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NYPL Tri-City ValleyCats

First-Place ValleyCats Cruise into All-Star Break

August 13, 2018 - New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Tri-City ValleyCats News Release


TROY, NY - The first place Tri-City ValleyCats enter the New York-Penn League All-Star break playing their best baseball of the season, primed for a deep playoff run.

At 32-23, the ValleyCats are a season-high nine games above the .500 mark, leading the Lowell Spinners for first place in the Stedler division by 2.5 games.

Since losing their first two games in the month of August, the ValleyCats rebounded to win seven of their final nine games before the All-Star break, including a two-game sweep of their division rival Vermont Lake Monsters in the final two games before the break.

Offensively, the ValleyCats' two main keys to success have been hitting home runs and stealing bases.

Tri-City's 39 home runs at the break are 10 more than any other team, while their 79 stolen bases also lead the league by eight.

Every position player on the ValleyCats' active roster with the exception of one has smacked at least one home run this year, while all but two have a stolen base.

Luis Enarnacion has led the ValleyCats' power charge with a team-high seven home runs, to rank third in the New York-Penn League.

Not far behind Encarnacion in the power department is Enmanuel Valdez, who has hit six long balls to go along with a team-leading 41 hits.

On the bases its been rookie Austin Dennis leading the way for Tri-City with a team-high 14 stolen bases, while fellow rookie Trey Dawson ranks second on the team with nine.

At the break, three Tri-City ValleyCats have been named to the All-Star Game due to their efforts through the first several months of the season.

ValleyCats pitcher Austin Hansen, infielder Jeremy Pena and outfielder Alex McKenna were each invited to the 2018 All-Star Game at Lubrano Park in State College on August 14.

Hansen, 21, was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Oklahoma. In 11 appearances for the ValleyCats, including 10 out of the bullpen, Hansen has given up just two earned runs in 22 innings pitched, while collecting 33 strikeouts. He enters the break with a record of 2-1, a 0.82 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and batters are hitting just .130 off of him this year.

McKenna, 20, was drafted by the Astros in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 32 games for Tri-City, McKenna leads the team with a .328 batting average, .423 on-base percentage, .534 slugging percentage and .958 OPS. He has collected five home runs, including his first two in the same game on July 18. McKenna then would homer in three straight games between July 30 and August 1.

Pena, 20, was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of the University of Maine. In 36 games for the ValleyCats, Pena has hit .250 with a .340 on-base percentage, to go along with 22 runs scored. Pena hit his first career home run at "The Joe" on August 4.

While they each have played a major role in the ValleyCats' 2018 success, there have also been nearly a dozen more individual success stories throughout the season, which have led to promotions and even trades.

Position players Marty Costes, Seth Beer and Cesar Salazar have all been promoted to the Houston Astros' Class-A affiliated Quad Cities River Bandits, while pitchers Chad Donato, Luis Garcia, Bryan Abreu, Hansel Paulino and Tim Hardy have all been sent up a level as well.

Aside from promotions, Tri-City's top offensive performer in the first half of the season was traded to the Minnesota Twins organization on July 27, in the wake of Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline.

Outfielder Gilberto Celestino put up a .323/.387/.480 slash line for the ValleyCats while leading the team in hits, total bases, stolen bases, home runs and runs batted in.

Even despite the ValleyCats' large turnover of players, they have steadily remained atop the New York-Penn League's Stedler division for virtually all season.

The pitching staff has proven to be dominant, with its 3.09 ERA ranking second in the League. Additionally, the ValleyCats pitching staff has combined to strike out 544 batters in the season's first 55 games, which is 49 more than any other team entering the break.

While it appears the ValleyCats are in the midst of their best stretch of the season, the fate of their 2018 season still remains to be seen.

During Tri-City's final 20 games of the regular season, it will play in 11 divisional matchups, which will prove to make-or-break their title run.

The ValleyCats will begin their final stint of the regular season with two games at home vs. the Connecticut Tigers, before taking on the second place-Lowell Spinners for the first of six games that they will play in Lowell by the time the regular season comes to a close.

Led by first-year manager Jason Bell, the Tri-City ValleyCats have seamlessly overcome every shred of adversity that they've faced in 2018.

And with the ValleyCats popping off for a season-high three straight series wins entering the All-Star break, perhaps they're peaking at the perfect time.

Check out the Tri-City ValleyCats Statistics



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