyles, 25, is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA with 8 saves in 23 relief outings with the Yard Goats. He is perfect 8 for 8 in save situations and has allowed just 6 earned runs in 30 innings pitched. The Burleson, Texas native did not allow a single run in 8 of 9 appearances from May 27 through June 26. He recorded saves in three straight outings, May 31 through June 4th. The former Texas Tech star has five saves and a 1.07 ERA in seven outings in the month of June and has held batters to a .175 batting average. This is Shane's 6th season as a Colorado Rockies farmhand and his second season with the Yard Goats. Last season, he earned a save in the second ever Yard Goats game and retired all four batters faced on April 8 @ Richmond. 
Graeter, 27, hit the first grand slam home run for a Yard Goats player at Dunkin' Donuts Park on Tuesday, leading Hartford to a 7-6 win over Binghamton. The 2017 season is Ashley's 6th as a Colorado Rockies farmhand and he is leading the club in hits and is tied for team lead with 7 home runs. The Poplarville, Mississippi native had 4-hits and cranked the first Yard Goats home run of this season on April 7 in Richmond.   He spent the entire 2016 season with the Hartford Yard Goats and batted .276 with 12 doubles, 6 home runs and 33 RBI in 85 games in his first season at Double-A level. He became first the Yard Goats player to hit home runs in three consecutive at-bats, July 9, 2016 vs Portland (GM 1 & GM 2 of DH). The former star at the University of Southern Mississippi began last season with an 8-game hit-streak, April 8 through April 20, batting .355 over that span.
Weeks, 24, has put together a solid first season at the Double-A level and is tied for the team lead with 7 home runs. He is second on the club with 64 hits, 15 doubles, 32 RBI and 9 stolen bases. He batted .276 with five double, three doubles, and 14 RBI in 28 games in the month of May. The 2017 season is Drew's 4th as a Colorado Rockies farmhand and he spent the entire season last year at High-A Modesto in the California League, batting .233 with 16 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs and 57 RBI in 111 games for the Nuts. In 2015, the former University of North Florida star split time between Low-A Asheville and High-A Modesto and ranked 5th in the Rockies system with 29 stolen bases. In college, he was named NCBWA First Team All-American (2014), Baseball America Second Team All-American (2014), Perfect Game Second Team All-American (2014), Rawlings/ABCA Second Team All-American (2014), Rawlings/ABCA South All-Region First Team (2014), and Atlantic Sun First Team All-Conference (2014).
The Yard Goats continue an eight game homestand tonight against the New York Mets affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, at 7:05PM at Dunkin' Donuts Park. Tickets for all home games may be purchased by calling the Yard Goats at 860-246-GOAT (4628), online at www.yardgoatsbaseball.com, or in person by visiting the Click It or Ticket Box Office at Dunkin' Donuts Park.
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