NILES, OH - The Staten Island Yankees and the New York-Penn League announce the 2019 All Star Game Rosters. The Scrappers will send 3 players to represent Mahoning Valley. If not for players being promoted, there could have been a possibility of five or six Scrappers getting the call for the
NILES, OH - The Staten Island Yankees and the New York-Penn League announce the 2019 All Star Game Rosters. The Scrappers will send 3 players to represent Mahoning Valley. If not for players being promoted, there could have been a possibility of five or six Scrappers getting the call for the mid-summer classic. The Scrappers sent five players to play in State College last season.
Bryan Lavastida, a shortstop-turned-catcher, is in the midst of an 11-game hitting streak, in which he extended during the ninth inning of Thursday's game. Lavastida has been catching for just over a year and has already made strides behind the plate. He has committed five errors in 267.1 innings and has thrown out 15 would be base stealers. His hitting has been his strong suit through the 2019 campaign. The Miami native leads Mahoning Valley in a number of offensive categories, including batting average (.329), on base percentage (.880), slugging percentage (.478), as well as runs, hits, doubles, and RBI.
Brayan Rocchio is a slick fielding shortstop who is the Cleveland Indians No. 11 prospect, according to MLB.com. Rocchio does not hit for a ton of power- just one long ball in 2019- but makes regular, solid contact. He has 49 hits, 10 of those being doubles and three of those are triples. Rocchio owns a .308 on base percentage and possesses patience at the plate, drawing 18 walks. Even with his errors being in the double digits, Rocchio seems to make a highlight play every day in the field, and that is a tribute to his range and aggressiveness on defense.
George Valera is the No. 6 prospect in the Indians farm system and he can hit the baseball a long way. An undrafted free agent who signed in 2017 was born in the Bronx but moved to the Dominican Republic at 13 years old. Valera is tied for third in the league with eight homeruns and is seventh in the league with a .452 slugging percentage. He can play both center and right field and figures to shoot up the minor league system rather quickly over the next few seasons.
The 2019 All Star Game will be played at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, New York on Wednesday, August 21 between the North and South all-stars.
