Three AquaSox Selected to NWL All-Star Team
Kevin Mailloux currently leads the NWL in home runs (15), total bases (141), extra-base hits (37), runs (60), doubles (19) and slugging percentage (.585). Selected as the best overall third baseman, Mailloux is currently hitting .295 with 50 RBI and was named NWL Player of the Week for the period of Aug. 9-15.
The Mariners drafted Mailloux in the 45th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Canisius (NY) College. The Tecumseh, Ontario native spent the majority of the '09 season with Peoria, earning his first All-Star Selection as the best second baseman in the Arizona League before being transferred to Everett for the final four games.
AquaSox catcher Steven Baron earns his first career All-Star selection in his second professional season. Baron, the Mariners 2009 first-round selection out of Miami, Fla., is currently hitting .251 with three home runs and 22 RBI in 50 games for the Sox. He has thrown out 34 potential base-stealers, the most in all of Short-Season Single-A, and has a caught stealing efficiency of .479.
Baron was selected 33rd overall by the Mariners in the 2009 draft out of John A. Ferguson High School. He began his professional career with the rookie-level Pulaski Mariners in 2009 and appeared in 45 games for Single-A Clinton to start the 2010 season.
Anthony Fernandez will represent the AquaSox pitching staff as the best left-handed starter in the NWL. Fernandez has gone 7-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 starts for the Sox this season, ranking second in the NWL in wins, fifth in strikeouts (65), third in innings pitched (77.1) and second in WHIP (1.15).
Fernandez was signed by the Mariners in 2006 out of the Dominican Republic and spent his first two years in the Dominican Summer League before making his professional debut for the Peoria Mariners in 2009. That year he was named to the Arizona League Post-Season All-Star Team, going 5-3 with a 3.40 ERA.
A notable name left off the 2010 squad is AquaSox outfielder Kevin Rivers, who is currently fourth in the league with a .333 batting average and 10 home runs and 44 RBI. Rivers, a two-time NWL Player of the Week selection, leads the league in on-base percentage (.458) and is second in slugging percentage (.553) and fourth in RBI.
Along with the 14-man All-Star Team, Spokane Indians manager Tim Hulett was named Manger of the Year and Spokane outfielder Jared Hoying was named league MVP.
The AquaSox hold the best record in the NWL at 45-25 and recently broke a team-record for wins, previously held by the 2002 club at 44. The team continues its final homestand of the regular season Wednesday night at 7:05 against the Vancouver Canadians. The home schedule wraps up Thursday with a doubleheader beginning at 6:05 p.m.
Following three games on the road at Vancouver to finish the regular season, the AquaSox begin the 2010 NWL Playoffs Monday at Vancouver at 1:05 p.m. in Game 1 of a three-game Divisional Round. The Sox host Game 2 on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 7:05 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium and will also host Game 3 if necessary Wednesday at 7:05.
The 2010 AquaSox playoffs, presented by Sound Transit, have tickets on sale now. To reserve a spot at the first postseason run since 2002, please call (425) 258-3673, visit our box office at 3802 Broadway or go online at www.aquasox.com/tickets.