Five Otters Named to the All-Star Team
July 6, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Evansville Otters News Release
Evansville, IN- The Evansville Otters are proud to announce that five players on the roster were voted to the Frontier League East All-Star team: John Schultz, Shayne Houck, Trevor Walch, Will Oliver and Edgar Lopez.
The only starter of the five pack of All-Stars is John Schultz who has been tearing the cover off of the ball all season long. Schultz leads the team in extra base hits, having collected 22 with six games to go before the All-Star break (13 doubles, two triples and seven home runs). His .329 batting average is seventh in the Frontier League while the 13 doubles are tied for third, as are his two triples. For Schultz it is his second All-Star nod after receiving the honor in his first season in the league two seasons back.
The other position player on the Otters roster to be named to the All-Star team is Shayne Houck, the reigning Frontier League MVP, making it back-to-back seasons for Houck to receive the All-Star honor. Houck, who has battled injuries for most of the season, still leads the teams in home runs with eight and RBI with 30. Since missing seven games due to an oblique strain, Houck came out firing in his last five games, going 9-for-22 with a home run, four doubles, four runs driven in and three runs scored. Houck is leading the Otters along with Schultz in doubles with 13.
The rest of the Otters to make the All-Star team are all pitchers, which is emblematic of how well the rotation and back of the bullpen has been so far this season.
Trevor Walch (5-3), despite having his worst outing of the season in his last start (on three days rest) still has his ERA under two, sitting at 1.77. Walch leads the Frontier League in complete games with three and is the only Otter to be named a pitcher/player of the week in the Frontier League. Walch was given the honor for his performance in the week ending on May 31st when he fired a complete game shutout against the Windy City Thunderbolts, striking out seven and walking just one while ceding just five hits in nine innings.
He will be joined on the club by one other starter, Will Oliver. The righty from San Diego, CA has been one of the most consistent arms not just for the Otters, but in the Frontier League as a whole. So far this season he has produced a quality start in seven of his nine outings and his 1.69 ERA is third in the Frontier League, ahead of teammate Walch who is fourth. Oliver has a strikeout to walk ratio of a little more than three to one, having struck out 58 batters and walking just 18. The 58 strikeouts are fourth in the Frontier League while his 58.2 innings pitched are sixth and his two complete games are tied for second.
The last Otter to be awarded the honor is the closer Edgar Lopez, who, in his first season as a closer, has been perfect. In 14 appearances this summer, Lopez is 13-for-13 in save situations and is five-for-five in erasing inherited runners. Lopez has allowed just one run in 2015 and that run was unearned, coming all the way back on May 19th in just his second appearances of the season. Not surprisingly his 0.00 ERA leads the frontier league. In 12.2 innings pitched Lopez has mowed down 13 opposing batters while walking just eight and has a WHIP of just one.
While the Otters did get five All-Star nods, the biggest surprise to not make the team might be Connor Little. Little was snubbed despite an ERA of 1.88 in 18 appearances while pitching 24 innings out of the bullpen. The righty, also from San Diego, CA, has racked up the strikeouts at a tremendous clip, picking up 30 in 24 innings while pummeling the strike zone, walking just a single batter this season, which occurred all the way back on May 19th in his second outing. Moreover, seven of his 18 appearances have been multiple innings while his WHIP of 0.79 is second in the Frontier League among qualified pitchers. He also has inherited the most runners on the team, seven, and none of them have come in to score.
The All-Star game takes place in Schaumburg, IL at the Schaumburg Baseball Stadium, home of the Schaumburg Boomers on July 15th.
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