DAYTONA BEACH, FL- The Florida State League announced the 2018 All-Star teams Friday afternoon, which included a record-setting eight Daytona Tortugas. It's the most All-Stars in Daytona's history since that began to be tracked in 1966, and the most All-Stars for a Florida State League team since 2010 (Charlotte: 9).
DAYTONA BEACH, FL- The Florida State League announced the 2018 All-Star teams Friday afternoon, which included a record-setting eight Daytona Tortugas. It's the most All-Stars in Daytona's history since that began to be tracked in 1966, and the most All-Stars for a Florida State League team since 2010 (Charlotte: 9). Daytona's previous high was seven (1983).
The 57thannual FSL All-Star game will take place at Steinbrenner Field, the home of the Tampa Tarpons, on Saturday, June 16, with first pitch at 7:05 PM. It will be another Tortuga Takeover, as Daytona will be the most represented team, a year after Tortuga players drove in all five runs of the North's 5-1 victory.
The eight Tortugas are made up of five position players and three pitchers:
Tyler Stephenson is batting .288 with four home runs and 25 RBI in 42 games. The top 10 Reds prospect leads FSL catchers in fielding percentage and games caught (36). He has thrown out nine of 38 attempted base stealers and has committed just one error and four passed balls. He leads all catchers in the three Triple Crown categories, batting 24 points higher than any other FSL backstop. This is the second All-Star selection for the former second round draft pick (2017, Dayton).
Mitch Nay is batting .280 with five home runs and 33 RBI, which leads the team and ranks fourth in the FSL, in 45 games. Nay also ranks fourth in the league in doubles (12) and extra-base hits (18). The former Toronto first round pick leads the league in games played at third base (40), in his first year in the Reds system. It's the fourth All-Star selection for Nay, but the first since 2014 with Lansing (A).
Brantley Bell, in his second season with Daytona, is batting .216 with a home run and 16 RBI in 35 games played. Bell, who has played all over the infield, will be an utility option for the North All-Star Team. He was previously an All-Star with Billings (R) in 2015, his first professional season. His father, Jay, was a two-time All-Star during his MLB career.
TJ Friedl, in his second season with Daytona, is batting .314 with three home runs and 26 RBI in 46 games. Friedl has hit in each of the top three spots of the order and ranks fourth in the FSL in hits (53) and walks (28), third in games played (47), on-base percentage and runs scored. Friedl has also reached base in 27 straight home games, the longest streak in the FSL since last August. Friedl is second in the North Division in batting average for the season and is swatting .337 in May alone. He has hit safely in eight straight games. The outfielder was an All-Star with Dayton (A) last season, prior to his call-up to Daytona.
Taylor Trammell is batting .299 with a team-leading six home runs and 21 RBI in 44 games played. The 21 year-old ranks second in the league in walks drawn (29) and fourth in on-base percentage. The former first round pick is batting .329 in May and has hit safely in 14 straight home games, while reaching base in 13 straight games overall. He has drawn a walk in 25 of 44 games played and has batted in each of the top six spots of Daytona's order. It's the first All-Star selection for the #3 prospect in the Reds system, in his third year of professional baseball.
Tony Santillan is 3-3 with a 2.44 ERA in nine starts for Daytona. He was the Tortugas Opening Day starter and did not allow an earned run through his first 21 innings pitched this year. It was the longest streak without an earned run to begin a season for Daytona since 2006 (Donnie Veal, 24 1/3 IP). The Texan ranks fourth in the league in ERA and eighth in innings pitched (52 2/3, 6 1/3 behind the league-leader). The top 10 Reds prospect has allowed fewer than two earned runs in six of nine starts this year. He has allowed one run (unearned) in 18 innings at The Jack. Santillan has been elected to the All-Star Game in three straight seasons.
Ryan Hendrix is 1-2 with a 1.67 ERA and two saves in 17 relief appearances for the Tortugas. In his second season with Daytona, the Texan has allowed just one earned run since April 21st(12 appearances, 13 1/3 innings). He has fanned 32 batters in his 21 2/3 innings this season and possess the best strikeout per nine inning ratio in the league (13.3). He leads Daytona in ERA amongst pitchers with 7+ innings of work. It's the first All-Star selection for Hendrix in his three seasons.
Joel Kuhnel is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a team-high six saves in 16 relief outings. He has converted his six saves consecutively, tossing 8 1/3 scoreless innings. The righty has not allowed a run in 11 2/3 innings at The Jack. He became the Tortuga closer once Jesse Stallings went on the disabled list on May 8thand now ranks third in the FSL in saves. He has the fourth lowest walk per nine inning ratio in the league (1.29, 3 BB - 21 IP). It's the first All-Star game for Kuhnel in his three season career.
Tickets for the FSL All-Star Game are available by calling the Tampa Tarpons at (813) 673-3055.
