Geovany Soto Selected to XM All-Star Futures Game
Geovany Soto was selected to the XM All-Star Futures Game Thursday. It is the first time an Iowa Cub has participated since Hee Sop Choi in 2002 in the same year he earned the Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award. Major League Baseball issued the following release:
Rosters for the ninth annual XM All-Star Futures Game were Thursday today by Major League Baseball, MLB.com, Minor League Baseball and Baseball America.
The XM All-Star Futures Game will feature the top Minor League prospects competing against each other as part of Taco Bell® All-Star Sunday at AT&T Park in San Francisco on Sunday, July 8th at 1:00 p.m. (PDT). XM will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game starting at 12:30 p.m. (PDT) (3:30 p.m. EDT) on XM 176 in addition to its other comprehensive live coverage from San Francisco. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. Taco Bell® All-Star Sunday is the first of three days of All-Star events at AT&T Park in San Francisco, culminating with the 78th All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 10th.
Major League Baseball, in conjunction with the 30 Major League Clubs, MLB.com and Baseball America, selected the 25-man rosters for each club, the U.S. Team and the World Team. Each Major League organization is represented and the World Team features players from 11 different countries and territories. Players from all full-season Minor Leagues were eligible to participate.
The XM All-Star Futures Game will end after seven innings, regardless of the score. Players and coaches will be outfitted in special XM All-Star Futures Game jerseys and will wear the caps of their Major League organization with an XM All-Star Futures Game logo embroidered on the side. Four Minor League umpires will work the game: David Rackley (home plate) of the Texas League, John Brammer (first base) of the Texas League, Jason Bradley (second base) of the Southern League and Francis Burke (third base) of the Eastern League. This is the third year that XM, the official satellite radio network of Major League Baseball, has sponsored the game.
Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Dave Winfield will manage the World Team and U.S. Team, respectively. Marichal was a nine-time N.L. All-Star and won the 1965 Midsummer Classic Most Valuable Player Award. Winfield was a member of 12 consecutive All-Star teams from 1977-88 with the San Diego Padres and the New York Yankees. Coaches for the World and U.S. Team are as follows:
| World Team | |||
| Coaches: | |||
| Dave Anderson | Manager, Frisco RoughRiders | Texas Rangers | Texas League/AA |
| Tim Bogar | Manager, Akron Aeros | Cleveland Indians | Eastern League/AA |
| Tony DeFrancesco | Manager, Sacramento River Cats | Oakland Athletics | Pacific Coast League/AAA |
| Trent Jewett | Manager, Indianapolis Indians | Pittsburgh Pirates | International League/AAA |
| John Shoemaker | Manager, Jacksonville Suns | Los Angeles Dodgers | Southern League/AA |
| Guy Hansen | Pitching Coach, Richmond Braves | Atlanta Braves | International League/AAA |
| U.S. Team | |||
| Coaches: | |||
| Dave Brundage | Manager, Richmond Braves | Atlanta Braves | International League/AAA |
| Tony Franklin | Manager, Trenton Thunder | New York Yankees | Eastern League/AA |
| Frank Kremblas | Manager, Nashville Sounds | Milwaukee Brewers | Pacific Coast/AA |
| Don Money | Manager, Huntsville Stars | Milwaukee Brewers | Southern League/AA |
