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Eastern League

EL Announces All-Star Squad

August 28, 2002 - Eastern League (EL1) News Release


The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce the selections for the 2002 Eastern League All-Star Team, as voted on by respective Eastern League team managers and coaching staffs, sportswriters, radio and television broadcast personnel and other members of the media.

Catcher: Victor Martinez, Akron Aeros (.343, 21 HR, 84 RBI) Martinez is having a near Triple Crown season for the Southern Division Champion Akron Aeros. Victor currently leads the Eastern League with a .343 batting average, and is tied for second in the league in home runs (21), and in the top ten in the league in RBI (84). Martinez, the JPMorgan Chase MVP for the month of July, was a unanimous selection as the catcher for the Eastern League All-Star team. Victor was selected as the "Best Batting Prospect" and the "Best Defensive Catcher" in the Eastern League this season.

First Base: Carlos Rivera, Altoona Curve (.301, 20 HR, 77 RBI) After hitting .234 with 10 homers last season with the Curve, Rivera has bounced back to have a breakout season for Altoona. Coming into this season Carlos' career-high for home runs in a season was 13 with Hickory in 1999. The 24-year old blasted his 14th homer of the season on June 24 against the Rock Cats. The Rio Grande, Puerto Rico native has had multiple hitting streaks of over seven games this season and also had four consecutive multi-hit games from 7/2-7/5. Carlos was selected by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive First Basemen" in the Eastern League for the second straight season.

Second Base: Jesus Medrano, Portland Sea Dogs (.299, 3 HR, 32 RBI) Last season Jesus set the Brevard County record with 93 runs scored, and also led the Marlins organization and the Florida State League with 61 stolen bases. Medrano is currently tied for third in the league in stolen bases with 39 and is also among the league leaders in runs scored (77) and on-base percentage (.414). The 23-year old was selected by Baseball America as the "Best Baserunner" and "Best Defensive Second Baseman" in the Eastern League for the 2002 season.

Third Base: Travis Chapman, Reading Phillies (.304, 15 HR, 74 RBI) After being called up to Reading on August 27 last season, Travis had an impressive debut during the Eastern League playoffs, hitting .385 with one home run and one RBI. Chapman continued to put up big numbers for the R-Phils this season and is among the league leaders in a number of categories, including: batting average (.304), doubles (35), on-base percentage (.391), and slugging percentage (.483). Chapman was named the Eastern League player of the Week for week ending May 5th.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes, Binghamton Mets (.288, 2 HR, 24 RBI) This 19-year old is one of the most exciting young players in the game right now. After playing most of the first half of the season with the St. Lucie Mets, Jose has had quite an impact for the B-Mets in the second half. Since being promoted Reyes is batting .288 with 8 triples, 27 stolen bases, and 45 runs scored. Jose was named the MVP of the 2002 Futures Game at Miller Park and was named by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive Shortstop" and "Most Exciting Player" in the Eastern League this season.

Outfielders:

Dee Haynes, New Haven Ravens (.311, 21 HR, 97 RBI)

Tony Alvarez, Altoona Curve (.324, 15 HR, 59 RBI)

Lew Ford, New Britain Rock Cats (.311, 15 HR, 51 RBI)

Cody Ross, Erie SeaWolves (.280, 19 HR, 72 RBI)

Due to a tie in the voting this year's Eastern League All-Star team has four outfielders instead of three. In Dee Haynes, Tony Alvarez, Lew Ford, and Cody Ross, the Eastern League formed a very formidable quartet of All-Star outfielders. Thanks to his .311 batting average with 21 home runs and 97 RBI, Dee Haynes has been a contender for the Eastern League Triple Crown all season. Dee was named the JPMorgan Chase MVP for the month of May and was also named the Eastern League Player of the Week for week ending May 26th. Tony Alvarez was named the 6th best prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization coming into the season, and his numbers show why. Tony's .324 batting average is second in the league behind Akron's Victor Martinez, and he is among the league leaders in hits (155), doubles (35), and runs scored (77). The 23-year old had two hitting streaks of over 12-games this season and is also on pace to have the highest single season batting average in Altoona Curve franchise history. Before his promotion to Triple-A Edmonton in mid-July, Lew Ford was leading the Eastern League in hits (116) and runs scored (81), and he was among the league leaders in a number of other categories. Ford was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for week ending June 30th and also won the Home Run Derby at the 2002 Double-A All-Star Game in Norwich, CT. Lew was named by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive Outfielder" in the Eastern League this season. Despite missing a number of games due to injury, Cody Ross has hit a career-high 19 home runs and has been an important part of the Erie SeaWolves offense this season. After hitting .336 with eight home runs, 29 runs scored, 30 RBI, and 10 stolen bases, the 21-year old was selected as the JPMorgan Chase MVP for the month of June.

Utility Infielder: Freddy Sanchez, Trenton Thunder (.328, 3 HR, 38 RBI) Before his promotion to the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA) in mid-July, Sachez was among the league leaders in batting average (.328) and hits (102). Freddy set a Thunder franchise record with a 27-game hitting streak from May 15-June 25. At the time of his promotion, Freddy had reached base in 43 consecutive games. It was the longest streak in Minor League Baseball at the time.

Designated Hitter: John Gall, New Haven Ravens (.316, 19 HR, 75 RBI) New Haven Slugger John Gall is currently leading the Eastern League and hold the New Haven Ravens single season records in hits (161), doubles (45), and extra-base hits (66). John was selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for week ending August 4th, and was also selected as a National League All-Star for the 2002 Double-A All-Star Game in Norwich, CT.

Right-Handed Starting Pitcher: Ryan Madson, Reading Phillies (15-4, 3.18) Ryan Madson currently leads the Eastern League in wins (15) and is among the league leaders in ERA (3.18), strikeouts (126), and innings pitched (164.1). Ryan has given up only 143 hits in 164.1 innings pitched and he has a strikeout to walk ratio of 126-52 this season. The 22-year old was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for week ending May 19th.

Left-Handed Starting Pitcher: Billy Traber, Akron Aeros (13-2, 2.76) Southpaw Billy Traber was leading the Eastern League in wins (13) and shutouts (2) and was among the league leaders in ERA (2.76) at the time of his promotion to Triple-A Buffalo in mid-July. Traber was selected as a member of the United States Team for the 2002 Futures Game at Miller Park and was also named the "Best Control" pitcher in the Eastern League this season by Baseball America.

Relief Pitcher: Matt Duff, New Haven Ravens (10-1, 1.43, 4 Saves) In 46 relief appearances with the Ravens, Matt Duff has earned 10 wins and four saves, and has struck out 88 batters while walking only 20. Duff was called up to the St. Louis Cardinals briefly on July 30. The 27-year old appeared in seven games for the Cardinals and had a 4.77 ERA in 5.2 innings of work before returning to pitch in New Haven.

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