Texas All-Stars ready for Corpus Christi
In a mostly statewide event created to at least partially emulate the journey of the Olympic flame, the Texas League Commemorative Ball & Flag Tour launched in Corpus Christi on May 19.
Over the next 38 days and 15 stops, the flag that will wave above center field at Whataburger Field and the ball that Texas League president Tom Kayser will deliver from the mound for the ceremonial first pitch racked up the frequent traveler miles: 2,500 of them, in fact.
Their final stop will be back at the home of the defending champions of the Double-A league for the 71st annual Texas League All-Star Game, which will feature the North taking on the South on Tuesday, June 26, at 8:05 p.m. EDT.
The cities on the tour were chosen for their roles in Texas League history, both current and past. While current league strongholds such as Tulsa, Midland and Frisco were on the slate, so too were spots like Victoria and Galveston, Amarillo and Wichita Falls, Waco and even Round Rock, which hosted league play just a few years ago before being promoted to Triple-A status and giving way, ironically, to Corpus Christi.
At each stop along the way, youth baseball players and current and former league stars joined together for the celebration of baseball. The event wound up on Saturday in San Antonio before starting its final leg back to Corpus Christi.
The on-field events leading up to that special first pitch will include a pre-game Home Run Derby featuring some of the top sluggers in the hitter-friendly league.
With the league's pre-eminent slugger, Joe Mather of the Springfield Cardinals, promoted to Triple-A Memphis, this could be anybody's victory.
The top two contenders look to be Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers) second baseman German Duran who, with the departure of Mather, leads the league with 15 homers. Springfield Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus comes into the break with 14 homers, tops among South Division sluggers to lead that quartet.
Among the candidates to challenge that pair could be Midland RockHounds (Athletics) catcher Landon Powell (11), as well as Midland outfielder Richie Robnett, veteran Springfield DH/third baseman Juan Richardson, Arkansas Travelers (Angels) infielder Sean Rodriguez, Frisco catcher Kevin Richardson and the guy who would be the hometown favorite, Corpus Christi first baseman Todd Self, all of whom come into the break with 10 apiece.
Last year, the Texas League Home Run Derby title came down to a sudden-death showdown, which was won by the grand total of one long ball by then San Antonio Missions outfielder Wladimir Balentien (Mariners).
This year, there will be eight league All-Stars vying for the derby's $5,000 cash prize, along with two top high school power hitters. If one of the latter two win, he will receive the equivalent amount in a college scholarship fund.
But the game itself may not be just about the long ball, at least not if the pitchers have anything to say about it. And with the top two draft picks from 2006 on hand to take the mound, look for some good arms to counter those live bats.
The North Division All-Stars' 10-man staff features Wichita Wranglers (Royals) pitcher Luke Hochevar, the first player taken in the country last summer, as well as Tulsa Drillers (Rockies) ace Greg Reynolds, who was selected with the second overall pick.
Both have been living up to billing this year. Hochevar was among the top strikeout artists in the Minors, leading the league with 83 strikeouts. Reynolds, recently returned from a stint on the disabled list with a strained shoulder, was 4-1 for the Drillers with a 1.42 ERA.
The two will be teammates for a night just a week after facing off head to head June 19. That marked the first time in baseball history that the top two picks in a given year squared off on the mound in a Minor League game. Both dazzled in that game with Hochevar tossing seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing one unearned run and Reynolds making his first appearance since going on the DL back in mid-May with a shoulder strain, allowing two hits in five shutout innings.
Other former first-round picks on the North include Rasmus, Mike Stodolka and Chris Lubanski.
The South has its share of well-known prospects and familiar names as well.
Midland catcher Powell, a first-round pick out of South Carolina in 2004, has been one of the hottest hitters in the month of June, batting .425., including a 20-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday night during which he had 11 multi-hit games. Powell is one of three former Oakland first-rounders coming to Corpus Christi, joined by Robnett and infielder Brian Snyder.
In addition to a multitude of first-rounders who will be on hand, there will also be six players in Corpus Christi who have been selected to participate in the July 8 Futures Game during Major League All-Star festivities in San Francisco: Hochevar, Duran, Rasmus, Springfield catcher Bryan Anderson, Arkansas pitcher Rich Thompson and Midland pitcher Mike Madsen.
The host Hooks will be well-represented, not just by the host field staff of manager Dave Clark and company, but also by seven players, including the Houston Astros' top pitching prospect Troy Patton, who was 5-6 with a 2.82 ERA. One of the Hooks representatives, outfielder Beau Torbert, was just promoted to Triple-A Round Rock over the weekend but is expected to return to town for the All-Star Game.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com.