Bulls dominate IL All-Star awards
Bulls ace Jeremy Hellickson was named the league's Most Valuable Pitcher, slugger Dan Johnson took home Most Valuable Player honors, and Durham skipper Charlie Montoyo was selected as Manager of the Year.
Gwinnett's Freddie Freeman was voted the league's top rookie.
Hellickson, a prized prospect since joining the Rays organization in 2005, was primed for a big year after reaching Triple-A last summer and earning Triple-A National Championship Game MVP honors. The right-hander was on pace to win the league's pitching triple crown when he was promoted to Tampa Bay at the beginning of August. His 2.45 ERA still leads the IL, wnd he remains near the top in wins (12) and strikeouts (123). The Rays have since aimed to make him a reliever heading into the 2010 postseason.
Johnson is a veteran journeyman who enjoyed a resurgence in Durham as a 31-year-old. The former Athletics seventh-round pick spent the 2009 season in Japan but returned to the Minors this spring, where he victimized Triple-A pitchers for an IL-best 30 homers and 95 RBIs. Johnson, who was promoted to Tampa Bay earlier this month, tops the circuit in slugging percentage (.624), on-base percentage (.430) and walks (75). He was a midseason All-Star and won the Triple-A Home Run Derby en route to returning to the Majors for the fifth time in his career.
Montoyo, who managed Durham to the Governors Cup last fall, has led the Bulls to four straight division titles, a record for the organization since joining Triple-A. He led the IL squad in the 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game as well.
"I'm just very lucky to have good players -- that's all," Montoyo said after the Bulls claimed the South Division title on Aug. 20. "I've gone through everything in the Minors. I know how to tough is to win with all the movement, so this is awesome."
Freeman's career mirrored that of fellow Braves star Jason Heyward until this spring, when he remained with Gwinnett and hit a rough stretch in May. He's been on fire since, though. The 20-year-old first baseman leads the IL with 147 hits and 240 total bases and is second in average (.319), RBIs (87), doubles (35) and extra-base hits (55). He also leads all first baseman with a .994 fielding percentage.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre also had three members named to the postseason All-Star team -- shortstop Eduardo Nunez, catcher Jesus Montero and closer Jonathan Albaladejo. Nunez led the Yanks with 134 hits and 23 steals before being called upon to replace Alex Rodriguez in the Bronx last week. Montero survived trade-deadline rumors and continues to lead SWB in homers (18), RBIs (66), doubles (30) and runs scored (60). Albaladejo has dominated all season, setting an IL record with 43 saves to match a sterling 1.42 ERA.
The full list of postseason award-winners and All-Stars is below:
| 2010 International League Postseason All-Star Team | |||||||||||
| POS | Batters | Team | BA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB |
| 1B | Freddie Freeman | Gwinnett | .319 | 461 | 73 | 147 | 35 | 2 | 18 | 87 | 6 |
| 2B | Chris Valaika | Louisville | .304 | 424 | 49 | 129 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 53 | 3 |
| SS | Eduardo Nunez | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre | .289 | 464 | 55 | 134 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 23 |
| 3B | Dan Johnson | Durham | .303 | 340 | 66 | 103 | 19 | 0 | 30 | 95 | 0 |
| C | Jesus Montero | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre | .284 | 422 | 60 | 120 | 30 | 3 | 18 | 66 | 0 |
| OF | Wladimir Balentien | Louisville | .283 | 396 | 70 | 112 | 22 | 2 | 25 | 77 | 12 |
| OF | Jose Constanza | Columbus | .318 | 380 | 67 | 121 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 32 | 33 |
| OF | Jeff Frazier | Toledo | .258 | 454 | 69 | 117 | 32 | 2 | 24 | 72 | 7 |
| DH | Barbaro Canizares | Gwinnett | .339 | 395 | 53 | 134 | 25 | 1 | 12 | 73 | 2 |
| UT | Elliot Johnson | Durham | .314 | 401 | 66 | 126 | 22 | 4 | 10 | 53 | 30 |
| POS | Pitchers | Team | W-L | ERA | SV | G | IP | SO | |||
| SP | Jeremy Hellickson | Durham | 12-3 | 2.45 | 0 | 21 | 117 2/3 | 123 | |||
| RP | Jonathan Albaladejo | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre | 4-2 | 1.42 | 43 | 57 | 63 1/3 | 82 | |||
Most Valuable Player: Dan Johnson, Durham
Most Valuable Pitcher: Jeremy Hellickson, Durham
Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman, Gwinnett
Manager of the Year: Charlie Montoyo, Durham
Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com.
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