NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



St. Paul Saints

Saints Sending Four to American Association All-Star Game in Winnipeg

July 14, 2014 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (July 14, 2014) - The American Association All-Star game has taken a three year hiatus. Back in 2009 St. Paul Saints pitcher Brandon Kintzler used the showcase game to get his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers. One season later he landed in the Major Leagues. Four current Saints players will have a similar opportunity as the American Association announced the representatives for the 2014 All-Star Game to be held at Shaw Park in Winnipeg on July 29. The Saints players representing the North Division Team are outfielder Evan Bigley, infielder Henry Wrigley as a designated hitter, starting pitcher Anthony Claggett and closer Dan Sattler.

Bigley is having one of the best overall seasons in the league hitting .332 with five homers and 42 RBI in 52 games. In 208 at bats he has scored 38 runs, roped 19 doubles, has nine stolen bases in 10 attempts with a .393 on base percentage and a .495 slugging percentage. Bigley is currently 1st in the league in outfield assists (6), T4th in RBI, 5th in doubles and 10th in batting average.

Bigley's season has been highlighted by an inside the park grand slam with a career tying high five RBI on May 20 at Sioux City that helped propel the Saints to their franchises 1,000th win. In addition he collected an RBI in six straight from June 6-11, scored a run in a career tying high seven straight from May 16-22 and has three separate seven game hitting streaks. One of those seven game hitting streaks has a chance to turn into a career high 14 game hitting streak should he collect a base hit on Tuesday when the Saints resume a postponed game from June 14 in Winnipeg. Bigley hit safely in seven games prior to that June 14 game and six game following that game.

The 27-year-old Bigley played 80 games last season in the Minnesota Twins organization. He played seven games for the Gulf Coast League Twins, four at High-A Fort Myers, 50 at Double-A New Britain and 19 at Triple-A Rochester. Between the four stops Bigley hit .245 with five homers and 33 RBI. In 298 at bats he scored 37 runs, roped 19 doubles, two triples, had a .311 on base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage.

Bigley was a 10th round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft by the Twins out of Dallas Baptist College. In his first season of professional baseball he hit .300 with 14 homers and 47 RBI at Rookie Level Elizabethton in the Appalachian League. His 47 RBI were good enough for third most in the league. Along with a stellar individual season, his team captured the Appalachian League Championship.

Wrigley has provided average and power during the 2014 campaign and is hitting .311 with 12 homers and 46 RBI in 44 games. In 180 at bats he has scored 22 runs, has seven doubles, a .345 on base percentage and a .550 slugging percentage. Wrigley is currently 2nd in the league in RBI and T3rd in home runs.

His season has been highlighted by a career high five hit, seven RBI game on June 1 at New Jersey, twice homering in back-to-back games (June 4 & 5 and June 26 & 27) and a grand slam on June 26.

The 27-year-old Wrigley was injured most of last season and played in only 31 games at Double-A Tulsa with the Colorado Rockies organization. During his 2012 season, however, he produced solid numbers at Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. Between the two stops he hit .282 with 20 homers and 79 RBI in 126 games played. In 476 at bats he slugged 37 doubles, one triple, had a .331 on base percentage and a .489 slugging percentage.

Wrigley was a 14th round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2005 out of San Mateo (CA) Community College. He began his Rays career in 2006 at the Rookie Level in Princeton and hit .250 with five homers and 26 RBI in 54 games. The power numbers steadily increased over the years.

The accolades started pouring in for Wrigley in 2010 when he was selected to the Florida State League All-Star Game. In a league known for pitching, Wrigley hit .292 with 12 homers and 46 RBI in just 68 games. During that time he set a Charlotte Stone Crabs record by going 5-5 in a game on May 20. He also reached base safely in 22 consecutive games from April 8 - May 1 and had the fifth longest home hitting streak in the league, hitting in 13 consecutive home games. After his promotion to Double-A Montgomery, Wrigley hit another nine home runs and drove in 37 in 62 games. The 21 long balls are a career high and his 83 total RBI were his most up to that point in his career.

Claggett has been one of the more dominant starting pitchers in the league going 4-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 12 starts including a complete game shutout. In 82.1 innings pitched he's walked 23 and struck out 56 while opponents are hitting a miniscule .224 against him. Claggett is T1st in the league in shutouts, 3rd in innings pitched and 4th in ERA.

Claggett's season has been highlighted by a masterful performance on Opening Day when he carried a no-hitter into the sixth and allowed just one hit in 6.2 innings pitched against the Gary SouthShore Railcats which earned him the American Association Pitcher of the Week, retiring the first 16 batters he faced on June 30 at New Jersey and his first complete game shutout (7.0 IP) on June 17 vs. Lincoln.

