Four Wild Things Selected to FL All Star Game

FRONTIER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2016 Y’ALL-STAR TEAMS

The Frontier Professional Baseball League is pleased to announce the first 24 players per division that have been voted into the 2016 Frontier League Y’All-Star Game.  The game will be held on Wednesday, July 13 in Florence, Kentucky, and is presented by Aire Serv Heating and Air Conditioning.

For the visiting East Division team, Joliet Slammers first baseman Marc Flores will start at first base. The former Chicago White Sox prospect is in his second season with the Slammers and has slugged nine home runs and 40 RBI in 45 games in 2016. The 24-year old was a 30th round selection of White Sox in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft out University of Hawaii at Manoa, in Honolulu, HI.

Another Slammers infielder will start at second base. Carter Bell spent six seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and owns a .348 on batting average this season. This is his second season as a member of the Slammers after playing 18 games last year and his 3th overall in the Frontier League.  Bell, previously attended the 2014 All-Star game at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, IL.

Traverse City Beach Bums returning 2015 All-Star starting third baseman Jose Vargas gets the nod at the hot corner for the East Team. The 2012 Frontier League MVP is in his 6th season with the Beach Bums after spending three seasons as a member of the Chicago White Sox organization. In 40 games this season Vargas has hit .329 with six home runs and 23 RBI. He was a 22nd round selection of the White Sox in the 2008 MLB Draft.

At shortstop will be Will Kegnor of the Traverse City Beach Bums. Kegnor, playing his 1st season in the Frontier League after two seasons in the Detroit Tigers system. He previously reached his highest level of play at AAA for the Toledo Mud Hens in the International League under the Tigers. He is currently hitting .315 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 44 games in 2016.

Starting at catcher for the East will be Windy City ThunderBolts Corey Bass.  Bass is in his forth seasoning of professional baseball, where he previously played in the New- York Pennsylvania League, Florida State League, and American Association League.  His teammate CoCo Johnson will be starting in the outfield.

The other two outfield spots will be occupied by Washington Wild Things David Popkins and Schaumburg Boomers Mark Nelson.  Both of the outfielders are having tremendous seasons so far. Popkins is hitting .286 with 16 RBI and has 5 home runs; Nelson is currently sitting at an .284 batting average with one home run and 15 RBI in 43 games of the 2016 season.

Rounding out the East roster will be Traverse City Beach Bums second baseman Steven Patterson and 2015 All-Star pitcher Kramer Champlin; Windy City ThunderBolts second baseman Tim Zier, third baseman Taylor Smart, and pitcher Clay Chapman; Washington Wild Things third baseman Ricky Rodriguez, pitcher Zac Grotz, and pitcher Trevor Foss; Lake Erie catcher Jose Barraza, pitcher Chandler Jagodzinski, pitcher Mike Devine, and pitcher Steve
Hagen; Schaumburg Boomers pitcher Kagen Hopkins; Joliet Slammers shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez and outfielder Charlie White.

For the West team, Normal CornBelters’ returning 2014-2015 All-Star first baseman Aaron Dudley earns the starting nod at first base. Dudley is a former member of the Miami Marlins organization and owns a .342 batting average, 35 RBI, 9 home runs in 2016, leading the Frontier League in both categories.

Evansville Otters Josh Allen will start at second base. He is in his 3rd season with the Otters and is hitting .359 in 46 games this season with 5 home runs and 20 RBI.  Allen previously played in the 2014 All-Star game for the East division and that same year he also pitched .1 innings for the Otters.

At third base will be Southern Illinois Miners’ Steve Marino. Marino is in his third season with the Miners after spending two seasons with the Otters. He can also play a very hot first base when he is not playing the other corner. Marino has a hitting average of .304 with 8 home runs, and 40 RBI.

Another Evansville Otters’ player Rolando Gomez will start at shortstop. Gomez is in his 2nd season with Evansville after spending one year with the Grizzlies and one season with the Freedom.  He previously spent six seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization. Gomez is hitting .288 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI in only 39 games this season.

In the outfield for the West will be Southern Illinois Miners’ Craig Massey and Aaron Gates. The third starting outfielder is Nolan Meadows from the Normal CornBelters. All three players are having stellar seasons for their respective teams, with each of them hitting above .300 so far this season. Massey is leading out of the three hitting an impressive .360 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI. Gates and Massey are both retuning All-Star player from 2015.

The starting backstop for the West will be Gateway Grizzlies’ Tyler Tewell. Tewell is in his second season with the Grizzlies and has seven home runs and 22 RBI on the season. He is a former member of the Atlanta Braves organization where he spent three seasons before joining the Frontier League.

Gateway Grizzlies’ also claims the starting DH for the West with Craig Massoni getting the nod. Massoni is in his second season with the Grizzlies after spending 2013-2014 in the San Francisco Giants’ organization. He has a total of 7 homers this season thus far and 22 RBI in 45 games.

The remaining members of the West All Stars include Evansville Otters first baseman Nik Balog, third baseman Chris Riopedre, pitcher Randy McCurry, and pitcher Tyler Vail; Normal CornBelters’ 2014 All-Star second baseman Santiago Chirino, catcher Dylan Kelly, pitcher Francisco Carrillo, and pitcher Michael Schweiss; River City Rascals’ three time All-Star Josh Ludy, and 2014 All-Star pitcher Zac Treece; Gateway Grizzlies’ 2015 All-Star shortstop Rolando Gomez; Florence Freedom outfielder Andrew Godbold; Southern Illinois Miners’  pitcher Rick Teasley, pitcher Jarett Miller, and pitcher Josh Kimborowicz.

The festivities surrounding this year’s event include the induction of the inaugural class of Frontier League Hall of Famers, a home run derby, a Battle of the Sexes against the Chicago Bandits of National Professional Fastpitch and more. Tickets for each event can be purchased at  www.florencefreedom.com or by calling the Freedom offices at (859) 594-4487.

The Frontier League is entering its 24th season in 2016 and features 12 teams stretching from Pennsylvania to Missouri and from Kentucky to northern Michigan. The Frontier League annually advances the most players to MLB organizations of any of the independent leagues, and 27 former Frontier League players have played in the Major Leagues.