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Eastern League

Home Run Champ Darin Ruf, ERA Leader Chris Heston Among Topps' Double-A All-Stars

November 27, 2012 - Eastern League (EL1) News Release


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.-Minor League Baseball™ and the Topps Company announced today that Reading slugger Darin Ruf, who led MiLB™ with 38 home runs, and Richmond starter Chris Heston, who led his classification with a 2.24 ERA, are among the nine players selected to the Topps Double-A® All-Star Team. Frisco RoughRiders infielders Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar, who both ended their seasons in the Major Leagues, give the Texas Rangers two farmhands on the squad.

Darin Ruf (26) of Omaha, Neb., captured the Joe Bauman Home Run Award for leading MiLB with 38 home runs. The first baseman had a .620 slugging percentage and 1.028 OPS with the Reading Phillies, which led the Double-A classification. Ruf hit .317 and also ranked in the top five in Double-A with 104 RBI (4th) and 155 hits (5th). The Philadelphia Phillies drafted Ruf in the 20th round in 2009 out of Creighton University.

Stefen Romero (24) of Tucson, Ariz., spent the first half of the season in the California League before earning a promotion to the Jackson Generals. The second baseman hit .347 with a dozen homers, 50 runs batted in, a .620 slugging percentage and a 1.012 OPS for the Generals. The Seattle Mariners took Romero in the 12th round in 2010 out of Oregon State University.

Jurickson Profar (19) of Willemstad, Curacao, ranked fourth in the Texas League with seven triples, seventh with 135 hits and 66 walks and 10th with a .452 slugging percentage. The Frisco RoughRiders shortstop hit .281 with 26 doubles, 14 homers and an .820 OPS. The Texas Rangers, who signed Profar as a free agent in July 2009, brought him up to the Majors in September.

Mike Olt (24) of Branford, Conn., hit .288 with 28 home runs and 82 RBI for the Frisco RoughRiders. The third baseman ranked second in Double-A in homers, slugging percentage (.579) and OPS (.977), despite being promoted to the Major Leagues in early August. Olt also ranked 10th in the classification in runs batted in and on-base percentage (.398). The Texas Rangers selected Olt in the supplemental first round (49th overall) in 2010 out of the University of Connecticut.

Ali Solis (25) of Mexicali, Mexico, hit .283 with 25 doubles for the San Antonio Missions. In addition to being among the Texas League leaders in average (7th) and doubles (3rd), the catcher also ranked among the circuit's best in slugging percentage (.419, 8th) and OPS (.726, 11th). Solis then appeared in five September games for the San Diego Padres, who signed him as a free agent in 2005. He was claimed off waivers last month by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Oswaldo Arcia (21) of Cantaura-Anzoategui, Venezuela, played 55 games for the Ft. Myers Miracle, before the Minnesota Twins promoted the outfielder to the New Britain Rock Cats. In 69 games with New Britain, he hit .328 with 20 doubles, 10 homers, 67 RBI and a .955 OPS. The Twins signed Arcia, a 2010 Topps Short Season-A™/Rookie® All-Star, as a free agent in July 2007.

Alfredo Marte (23) of Santo Domingo, D.R., ranked seventh in the classification in slugging percentage (.523) and eighth in OPS (.886). The Mobile BayBears outfielder's .294 average and 75 RBI were fifth best in the Southern League. The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Marte as a free agent in December 2005.

Oscar Taveras (20) of Sousa, D.R., finished second in Double-A with a .321 batting average, third with a .572 slugging percentage and 37 doubles and fourth with a .953 OPS. The Springfield Cardinals outfielder was also among the top 10 in RBI (94, 6th), hits (153, 7th), runs (83, 8th) and homers (23, 9th). The St. Louis Cardinals inked Taveras as a free agent in November 2008.

Chris Heston (24) of Palm Bay, Fla., paced all Double-A starters with a 2.24 ERA and ranked second in allowing the fewest base runners per nine innings (10.17) and in WHIP (1.10). The Richmond Flying Squirrels right-hander tossed 148.2 innings and finished seventh in the classification with 153 strikeouts. The San Francisco Giants selected Heston with their 12th pick in 2009 out of East Carolina University.

2012 TOPPS/MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DOUBLE-A ALL-STAR TEAM

POSITION PLAYER CLUB/LEAGUE AFFILIATE AVG. HR RBI

1B Darin Ruf Reading/EL Philadelphia .317 38 104

2B Stefen Romero Jackson/SL Seattle .347 12 50

SS Jurickson Profar Frisco/TL Texas .281 14 62

3B Mike Olt Frisco/TL Texas .288 28 82

C Ali Solis San Antonio/TL San Diego .283 6 40

OF Oswaldo Arcia New Britain/EL Minnesota .328 10 67

OF Alfredo Marte Mobile/SL Arizona .294 20 75

OF Oscar Taveras Springfield/TL St. Louis .321 23 94

W-L ERA P

Chris Heston Richmond/EL San Francisco 9-8 2.24

(Statistics provided by Major League Baseball Advanced Media and do not reflect players' performances in other leagues.)

The best performances in all Minor League Baseball classifications are again being honored by the Topps Company of New York, N.Y., in conjunction with Minor League Baseball.

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