The 29-year-old Claggett was one of the most consistent and dominant pitchers on the Saints staff last season, finishing tied for second in complete games, with three, and third in the American Association in ERA, at 3.11. Claggett led the Saints in victories going 9-6 in 21 starts. In 142.0 innings pitched he walked just 43 while striking out 83 with opponents hitting .265 against him. He etched his name in the Saints record book tying the single-season mark for most games started and second most innings pitched, finishing 7.0 innings shy of teammate Mark Hamburger. Claggett was a workhorse tossing at least 6.0 innings in 20 of 21 starts and 7.0 innings in nine of 21 starts. He also allowed three runs or less in 17 of 21 starts.

Claggett began his time with the Saints during the 2012 season when he was signed as a free agent on June 6. He split time out of the bullpen and as a starter, thriving in the starter's role. He was 5-3 with a 4.48 ERA in 11 starts.

Claggett was an 11th round selection by the Detroit Tigers in 2005 and was traded to the New York Yankees in 2006 which sent Gary Sheffield to the Tigers in exchange for pitchers Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Claggett on November 10. That season Claggett was named the MLB.com Class-A Pitcher of the Year going 7-2 with a 0.91 ERA and 14 saves in 51 relief appearances at West Michigan.

In 2009 Claggett reached the pinnacle of the baseball world when he was called up to the Major Leagues and made his debut for the Yankees on April 18, pitching out of relief against the Cleveland Indians. His debut did not go as planned, allowing eight runs on nine hits, and the Yankees optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre following the game. Claggett was promoted to the big club again on August 5 and made his second appearance on August 6 against the Boston Red Sox. He was once again optioned to Scranton/Wilkes Barre following the game and on September 24 the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Claggett off of waivers. He would pitch one game for the Pirates. Claggett earned a World Series ring that season when the Yankees won the World Series and gave each player who played for the team that season a ring.

Sattler is 1-2 with a 2.49 ERA and 12 saves in 23 appearances. In 25.1 innings pitched he's walked 18 and struck out 36 while opponents are hitting a meager .207 against him. He is 12 of 13 in save opportunities and T3rd in saves and T4th in relief pitcher points (34).

Sattler's season has been highlighted by a current streak of not allowing a run in his last 7.0 innings pitched and just one run in his last 12 appearances, spanning 14.0 innings, a string of six straight appearances without allowing a run from June 13-29 and allowing just one hit in his first five relief appearances from May 17-25.

The 30-year-old righty had an incredible 2012 year that had many thinking he would be pitching at Target Field. During his time with the Saints he went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and three saves in five relief appearances. In 7.0 innings of relief he allowed just one hit while walking two and striking out five. After his stint with the Saints he had his contract purchased by the Twins, becoming the 100th different Saints player to have his contract purchased, and moved from Single-A Fort Myers, to Double-A New Britain, to Triple-A Rochester in the matter of five weeks. Between the three stops he was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA and three saves in 15 relief appearances. In 29.2 innings pitched he walked just 10, struck out 20 and opponents hit a microscopic .173 against him. Unfortunately, his season came to an end after a July 22 outing when he injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery.

Sattler was a 44th round selection by the Texas Rangers out of Purdue University in 2006. He pitched two seasons for the Rangers reaching Single-A in 2008. After being released by the Rangers in 2009 he caught on with the Kansas City T-Bones of the Independent Northern League and was dominant. He went 3-3 with a 1.66 ERA, which included two separate lengthy stints without giving up an earned run. He went 13 straight relief appearances without allowing an earned run from June 17-July 13 and eight straight relief appearances without allowing a run from July 24-August 8. His success brought him attention and his contract was purchased by the Oakland Athletics on August 26.

The two-day All-Star celebration begins on Monday, July 28 with the Recycle Everywhere Skills Competition & Home Run Derby and All-Star Fan Fest at Shaw Park. July 29 features the BFI All-Star Luncheon and McDonald's All-Star Skills Camp in the afternoon. The 2014 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries American Association All-Star Game will take place that night at 7 p.m. at Shaw Park.

The American Association All-Star Game will feature the North against the South. Members of the Saints will be joined on the North squad by players from the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, Gary SouthShore RailCats, Winnipeg Goldeyes, Sioux City Explorers and Sioux Falls Canaries. The South team will be comprised of players from the Amarillo Sox, Grand Prairie AirHogs, Kansas City T-Bones, Laredo Lemurs, Lincoln Saltdogs and Wichita Wingnuts. The four teams from the Can-Am League will also have representation in the game. The Quebec Capitales and Trois-Rivieres Aigles will place players on the North team and the New Jersey Jackals and Rockland Boulders will have players on the South team.

The All-Star teams were voted on by two members of each team in the American Association, one media representative and the manager.

Check out the St. Paul Saints Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Association message board...

American Association Stories from July 14, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central