Eight Drive players among SAL All-Stars
When the Greenville Drive Opening Day roster was announced back in April, it was easy to see that it had potential to be great, given the number and quality of prospects the Red Sox sent to their Class A affiliate. When the South Atlantic League All-Star Game rosters were announced Tuesday, those expectations were confirmed.
The Drive will send a league-best eight players to the SAL All-Star Game on June 23 at Asheville's McCormick Field, the circuit revealed Tuesday.
The most noteworthy of the bunch is No. 5 Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers. Playing in his first full season in the Minors, the 18-year-old third baseman ranks third in the Sally League with a .321 average and has added three homers, a triple, 14 doubles and an .808 OPS in 47 games with the Drive. Shortstop Javier Guerra (.294/.349/.494) and utility infielder Mauricio Dubon (.294/.340/.421) join Devers in the Southern Division infield. Left fielder Derek Miller (.388 OBP) and catchers Jordan Procyshen (.708 OPS) and Ben Moore (.319 average) fill out the team's position-player contributions.
After putting up a 3.11 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings, 2014 first-rounder and No. 13 Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech makes his first All-Star team and is joined by right-handed reliever Mario Alcantara (1.53 ERA) on the Southern Division pitching staff.
Also found on the Southern Division is MLB.com's No. 92 prospect Ozahino Albies, who is batting .317 with 21 steals for Rome and Lexington first baseman Ryan O'Hearn, who leads the Sally League with 12 homers.
The Northern Division roster is dominated by the Hickory Crawdads, who placed seven players (Ariel Jurado, John Fasola, Yohander Mendez, Luis Ortiz, Colin Wiles, Jose Trevino, Luke Tendler) on the squad. All except Trevino and Tendler are pitchers, which should be no surprise given Hickory leads the Sally League with a collective 2.76 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Lakewood's Rhys Hoskins earned his spot at first base by leading the circuit in all three slash-line categories (.337/.416/.530).
Here are the complete South Atlantic League All-Star Game rosters:
SAL NORTHERN DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM
| POSITION PLAYERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Arturo Rodriguez | C | Greensboro | MIA |
| Brett Austin | C | Kannapolis | CWS |
| Jose Trevino | C | Hickory | TEX |
| Rhys Hoskins | 1B | Lakewood | PHI |
| Stephen Wilkerson | 2B | Delmarva | BAL |
| Grant DeBruin | 3B | Hagerstown | WAS |
| Malquin Canelo | SS | Lakewood | PHI |
| Eddy Alvarez | UT INF | Kannapolis | CWS |
| Jomar Reyes | UT INF | Delmarva | BAL |
| Luke Tendler | RF | Hickory | TEX |
| Carlos Tocci | CF | Lakewood | PHI |
| K.J. Woods | LF | Greensboro | MIA |
| Conor Bierfeldt | UT OF | Delmarva | BAL |
| Elvis Escobar | UT OF | West Virginia | PIT |
| Austen Smith | DH | Greensboro | MIA |
| PITCHERS | |||
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Ariel Jurado | RHP | Hickory | TEX |
| Joey DeNato | LHP | Lakewood | PHI |
| John Fasola | RHP | Hickory | TEX |
| Yeudy Garcia | RHP | West Virginia | PIT |
| Junior Lopez | RHP | West Virginia | PIT |
| Yohander Mendez | LHP | Hickory | TEX |
| Luis Ortiz | RHP | Hickory | TEX |
| Alexis Rivero | RHP | Lakewood | PHI |
| Drew Van Orden | RHP | Hagerstown | WAS |
| Collin Wiles | RHP | Hickory | TEX |
| Austen Williams | RHP | Hagerstown | WAS |
| FIELD STAFF | |||
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Corey Ragsdale | Manager | Hickory | TEX |
| Francisco Matos | Coach | Hickory | TEX |
| Oscar Marin | Coach | Hickory | TEX |
| Sean Fields | Trainer | Hickory | TEX |
SAL SOUTHERN DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM
| POSITION PLAYERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Jordan Procyshen | C | Greenville | BOS |
| Aramis Garcia | C | Augusta | SF |
| Ben Moore | C | Greenville | BOS |
| Ryan O'Hearn | 1B | Lexington | KC |
| Jonathan Johnson | 2B | Savannah | NYM |
| Rafael Devers | 3B | Greenville | BOS |
| Javier Guerra | SS | Greenville | BOS |
| Ozhaino Albies | UT INF | Rome | ATL |
| Mauricio Dubon | UT INF | Greenville | BOS |
| Elier Hernandez | RF | Lexington | KC |
| Johneshwy Fargas | CF | Augusta | SF |
| Derek Miller | LF | Greenville | BOS |
| Joseph Daris | UT OF | Rome | ATL |
| Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado | UT OF | Lexington | KC |
| Connor Spencer | DH | Charleston | NYY |
| PITCHERS | |||
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Helmis Rodriguez | LHP | Asheville | COL |
| Mario Alcantara | RHP | Greenville | BOS |
| Pedro Fernandez | RHP | Lexington | KC |
| Kyle Kinman | LHP | Rome | ATL |
| Michael Kopech | RHP | Greenville | BOS |
| Zach Lovvorn | RHP | Lexington | KC |
| Casey Meisner | RHP | Savannah | NYM |
| Raymundo Montero | RHP | Augusta | SF |
| David Roseboom | LHP | Savannah | NYM |
| Matthew Strahm | LHP | Lexington | KC |
| Jerry Vasto | LHP | Asheville | COL |
| FIELD STAFF | |||
| NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
| Warren Schaeffer | Manager | Asheville | COL |
| Mark Brewer | Coach | Asheville | COL |
| Vinny Castilla | Coach | ||
| Casey Papas | Trainer | Asheville | COL |
Sam Dykstra is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.