| Todd Steverson | Manager, Midland RockHounds | Oakland Athletics | Texas League/AA |
| Stan Kyles | Pitching Coach, Nashville Sounds | Milwaukee Brewers | Pacific Coast League/AAA |
Thirty-one players have competed in both the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Those players are:
Players from 1999-2006 Futures Games Currently on Major League
Rosters:
| Player | Current Team | Position | All-Star Game | Futures Game |
| Lance Berkman | Astros | INF | 2001-02, 2004 | 1999 |
| Hank Blalock | Rangers | INF | 2003-04 | 2001 |
| Mark Buehrle | White Sox | P | 2002, 2005 | 2000 |
| Miguel Cabrera | Marlins | INF | 2004 | 2001-02 |
| Robinson Cano | Yankees | INF | 2006 | 2003-04 |
| Francisco Cordero | Brewers | P | 2004 | 1999 |
| Carl Crawford | Devil Rays | OF | 2004 | 2002 |
| Adam Dunn | Reds | OF | 2002 | 2001 |
| Rafael Furcal | Dodgers | INF | 2003 | 1999 |
| Marcus Giles | Padres | INF | 2003 | 2000 |
| Ryan Howard | Phillies | INF | 2006 | 2003 |
| Francisco Liriano | Twins | P | 2006 | 2002, 2005 |
| Jose Lopez | Mariners | INF | 2006 | 2002 |
| Felipe Lopez | Nationals | INF | 2005 | 2000-01 |
| Victor Martinez | Indians | C | 2004 | 2002 |
| Joe Mauer | Twins | C | 2006 | 2003 |
| Mark Mulder | Cardinals | P | 2003-04 | 1999 |
| Brad Penny | Dodgers | P | 2006 | 1999 |
| Aramis Ramirez | Cubs | INF | 2005 | 1999 |
| Jose Reyes | Mets | INF | 2006 | 2002 |
| Alex Rios | Blue Jays | OF | 2006 | 2003 |
| Francisco Rodriguez | Angels | P | 2004 | 2002 |
| B.J. Ryan | Blue Jays | P | 2005 | 1999 |
| C.C. Sabathia | Indians | P | 2003-04 | 2000 |
| Ben Sheets | Brewers | P | 2001, 2004 | 2000 |
| Grady Sizemore | Indians | OF | 2006 | 2003 |
| Alfonso Soriano | Cubs | OF | 2002-05 | 1999 |
| Chase Utley | Phillies | INF | 2006 | 2001 |
| Vernon Wells | Blue Jays | OF | 2003 | 1999-2000 |
| David Wright | Mets | INF | 2006 | 2004 |
| Barry Zito | Giants | P | 2002-03 | 2000 |
There are currently 122 players from the first eight XM All-Star Futures Games in the Major Leagues:
Players from 1999-2006 Futures Games Currently on Major League
Rosters:
| U.S. | |||||
| Player, Position | Years | Current Team | |||
| Josh Barfield, inf | 2003, 2005 | Indians | Conor Jackson, 1b | 2004-05 | D-backs |
| Josh Beckett, rhp | 2000 | Red Sox | Howie Kendrick, inf | 2006 | Angels |
| Lance Berkman, 1b | 1999 | Astros | Matt Lindstrom, rhp | 2006 | Marlins |
| **Hank Blalock, 3b | 2001 | Rangers | Hunter Pence, of | 2006 | Astros |
| Joe Blanton, rhp | 2004 | Athletics | Troy Tulowitzki, inf | 2006 | Rockies |
| Joe Borchard, of | 2001-02 | Marlins | **Nick Johnson, 1b | 1999, 2001 | Nationals |
| Russell Branyan, 3b | 1999 | Padres | Adam Kennedy, 2b | 1999 | Cardinals |
| John Buck, c | 2002 | Royals | Jason Kubel, of | 2004 | Twins |
| Travis Buck, of | 2006 | Athletics | Adam LaRoche, 1b | 2003 | Pirates |
| Mark Buehrle, lhp | 2000 | White Sox | Paul Maholm, lhp | 2005 | Pirates |
| *A.J. Burnett, lhp | 1999 | Blue Jays | Joe Mauer, c | 2003 | Twins |
| Pat Burrell, of | 1999 | Phillies | **Dallas McPherson, 3b | 2004 | Angels |
| Matt Cain, rhp | 2004 | Giants | *Mark Mulder, lhp | 1999 | Cardinals |
| Aaron Cook, rhp | 2002 | Rockies | *Brett Myers, rhp | 2001-02 | Phillies |
| Carl Crawford, of | 2002 | Devil Rays | *Lyle Overbay, 1b | 2002 | Blue Jays |
| Michael Cuddyer, inf | 1999 | Twins | Corey Patterson, of | 1999-2000 | Orioles |
| Stephen Drew, inf | 2006 | D-backs | Brad Penny, rhp | 1999 | Dodgers |
| Adam Dunn, of | 2001 | Reds | Brandon Phillips, inf | 2002 | Reds |
