Pair of Cubs head Double-A All-Stars

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Minor League Baseball™ and the Topps Company announced today that Tennessee Smokies infielders Arismendy Alcantara and Christian Villanueva are among the players selected to the Topps Double-A® All-Star team. The Tennessee infielders give the Chicago Cubs a pair of farmhands on the nine-man squad.

Dan Black (26) of Carmel, Ind., hit .290 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs for the Birmingham Barons. He finished second in the Southern League in RBIs and tied for third in batting average. The first baseman also finished in the top 10 in home runs, slugging percentage (.470), hits (130) and doubles (28). The Chicago White Sox selected Black in the 14th round of the 2009 draft.

Tommy La Stella (24) of Closter, N.J., missed almost the entire first month of the season with an injury. When LaStella returned, he went 11-for-20 in seven games with Lynchburg, before moving up to Double-A. The Mississippi Braves second baseman then hit .343 with four home runs and 41 RBIs with Mississippi. He had a Southern League best 23-game hitting streak from July 5 to August 5. The Atlanta Braves selected La Stella in the eighth round of the 2011 draft.

Arismendy Alcantara (22) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, finished second in the Southern League in hits (134) and doubles (36) and third in stolen bases (31). The Tennessee Smokies second baseman hit .271 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. Alcantara signed with the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in November 2008.

Christian Villanueva (22) of Guadalajara, Mexico, led the Southern League and the classification in doubles (41) and extra-base hits (62). The Tennessee Smokies third baseman topped his league in total bases (230) and hit .261 with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs. The Chicago Cubs acquired Villanueva from the Texas Rangers as part of a trade for Ryan Dempster in July 2012.

Caleb Joseph (27) of Nashville, Tenn., hit .299 with 22 home runs for the Bowie Baysox. He paced the classification with 256 total bases and finished second in the Eastern League and in Double-A in RBIs (97) and hits (135). Joseph also finished in the top five in the Eastern League in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage (.494). The Baltimore Orioles selected Joseph in the seventh round of the 2008 Draft.

Reymond Fuentes (22) of Orlando, Fla., finished third in Double-A in batting average (.316) and third in the Texas League with stolen bases (29). The San Antonio Missions outfielder's on-base percentage (.396) ranked fourth in the Texas League and 10th in the classification. Fuentes was acquired by the San Diego Padres as part of a December 2012 trade with the Boston Red Sox for Adrian Gonzalez.

Kyle Parker (24) of Fort Thomas, Ky., hit .288 with 23 home runs and 74 RBIs with the Tulsa Drillers. He finished the season in the top 10 in the Texas League in home runs, batting average, RBIs, hits (138), runs (70), total bases (236) and slugging percentage (.492). The Colorado Rockies selected Parker in the first round (26th overall) of the 2010 Draft.

Joc Pederson (21) of Palo Alto, Calif., hit .278 with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The outfielder led the Southern League in slugging percentage (.497) and finished second in home runs and runs (81). The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Pederson in the 11th round of the 2010 Draft.

Archie Bradley (21) of Muskogee, Okla., was named the Southern League's Most Outstanding Pitcher after leading the league in wins (12). Bradley's victories, 1.97 ERA and .214 batting average against all ranked second in Double-A. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected the right-hander in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2011 Draft.

(Statistics do not reflect players' performances in other leagues)

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.