Heston, Ruf lead Double-A stars
Darin Ruf (26) of Omaha, Neb., captured the Joe Bauman Home Run Award for leading MiLB with 38 home runs. The first baseman had a .620 slugging percentage and 1.028 OPS with the Reading Phillies, which led the Double-A classification. Ruf hit .317 and also ranked in the top five in Double-A with 104 RBIs (4th) and 155 hits (5th). The Philadelphia Phillies selected Ruf in the 20th round of the June 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Creighton University.
Stefen Romero (24) of Tucson, Ariz., spent the first half of the season in the California League before earning a promotion to the Jackson Generals. The second baseman hit .347 with a dozen homers, 50 runs batted in, a .620 slugging percentage and a 1.012 OPS for the Generals. The Seattle Mariners took Romero in the 12th round in 2010 out of Oregon State University.
Jurickson Profar (19) of Willemstad, Curacao, ranked fourth in the Texas League with seven triples, seventh with 135 hits and 66 walks and 10th with a .452 slugging percentage. The Frisco RoughRiders shortstop hit .281 with 26 doubles, 14 homers and an .820 OPS. The Texas Rangers, who signed Profar as a free agent in July 2009, brought him up to the Majors in September.
Mike Olt (24) of Branford, Conn., hit .288 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs for the Frisco RoughRiders. The third baseman ranked second in Double-A in homers, slugging percentage (.579) and OPS (.977), despite being promoted to the Major Leagues in early August. Olt also ranked 10th in the classification in runs batted in and on-base percentage (.398). The Texas Rangers selected Olt in the supplemental first round (No. 49 overall) in 2010 out of the University of Connecticut.
Ali Solis (25) of Mexicali, Mexico, hit .283 with 25 doubles for the San Antonio Missions. In addition to being among the Texas League leaders in average (7th) and doubles (3rd), the catcher also ranked among the circuit's best in slugging percentage (.419, 8th) and OPS (.726, 11th). Solis then appeared in five September games for the San Diego Padres, who signed him as a free agent in 2005. He was claimed off waivers last month by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Oswaldo Arcia (21) of Cantaura-Anzoategui, Venezuela, played 55 games for the Ft. Myers Miracle, before the Minnesota Twins promoted the outfielder to New Britain. In 69 games with the Rock Cats, he hit .328 with 20 doubles, 10 homers, 67 RBIs and a .955 OPS. The Twins signed Arcia, a 2010 Topps Short Season-A™/Rookie® All-Star, as a free agent in July 2007.
Alfredo Marte (23) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, ranked seventh in the classification in slugging percentage (.523) and eighth in OPS (.886). The Mobile BayBears outfielder's .294 average and 75 RBIs were fifth best in the Southern League. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Marte as a free agent in December 2005.
Oscar Taveras (20) of Sousa, D.R., finished second in Double-A with a .321 batting average, third with a .572 slugging percentage and 37 doubles and fourth with a .953 OPS. The Springfield Cardinals outfielder was also among the top 10 in RBIs (94, 6th), hits (153, 7th), runs (83, 8th) and homers (23, 9th). The St. Louis Cardinals inked Taveras as a free agent in November 2008.
Chris Heston (24) of Palm Bay, Fla., paced all Double-A starters with a 2.24 ERA and ranked second in allowing the fewest base runners per nine innings (10.17) and in WHIP (1.10). The Richmond Flying Squirrels right-hander tossed 148 2/3 innings and finished seventh in the classification with 153 strikeouts. The San Francisco Giants selected Heston with their 12th pick in 2009 out of East Carolina University.
2012 TOPPS/MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DOUBLE-A ALL-STAR TEAM
POS | PLAYER | CLUB | LEAGUE | MLB ORG | BA | HR | RBI | W-L | ERA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1B | Darin Ruf | Reading | Eastern | PHI | 0.317 | 38 | 104 | ||
2B | Stefen Romero | Jackson | Southern | SEA | 0.347 | 12 | 50 | ||
SS | Jurickson Profar | Frisco | Texas | TEX | 0.281 | 14 | 62 | ||
3B | Mike Olt | Frisco | Texas | TEX | 0.288 | 28 | 82 | ||
C | Ali Solis | San Antonio | Texas | SD | 0.283 | 6 | 40 | ||
OF | Oswaldo Arcia | New Britain | Eastern | MIN | 0.328 | 10 | 67 | ||
OF | Alfredo Marte | Mobile | Southern | ARI | 0.294 | 20 | 75 | ||
OF | Oscar Taveras | Springfield | Texas | STL | 0.321 | 23 | 94 | ||
P | Chris Heston | Richmond | Eastern | SF | 9-8 | 2.24 |
The best performances in all Minor League Baseball classifications are again being honored by the Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.
Next announcement: Topps Class A All-Star Team.