Lynchburg Sends Trio to All-Star Game
June 7, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
The Lynchburg Hillcats will send two player representatives and a coach to the 2009 California/Carolina League All-Star Game in Lake Elsinore, Calif. Tuesday June 23. Catcher Kris Watts and outfielder Miles Durham will play for the Carolina League All-Star team and Hillcats pitching coach Wally Whitehurst will serve in the same role on the coaching staff.
Watts, Pittsburgh's 16th round selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, was chosen to start at catcher for the Carolina League team in Lake Elsinore. The former Santa Clara University star is currently tied for fifth in the league in batting with a .309 average and has hit three home runs and tallied 22 RBI. Additionally, Watts leads the league in on-base percentage at .429.
The 2009 California/Carolina League All-Star game will be Watts' first appearance as an All-Star at the professional level. He earned first-team All-West Coast Conference honors as a senior at Santa Clara in 2006, batting .336 with nine home runs and 29 RBI for the Broncos. Watts ranked third in the conference in RBI (54), fourth in total bases (116), tied for fifth in home runs (9), sixth in doubles (18) and slugging percentage (.550) and ninth in walks (29). He was also named honorable mention all-conference in 2005.
Durham, Pittsburgh's 22nd round selection in the 2006 draft, was chosen as a utility outfielder for the Carolina League All-Stars. He is currently batting .289 with six home runs and 33 RBI. Durham ranks second in the league in triples (4), third in hits (58) and third in extra-base hits (25). He was recently named the Carolina League's Topps Player-of-the-Month for May after hitting .333 with six home runs and 21 RBI.
This marks the second straight season in which Durham has been chosen to a mid-season All-Star team. He played in the 2008 South Atlantic League All-Star Game as a first baseman. Durham was leading the Sally League in hits (100), slugging percentage (.585) and tied for first in RBI (57) at the time of his promotion to Lynchburg on June 26, 2008. Additionally, he ranked second in batting average (.348), second in extra-base hits (39), second in runs (53), tied for second in doubles (24) and third in home runs (14).
The Carolina League All-Stars were selected by a vote of the league's managers, general managers and media members.
Whitehurst has directed the Lynchburg pitching staff to a 3.80 ERA, which ranks second in the Carolina League. The game will mark a homecoming of sorts for Whitehurst, who served as Lake Elsinore's pitching coach in 2008.
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