Frederick duo, San Jose star kick off All-Star Game
Keys pitcher Jake Arrieta earned the starting nod from Myrtle Beach's Rocket Wheeler, who is managing the Carolina League in the game.
And it comes as no surprise that his opposition hails from San Jose. Ben Snyder, one of four Giants starting pitchers to be named to the All-Star team, will take the mound for the California League.
Snyder currently leads the league with a 2.00 ERA and boasts an 8-2 record, although his teammates and fellow All-Stars aren't far behind with Jesse English (9-2, 2.45) and Kevin Pucetas (7-0, 2.76) both ranking in the top four in ERA.
Arrieta is 5-3 on the season with a 2.88 ERA. The right-hander was 5-0 in late May, but he is 0-3 in his last five starts, with an ERA north of six in those games. That includes a start at BB&T Coastal Field, where Arrieta allowed six earned runs in four innings, walking a season-high seven.
Even with the slump, opponents are hitting just .192 on the season against the 22-year-old, who is averaging roughly one strikeout per inning. And while the mound at Myrtle Beach hasn't proven especially welcoming, Arrieta's comfort level may be aided by throwing to his teammate, starting catcher Matt Wieters.
Home Run Derby
Wieters and two hometown Pelicans highlight the lineup for the California-Carolina League Home Run Derby Tuesday in Myrtle Beach.
Each league is sending four participants to the derby, which will be held before that night's All-Star Game at BB&T Coastal Field.
Wieters, the fifth pick in the 2007 Draft by Baltimore, leads the Carolina League with 14 home runs, despite hitting only two in June. Still, the backstop is hitting .342 on the season, good for a second-place tie among the league leaders.
Pelicans shortstop Brandon Hicks and first baseman Ernesto Mejia will both participate for the host club. Hicks has 13 long balls on the season, while Mejia is one behind him. Both, however, have hit more home runs away from BB&T Coastal Field than at it.
Winston-Salem's Brandon Allen rounds out the Carolina League lineup. Allen has 12 home runs and 38 RBIs for the Warthogs this year.
California's slugger set includes Pablo Sandoval, the league's leading hitter with a .359 average. Sandoval, a catcher for the San Jose Giants, has 12 homers and 59 RBIs this year to rank in the top seven of all three Triple Crown categories.
Stockton Ports first baseman Sean Doolittle leads the California League's contingent with 16 dingers. The left-hander's .322 average and 55 RBIs helped the Ports finish just one game behind Sandoval's Giants, the league's North Division first-half champs.
In the South, the Lancaster JetHawks pulled away late to clinch the first-half crown, thanks largely to catcher Jon Still. Still, who will start at designated hitter for the California League following his long ball efforts, brings 14 homers and 39 RBIs to Myrtle Beach.
Lake Elsinore's Sam Carter fills out the California League's quartet. The right fielder has 10 home runs and 59 RBIs for the Storm, who rank second in the league in scoring.
All-Star Game Special Guests
Tuesday night's first pitch will be delivered by Myrtle Beach native and Wheel of Fortune star, Vanna White.
White, originally from North Myrtle Beach, has been in charge of the board on Wheel of Fortune for more than 25 years, and has earned a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.
White isn't the only guest of honor at the game. Former Pro Bowl running back Eddie George and Carolina League star Carl Long will also be in attendance.
George, who won the 1995 Heisman Trophy while at Ohio State, is an investor in the Pelicans' ownership group.
Long, meanwhile, helped break the color barrier in Kinston, joining Frank Washington as Kinston's first African-American players in 1956. That season, Long hit .291 with 18 home runs and 111 RBIs for the Kinston Eagles. His RBI total is a still-standing team record.
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com.