Jones and Gonzalez Tabbed as Year-End All-Stars
August 22, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Oscar Gonzalez with the Lynchburg Hillcats
(Lynchburg Hillcats)
Lynchburg, Va. - Two players have been selected to represent the Lynchburg Hillcats as Year-End All-Stars, the team announced in conjunction with the Carolina League of Professional Baseball on Thursday. The players were selected through a combination of voting by Carolina League managers and media.
Nolan Jones and Oscar Gonzalez, both of whom are currently playing for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks following promotions, have earned the All-Star honor. Both players were also Mid-Season All-Stars, representing the Hillcats at The 2019 Carolina League All-Star Classic on June 18 in Frederick.
Jones, 21, is currently ranked as the Cleveland Indians No. 1 overall prospect by MLB.com, and checks in at No. 38 in MLB Pipeline's top-100 prospect list. He appeared in 77 games with Lynchburg before his call-up on July 8. The left-handed hitter slashed .286/.435/.425 with seven home runs and 41 RBI. His 65 walks led the Carolina League at the time of his departure, and his .435 OBP was also tops in the league.
Drafted in the second round by Cleveland in 2016 out of Holy Ghost Prep High School (PA), Jones represented the Indians in the 2019 SirusXM Futures Game on July 7. Since being bumped up to Akron, the everyday third baseman is hitting .257 with seven homers and 18 RBI over 37 games.
Gonzalez, 21, hit eight home runs with a team-leading 61 RBI for the Hillcats over 96 contests. Despite being promoted to Akron on August 1, the outfielder still leads the Carolina League with a .316 batting average. He also slugged at a .455 clip, which is good for third in the league.
Signed as an International Free Agent by the Indians out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Gonzalez ranks sixth in the CL in both OPS (.796) and total bases (175). This marks the second Year-End All-Star award for Gonzalez in his career after earning the honor with the AZL Indians in 2016. Since his call-up, the right-handed hitter is batting .180 with a home run and six RBI in his first 16 games with Akron.
The Hillcats conclude their series on Thursday in the rubber match of the three-game set against the Winston-Salem Dash, A-Adv. affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Lynchburg will send right-hander Cody Morris (2-0, 3.82) to the mound to face off against lefty and MLB rehabber Manny Banuelos (0-0, 3.86). First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Max Gun and Anders Jorstad will be on the air at 6:20 p.m. with the Hillcats pre-game show on TuneIn Radio and the Radio434 App.
Thursday's game will also be a Thirsty Thursday with $2 specials on Miller Lite and Yuengling.
For tickets or more information, visit lynchburg-hillcats.com, call 434-528-1144, or visit the City Stadium box office.
The Lynchburg Hillcats are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Hillcats are eight-time Carolina League Champions, having most recently won the Mills Cup Championship in 2017. The Hillcats play their home games at City Stadium, which has been home to Minor League Baseball in Lynchburg since 1963. Visit the Hillcats online at Lynchburg-hillcats.com, and follow the Hillcats on Twitter (@LynHillcats), Instagram (@LynHillcats) and Facebook (Lynchburg Hillcats). For more information about the Lynchburg Hillcats, please contact Max Gun at mgun@lynchburg-hillcats.com.
Images from this story
 Nolan Jones wtih the Lynchburg Hillcats |
 Oscar Gonzalez with the Lynchburg Hillcats |
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