Four Threshers Named to FSL All-Star Team
Published on June 2, 2011 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Clearwater Threshers News Release
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Florida State League and President Chuck Murphy have announced the 2011 All-Star Team that includes four members of the Clearwater Threshers. Pitchers Jonathan Pettibone, Julio Rodriguez, and Justin Friend will represent the North Division along with catcher Sebastian Valle. The game will be hosted at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. on Saturday, June 18 at 7:05 p.m.
Pettibone (2.03) and Rodriguez (2.28) rank second and third in ERA for the Florida State League at the time of the announcement. Friend (18) is currently tied for the MiLB lead in saves and is the FSL leader. Valle is second on the team in average with a .338 mark and has three home runs and 17 RBI.
The Threshers have the third-most players on the North squad, trailing Daytona with five players and Dunedin with six. This will be the second straight season the Threshers send four players to the game, as last year also featured three pitchers and a position player.
Pettibone (5-4) has made 11 starts this year, allowing two runs or less in eight of them. He was a third-round selection in 2008 out of Esperanza High School in Anaheim, Calif. This will be Pettibone's first all-star appearance of his career.
Rodriguez (6-3) is tied for the FSL lead in wins and has yet to allow more than three runs in any start. He was an eighth-round pick out of the Puerto Rican Baseball Academy in 2008 and will be making his first all-star appearance.
Friend was a 2010 Rule-5 draft selection for the Phillies and was originally a 13th round pick in 2007 by the Oakland Athletics out of Oklahoma State University. He is having a career season thus far, surpassing his previous high for saves of 11 back in 2008. Friend holds a 1.11 ERA this season and leads all relievers in the FSL with a .136 average against.
Making his third career all-star team, Valle has been instrumental in handling the league's best pitching staff and has provided an offensive spark, ranking amongst the team leaders in several different categories. A non-drafted free agent at the age of 16, Valle was a mid-season all-star with the Williamsport Crosscutters and a post-season all-star with the Lakewood BlueClaws.
This will be the 50th annual all-star game for the Florida State League and will be hosted by the Clearwater Threshers at Bright House Field. It will be the second time that the game will be held there, the last coming in 2005, a season after the stadium opened.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, June 18 and will be aired live by Bright House Sports Network. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and the Yuengling Home Run Derby will start at 5:45 p.m. Other pregame festivities include the presentation of the Florida State League Scholarships and a demonstration by the MacDill Air Force Base Para Commandos. After the game, there will be a fireworks show and a post-game concert by local favorite Disco Inferno.
Tickets for the all-star game can be purchased on ThreshersBaseball.com, at the Bright House Field ticket office, or by phone at 727-467-4457.
NORTH DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM POSITION SOUTH DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM
R Jonathan Pettibone CLR Pitchers (10) R Matt Harvey STL
R Julio Rodriquez CLR P R Kyle McPherson BRD
R Nick Bucci BRE P L Josh Satow CHA
R Wes Etheridge DUN P R AJ Ramos JUP
R Frank Batista DAY P L Jose Alvarez JUP
R Nestor Molina DUN P R Joe Kelly PMB
R Justin Friend CLR P R Jeff Kaplan STL
L Kenny Faulk LAK P L Darin Gorski STL
R Aaron Kurcz DAY P R Scott Moviel STL
R Deck McGuire DUN P R Brett Lorin BRD
AJ Jimenez DUN Catchers (3) Danny Rams FTM
Julio Rodriquez LAK C Ramon Cabrera BRD
Sebastian Valle CLR C Miguel Fermin JUP
Justin Bour DAY Infielders (5) Jarek Cunningham BRD
Junior Lake DAY INF Hak-Ju Lee CHA
Rob Lyerly TAM INF Brian Dozier FTM
Scooter Gennett BRE INF Aaron Baker BRD
Gustavo Nunez LAK INF Greg Sexton CHA
Evan Crawford DAY Outfielders (4) Matt den Dekker STL
Khris Davis BRE OF Kyle Jensen JUP
Bradley Glenn DUN OF Edgar Lara PMB
Justin Jackson DUN OF Brett Nommensen CHA
Tony Plagman LAK Designated Hitter (1) Pedro Zapata STL
Luis Sojo TAM Field Manager Jim Morrison CHA
Mario Garza TAM Coach Joe Szekely CHA
Noriyosh Omichi TAM Coach Steve "Doc" Watson CHA
Justin Turner TAM Coach -
Jeff Ware TAM Coach -
Scott DiFranseca TAM Trainer Kris Russell CHA
Jay Signoreli TAM Strengh Coach Eddie Young CHA
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