Eastern League reveals All-Star rosters

The Eastern League All-Star Game is set to return to New Britain, Conn., for the first time since 2003. The league announced the rosters for its July 10 Midsummer Classic on Wednesday, pitting the best of the Eastern Division against the cream of the Western.

For the East, first-place Binghamton and host New Britain lead the way with five players each. Portland and Trenton will send four players apiece and New Hampshire and Reading are represented by three players.

The East squad features Jim Murphy of the Fightin Phils, who leads the league with 15 home runs, and the B-Mets' Cesar Puello and Allan Dykstra, the circuit's top two sluggers at .616 and .607, respectively. Among the Eastern pitchers are ERA leader Anthony Ranaudo of Portland and Binghamton's Logan Verrett, the league's only eight-win hurler.

Bowie is the West's largest contributor with six players named to the team, though pitcher Jason Gurka is on the disabled list and will not participate in the game. First-place Harrisburg and Richmond are sending five players each, Erie and Akron four apiece and Altoona three.

Leading the way for the West is Bowie outfielder Henry Urrutia, who leads the league with a .366 batting average and RBI leader (with 57) Jesus Aguilar of Akron. Erie shortstop Hernan Perez, second in the league with 19 stolen bases, will set the table.

On the mound, the West features league strikeout leader Jesse Biddle of Reading. The left-hander has fanned 91 batters over 79 1/3 innings in the first half of the season and is holding EL hitters to a .190 average.

* - Denotes fan balloting selection ^ - Player will not be participating in game

* - Denotes fan balloting selection
** - denotes player who replaced the promoted Henry Urrutia (Bowie) and Josh Johnson (Harrisburg) on the roster. ^ - Player will not be participating in game