4 Crawdads on 2016 SAL All-Star Team
Published on June 7, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hickory Crawdads News Release
Hickory, NC - South Atlantic League President Eric Krupa has announced the rosters for the 57th Annual SAL All-Star Game in Lexington, KY on June 21st, with four members of the Hickory Crawdads named to the Northern Division team.
Shortstop Yeyson Yrizarri was voted in as a starter for the Northern Division, while teammate Tyler Sanchez was selected as a catcher. Joining them will be starting pitchers Pedro Payano and Erik Swanson.
Yrizarri, 19, currently leads all Northern Division shortstops in home runs (4), doubles (12), extra-base hits (17), and RBI (22) to go along with a .254/.274/.392 slash line. The Venezuela native has been even better defensively, leading all SAL shortstops with 155 assists on the year while ranking second with a .969 fielding percentage (min. 40 GM).
Sanchez, 23, paces all backstops in the Northern Division with a .379 OBP, while batting .273 with 3 home runs, 8 doubles, and 22 RBI. A 17th round selection by the Rangers in the 2015 Draft out of St. John's University, Sanchez has already accumulated 12 multi-hit games on the season, 2nd among all Crawdads batters.
Payano, 21, has been one of the best pitchers in the league in 2016, as the right-hander ranks 2nd in the SAL in batting average against (.182), 3rd in ERA (1.47), and 9th in strikeouts (57). The 6'2" Dominican Republic native was named the SAL Pitcher of the Week on May 1st of this year after throwing a complete game, 1-hit, shutout with 11 Ks against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on April 27th.
Swanson, 22, has been dominant for the Crawdads this year in his first professional season as a starting pitcher. The 6'3" Ohio native ranks in the top 10 in the league in batting average against (4th - .188), WHIP (4th - 0.95), and ERA (7th - 2.18), while posting a 4-1 record over 10 appearances and 7 starts. An 8th round selection by the Rangers in the 2014 Draft out of Iowa Western Community College, Swanson set career highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts for a single game in his April 29th start vs. Lexington, where the right-hander threw 7 scoreless innings with 8 Ks and just 3 hits allowed.
The 57th Annual SAL All-Star Game will be hosted by the Lexington Legends at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington, KY on Tuesday, June 21st.
2016 South Atlantic League All-Stars
NORTHERN DIVISION
MANAGER
Patrick Anderson
Hagerstown
COACH
Amaury Garcia
Hagerstown
COACH
Sam Narron
Hagerstown
PITCHERS
Mitch Keller
West Virginia
Tanner Banks
Kannapolis
Garrett Cleavinger
Delmarva
Ben Holmes
Greensboro
Ryan Meisinger
Delmarva
Pedro Payano
Hickory
Mariano Rivera
Hagerstown
Jefry Rodriguez
Hagerstown
C.J. Robinson
Greensboro
Erik Swanson
Hickory
Zach Thompson
Kannapolis
CATCHERS
Yermin Mercedes
Delmarva
Tyler Sanchez
Hickory
Seby Zavala
Kannapolis
FIRST BASEMAN
Josh Naylor
Greensboro
SECOND BASEMAN
Max Schrock
Hagerstown
THIRD BASEMAN
Kelvin Gutierrez
Hagerstown
SHORTSTOP
Yeyson Yrizarri
Hickory
UTILITY INF
Ke'Bryan Hayes
West Virginia
UTILITY INF
Josh Tobias
Lakewood
RIGHT FIELD
Jose Pujols
Lakewood
CENTER FIELD
Victor Robles
Hagerstown
LEFT FIELD
Tito Polo
West Virginia
UTILITY OF
Landon Lassiter
Kannapolis
UTILITY OF
Isael Soto
Greensboro
DESIGNATED HITTER
Alex Murphy
Delmarva
TRAINER
Dom Cappozzo
West Virginia
SOUTHERN DIVISION
MANAGER
Luis Dorante
Charleston
COACH
Omar Ramirez
Lexington
COACH
Justin Pope
Charleston
PITCHERS
P.J. Conlon
Columbia
Phil Bickford
Augusta
Cody Carroll
Charleston
Jake Cosart
Greenville
Emilio Ogando
Lexington
Roniel Raudes
Greenville
Michael Santos
Augusta
Andrew Schwaab
Charleston
Mike Soroka
Rome
Daris Vargas
Charleston
Patrick Weigel
Rome
CATCHERS
Chase Vallot
Lexington
Jonathan Morales
Rome
Matt Winn
Augusta
FIRST BASEMAN
Brian Mundell
Asheville
SECOND BASEMAN
Vinny Siena
Columbia
THIRD BASEMAN
David Thompson
Columbia
SHORTSTOP
Brendan Rodgers
Asheville
UTILITY INF
Luis Alejandro Basabe
Greenville
UTILITY INF
Luke Dykstra
Rome
RIGHT FIELD
Yonathan Daza
Asheville
CENTER FIELD
Ray-Patrick Didder
Rome
LEFT FIELD
Sam Hilliard
Asheville
UTILITY OF
Dylan Davis
Augusta
UTILITY OF
Tate Matheny
Greenville
DESIGNATED HITTER
Josh Ockimey
Greenville
TRAINER
Mark Keiser
Lexington
South Atlantic League Stories from June 7, 2016
- Hagerstown Bests Columbia on Saturday - Columbia Fireflies
- McClure Clutch in Extra-Inning Walk off Win - Asheville Tourists
- Drive Take Two from Intimidators on Tuesday - Greenville Drive
- Mendick Collects 3 Hits But Greenville Sweeps - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- RiverDogs Clinch Series with Comeback Win over Braves - Charleston RiverDogs
- Home Runs Carry Crawdads to 5-1 Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Strong Start by Toussaint Not Enough, Rome Falls 4-2 - Rome Emperors
- BlueClaws Shut out Legends 2-0 - Lexington Legends
- Martinez Spins First Complete Game in Loss - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Palma Joins RiverDogs in Midst of Playoff Push - Charleston RiverDogs
- Ibanez Promoted to Double-A Frisco - Hickory Crawdads
- LHP Bobby Strader transferred to Delmarva - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Delmarva Shorebirds Game Notes for Tuesday, June 7 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 7 Doubleheader at Augusta (Games 57 and 58) - Columbia Fireflies
- First Place RiverDogs Back Home to Unite in a Special Way for Larry Doby Weekend - Charleston RiverDogs
- Four Hoppers Selected for SAL All-Star Game - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Mundell, Rodgers Highlight Tourists All-Star Selections - Asheville Tourists
- 4 Crawdads on 2016 SAL All-Star Team - Hickory Crawdads
- Ogando, Vallot Named SAL All-Stars; Ramirez on Coaching Staff; Keiser to Serve as Trainer - Lexington Legends
- Drive Place Five Players in South Atlantic League All-Star Game - Greenville Drive
- Three Power players named to 2016 SAL All-Star Team - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Eight Suns Named to South Atlantic League All-Star Team - Hagerstown Suns
- RiverDogs Skipper Luis Dorante to Lead Southern Division All-Star Team - Charleston RiverDogs
- 2016 South Atlantic League All Stars Announced - Five Rome Braves Named to Team - Rome Emperors
- Four Shorebirds Named to SAL All-Star Roster - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Four Intimidators Make SAL All-Star Game - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- SAL Announces 2016 All-Star Roster - Augusta GreenJackets
- Pujols, Tobias Named South Atlantic League All-Stars - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Three Fireflies Named South Atlantic League All-Stars - Columbia Fireflies
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