Ranaudo & Vazquez Selected to 2014 All-Star Squad

July 2, 2014

The Pawtucket Red Sox are pleased to announce RH starter Anthony Ranaudo and catcher Christian Vazquez have both been selected to the International League All-Star Team for the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Game that will be played on Wednesday, July 16 at 7:05 pm at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. The 2014 International League All-Star team is made up of 13 elected players who have received the most votes from ballots submitted by league managers & coaches (1/3), media representatives (1/3), and online fan voting (1/3). The elected players are joined by 17 additional All-Stars selected by the IL office. Each of the IL's 14 clubs will be represented in Durham.

Click Here for List of Elected & Selected to 2014 IL All-Star Team Click Here for 2014 IL All-Star Roster

The 2014 Triple-A Game marks the 17^th straight year that All-Star teams from the International League and the Pacific Coast League will face each other (the International League leads the series by a 9-7 margin since the game changed to the current IL vs. PCL format). The game will be played the night after the Major League All-Star Game and will be televised live on MLB Network and broadcast on the PawSox Radio Network (920 AM WHJJ the flagship).

RHP Anthony Ranaudo, 24, is 9-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 17 starts for the PawSox this season. He is tied for 2^nd in the International League in Wins, 5^th in ERA, and tied for 6^th in Strikeouts (81). He also has the Lowest Batting Average Against of any IL starter at .202 (69 hits in 341 at-bats). Ranaudo is also tied for the league lead in Games Started (17) and 6^th in Innings Pitched (95.2).

Anthony has been especially effective of late as he went 4-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 6 starts in June - 36.2 IP, 20 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 10 BB, 28 SO. Furthermore, since May 15 he is 6-2 in his last 9 starts with a 1.13 ERA (7 ER in 56 IP). Ranaudo has started six combined shutout victories for the PawSox this season including three different times when he turned in 7 shutout inning stints while earning victories…4-0 at Indianapolis on May 15, 7-0 in Durham on June 6, and 10-0 vs. Durham on June 30.

Ranaudo, a New Jersey native who now lives in Baton Rouge, LA, was Boston's sandwich pick between the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of the 2010 June draft after a standout collegiate career at LSU where he earned the win in the clinching game of the 2009 College World Series. He was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year in 2013 going 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 starts for Double-A Portland while also leading the EL with both a 1.09 WHIP and a .204 opponent average.

Catcher Christian Vazquez, 23, is batting .275 with 16 2B, 3 HR & 19 RBI in 62 games. He is coming off a fine month of June hitting .299 in 22 games with all 3 of his homers. Vazquez has been voted as the top defensive catcher in the Red Sox system each of the last three seasons by Baseball America and this year has been outstanding again behind the plate for the PawSox. He is 3rd among International League catchers throwing out 18 of 46 would-be base stealers this season (39%). Last year for Double-A Portland he threw out an Eastern League-best 46.5% of attempted base stealers (47 of 101).

A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Christian was Boston's 9^th round choice in the 2008 June draft at the age of 17. He is already in his 7^th professional season and his first at the Triple-A level (he did play one game for the PawSox in September of 2013). He was Portland's MVP in 2013 when he hit .289 to lead Sea Dog regulars along with 5 HR & 48 RBI. His best overall offensive season came in 2011 with Single-A Greenville when he hit .283 in 105 games with career-highs of 18 HR and 84 RBI.

Some other notable PawSox players who have appeared in the Triple-A All-Star Game since the event began in 1988 include: INF Tim Naehring (1990), 3B Scott Cooper & OF Phil Plantier (1991), RHP Brian Rose (1997), OF Trot Nixon (1998), RHP Tomo Ohka (2000), RHP Bronson Arroyo (2003), OF Brandon Moss (2007), RHP Clay Buchholz (2009, although Buchholz did not attend as he was called-up to Boston), and catcher Ryan Lavarnway (2012). Last year Pawtucket starter Rubby De La Rosa and reliever Anthony Carter were selected to the IL All-Star Team, but De La Rosa was held out of the game.