FSL Honors Four Fire Frogs with All-Star Nominations

KISSIMMEE, FL: President Ken Carson and the Florida State League released the All-Star selections for the 2019 All-Star Weekend on Friday. Catcher William Contreras, LHP Hayden Deal, RHP Brandon White, and promoted shortstop Riley Unroe earned the right to represent the North Division on June 15 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter.

The Braves #9 (Baseball America) and MLB.com's #8 prospect for Atlanta's system, Contreras has been named an All-Star at three different levels throughout his progression up the system. In addition to being a Braves MILB.com organization All-Star last year, he was recognized post-season for his spectacular campaigns with Danville (2017) and Rome (2018). Presently, the Puerto Cabello, Venezuela native is the midst of a season-best 10-game on-base streak. He had his nine-game hitting streak stopped in the close loss to Dunedin last night. Contreras is hitting .284 with a home run and 14 RBIs and is T-8^th in the circuit with 10 doubles. In the field, he has just four errors in 295 innings caught and has gunned down 16 would-be base stealers. His best offensive performance came on April 28 at St. Lucie when he went 4-4 with two doubles and a walk.
LHP Hayden Deal earns his first professional All-Star nomination in light of his spectacular season on the mound to this point. The former Presbyterian College southpaw has the lowest ERA of any FSL pitcher (1.32) and opposing batting average (.182) through eight starts, six of those have been quality appearances. He's permitted more than one earned run just once. Deal is also top-10 in WHIP (0.90, 3^rd) and innings pitched (47.2, T-9^th). He's walked just 12 batters and surrendered seven earned runs while compiling a 2-2 mark.
RHP Brandon White was named a Mid-Season All-Star for the second time in his career, also being honored back in 2017 while with Rome. He is 2-2 with a 0.83 ERA in 21.2 frames and 13 appearances. He has yielded seven walks, 18 hits, eight runs (two earned) and 23 strikeouts. The Lander University product went through his first 11 games and 18.2 innings without permitting an earned run. He's struck out four batters in two separate stints on the mound.
For the second time in his professional career, Riley Unroe was granted an FSL All-Star nomination, having also received one back in 2016 while playing with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. The shortstop swatted .304 with three home runs and 20 RBIs over 38 games with the Fire Frogs. His average was 7^th in the league upon his promotion to AA-Mississippi on May 18 and he was Top-5 in runs scored (25) and Top-10 in doubles (9). Unroe holds the longest hit streak for a Florida player this season (10) and on-base streak (15). He has the only grand slam hit by a Fire Frogs player this year, which was part of an eight-run first inning at Jupiter on May 10. He has an RBI in four of his first five games for the Mississippi Braves.
The Fire Frogs have an uptick in All-Stars from a year ago, moving from three North Division All-Stars in 2018 to four this season. Braves top prospect and outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher Brett Cumberland, and RHP Chad Sobotka made it to All-Star weekend last season.
The players were voted to Jupiter by a combination of FSL managers, coaches, broadcasters, and other media members.
The North will be managed by the staff of the Daytona Tortugas, led by skipper Ricky Gutierrez. Toby Gardenhire and his staff from the defending FSL champion Fort Myers Miracle will manage the South Division squad.
Find the full rosters for both squads below.
North: http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?cid=76
South: http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?cid=77
The fun takes place on June 15 at the home of the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. with postgame fireworks included. The FSL home run derby takes place before the contest at 5:10 p.m. For more information, contact Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium at 561-775-1818.
REMINDER: The Fire Frogs return home to begin a six-game home stand after Monday's Memorial Day holiday. Purchase your tickets now and don't miss out on all the action at Osceola County Stadium!
https://www.milb.com/florida/tickets/single-game-tickets
About the Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and compete in the Florida State League. The Fire Frogs play their home games at Osceola County Stadium, located at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla. For more information, please visit www.FloridaFireFrogs.com, and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.