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FSL1 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Miracle Rewarded for Impressive Season

August 28, 2006 - Florida State League (FSL1)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release


FORT MYERS, FL (August 28, 2006) - This season's Fort Myers Miracle team is one of the best during their 15 year history and on Monday the Miracle were rewarded with three players and their manager named to the Florida State League Post Season All-Star Team. Pitcher Anthony Swarzak, infielder Alexi Casilla, outfielder Brandon Roberts and manager Kevin Boles were honored by the FSL.

The 20-year-old Swarzak, was chosen as one of the starting pitchers to the Post Season All-Star team. He has been one of the best pitchers in the FSL during the second half and has been the ace of the Miracle staff since the departure of Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey. Swarzak is 10-6, 3.25 in 25 games and has two complete games and one shutout. In 138.1 innings pitched he has walked 56 and struck out 127 while opponents are hitting .240 against him. He is first in the league in strikeouts, tied for first in shutouts, tied for second in complete games, third in ERA and tied for third in wins. Swarzak was a second round draft pick by the Twins in 2004 out of Novoa High School in Davie, FL.

The 22-year-old Casilla was chosen as a utility infielder and was they catalyst at the top of the order for the Miracle in the first half of the season. Casilla hit .331-0-33 in 78 games for the Miracle before being promoted to Double-A New Britain on July 14. In 323 at bats he had 12 doubles, six triples and scored 56 runs with an on base percentage of .390. He stole 31 bases in 37 attempts. He is still second in the FSL in batting. With New Britain he is currently hitting .304-1-13 in 41 games. In 158 at bats he has 10 doubles and one triple with an on base percentage of .379. He has swiped 19 bases in 21 attempts. The Twins got Casilla in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 in exchange for pitcher J.C. Romero.

The 21-year-old Roberts was chosen as a starting outfielder and has been impressive for the Miracle since coming over in a trade with the Reds organization. The Twins sent shortstop Juan Castro to the Reds in exchange for Roberts. Since joining the Miracle, Roberts is hitting .316-3-32 in 64 games. In 256 at bats Roberts has 12 doubles and 38 runs scored. He has swiped 27 bases in 33 attempts with an on base percentage of .374. Overall Roberts is hitting .292-4-47 in 124 games. In 503 at bats he has 17 doubles, one triple and scored 78 runs. He has swiped 50 bases in 63 attempts with an on base percentage of .350. Roberts leads the league in stolen bases, third in the league in hits (147) and third in runs scored.

The 31-year-old Boles is in his first season at the helm of the Miracle and was voted in as a coach for the Post Season All-Star Team. He has guided the Miracle to the best record in the FSL, 76-56 through Sunday, and five wins shy of tying the Fort Myers Miracle franchise record of 81 wins. Boles took his team to a near playoff berth in the first half, finishing tied for first with the Dunedin Blue Jays, but losing the head-to-head tie breaker. He has his club 1.5 games up in the Western Division in the second half with eight games left. Last season he managed the Beloit Snappers, Single-A affiliate of the Twins. He guided the Snappers to a playoff berth in 2005. During his five year managerial career, entering this season, he is 236-228 (.509) and 137-139 (.496) with the Twins. He spent one season playing minor league baseball and was a 42nd round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1998. His father John is the former manager of the Florida Marlins.

Each Florida State League team had three votes, one by the manager, one by the official scorer and one by a media representative. Each representative could vote for any player in either league, with the exception of someone from their own team.

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