| Prince Fielder, 1b | 2004 | Brewers | **B.J. Ryan, lhp | 1999 | Blue Jays |
| Kevin Frandsen, 2b | 2005 | Giants | C.C. Sabathia, lhp | 2000 | Indians |
| Marcus Giles, 2b | 2000 | Padres | Ben Sheets, rhp | 2000 | Brewers |
| Adrian Gonzalez, 1b | 2001 | Padres | Grady Sizemore, of | 2003 | Indians |
| Alex Gordon, 3b | 2006 | Royals | Brad Thompson, rhp | 2004 | Cardinals |
| Tom Gorzelanny, lhp | 2006 | Pirates | Chad Tracy, 3b | 2002-03 | D-backs |
| Khalil Greene, ss | 2003 | Padres | Chase Utley, 2b | 2001 | Phillies |
| Zack Greinke, rhp | 2003 | Royals | Justin Verlander, rhp | 2005 | Tigers |
| Jason Grilli, rhp | 1999 | Tigers | Adam Wainwright, rhp | 2002 | Cardinals |
| Bill Hall, inf | 2002 | Brewers | Rickie Weeks, 2b | 2004 | Brewers |
| Toby Hall, c | 2001 | White Sox | Kip Wells, rhp | 1999 | Cardinals |
| J.J. Hardy, inf | 2003 | Brewers | Vernon Wells, of | 1999-2000 | Blue Jays |
| Corey Hart, of | 2002 | Brewers | Brad Wilkerson, 1b | 2000 | Rangers |
| Jeremy Hermida, of | 2005 | Marlins | David Wright, 3b | 2004 | Mets |
| Aaron Hill, inf | 2004 | Blue Jays | Kevin Youkilis, 1b | 2003 | Red Sox |
| Jason Hirsh, rhp | 2006 | Rockies | Barry Zito, lhp | 2000 | Giants |
| Orlando Hudson, 2b | 2002 | D-backs | |||
| **Philip Hughes, rhp | 2006 | Yankees | |||
| World | |||||
| Player, Position | Years | Current Team | |||
| Alfredo Amezaga, of | 2001 | Marlins | Felipe Lopez, ss | 2000-01 | Nationals |
| **Joaquin Arias, ss | 2006 | Rangers | Omar Infante, inf | 2002 | Tigers |
| Tony Armas, Jr, rhp | 1999 | Pirates | Wilfredo Ledezma, lhp | 2004 | Braves |
| *Danys Baez, rhp | 2000 | Orioles | Jose Lopez, 2b | 2002 | Mariners |
| Jose Bautista, 3b | 2005 | Pirates | Russell Martin, c | 2005 | Dodgers |
| Erik Bedard, lhp | 2001-02 | Orioles | Victor Martinez, c | 2002 | Indians |
| Yuniesky Betancourt, ss | 2005 | Mariners | *Scott Mathieson, rhp | 2005 | Phillies |
| Wilson Betemit, 3b | 2001 | Dodgers | Justin Morneau, 1b | 2002, 2004 | Twins |
| Miguel Cabrera, 3b | 2001-02 | Marlins | Miguel Olivo, c | 2000 | Marlins |
| Robinson Cano, 2b | 2003-04 | Yankees | Ramon Ortiz, rhp | 1999 | Twins |
| Fausto Carmona, rhp | 2004-05 | Indians | **Pablo Ozuna, inf | 1999 | White Sox |
| Jose Castillo, 2b | 2003 | Pirates | Willy Mo Pena, of | 2001-02 | Red Sox |
| Ramon Castro, c | 2000 | Mets | Joel Piñeiro, rhp | 2001 | Red Sox |
| Francisco Cordero, rhp | 1999 | Brewers | *Aramis Ramirez, 3b | 1999 | Cubs |
| Juan Cruz, rhp | 2001 | D-backs | Jose Reyes, ss | 2002 | Mets |
| Jorge De La Rosa, lhp | 2002-2003 | Royals | Alex Rios, of | 2001 | Blue Jays |
| Edwin Encarnacion, 3b | 2003-05 | Reds | **Juan Rivera, of | 2001 | Angels |
| *Alex Escobar, of | 2000 | Nationals | Francisco Rodriguez, rhp | 2002 | Angels |
| Jeff Francis, lhp | 2004 | Rockies | **Davis Romero, lhp | 2006 | Blue Jays |
| Rafael Furcal, ss | 1999 | Dodgers | Jae Kuk Ryu, rhp | 2006 | Blue Jays |
| **Jose Garcia, rhp | 2006 | Marlins | Carlos Silva, rhp | 2000 | Twins |
| Ruben Gotay, inf | 2004 | Mets | Alfonso Soriano, of | 1999 | Cubs |
| Franklin Gutierrez, of | 2003 | Indians | Willy Taveras, of | 2004 | Rockies |
| *Rich Harden, rhp | 2004 | Athletics | *Chin-hui Tsao, rhp | 2000, 2003 | Dodgers |
| *Shawn Hill, rhp | 2003 | Nationals | Jose Valverde, rhp | 2001 | D-backs |
| **Francisco Liriano, lhp | 2002, 2005 | Twins | Chien-Ming Wang, rhp | 2003 | Yankees |
| **Adam Loewen, lhp | 2005 | Orioles | |||
* - 15-day DL
** - 60-day DL