TL1 Springfield Cardinals

Seven Cardinals Named to Texas League All-Star Game

Published on June 15, 2015 under Texas League (TL1)
Springfield Cardinals News Release


Springfield, MO - The Texas League announced on Monday the rosters for the 79th Annual Texas League All-Star Game, and the Springfield Cardinals will be represented by seven players on the North Division Team - RF Jeremy Hazelbaker, C Michael Ohlman, CF Charlie Tilson, RHP Kyle Barraclough, RHP Joey Donofrio, RHP Arturo Reyes and RHP Chris Thomas.

The 2015 Texas League All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, June 30 at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas, the home of the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Hazelbaker, 27, signed as a free agent with St. Louis on May 14 and has been excellent for Springfield since. In 27 games as a Cardinal, he is hitting .308 with two home runs, 11 doubles, 13 RBIs and 20 runs. The Muncie, Indiana native set a Springfield Cardinals record with four doubles in one game, going 4x5 against the Midland RockHounds on June 5. He started the season in the Los Angeles Dodgers system and played in 14 games for the Tulsa Drillers in April. Overall this year, Hazelbaker is hitting .287 with two homers, 13 doubles, 15 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 41 Texas League games.

Ohlman, 24, is in his first season as a Cardinal and has been the top offensive catcher in the league all year. The Bradenton, Florida native is 6th in the Texas League with a .309 batting average and tied for 3rd with 35 RBIs, while crushing four home runs and nine doubles through 43 games this season. He is currently on a 13-game hitting streak that started on May 26. During the hitting streak, he is batting a remarkable .435 (20x46) with three home runs and 19 RBIs, with at least one RBI in 11 of the 13 games. Ohlman collected the Texas League Player of the Week award for June 1 - 7, going 7x15 on the week with eight RBIs. A member for the Cardinals 40-Man Roster, he was acquired in a trade from the Baltimore Orioles on February 3, 2015.

Tilson, 22, has been one of the most consistent leadoff men in the circuit this year, compiling a .288 average with seven doubles, four triples (tied for 3rd in the league) and 11 RBIs while scoring 36 runs. The Wilmette, Illinois native ranks 2nd among Texas League base stealers with a career-high 22 stolen bases through just 58 games this year, and has been caught only six times. Tilson strung together a 12-game hitting streak from May 25 - June 7 with 18 hits during that stretch, after an eight-game streak from April 20 - 28 that featured 12 knocks. Ranked by Baseball America as the Cardinals #9 Prospect entering the season, Tilson was originally selected by St. Louis in the 2nd round of the 2011 June Draft out of high school.

Barraclough, 25, has been as dominant as any reliever in the league since joining Springfield from High-A Palm Beach on May 14. The native of Santa Clara, California has gone 1-0 with a miniscule 0.64 ERA through 12 outings with Springfield. He did not allow a single run through his first 11 appearances and has surrendered only one in his first 14 innings. Barraclough has taken over as the Cardinals primary closer, tallying four saves in five tries while racking up 19 strikeouts, including a season-high five strikeouts through 2.0 innings on June 15 in Tulsa. He was selected by St. Louis in the 7th round of the 2012 June Draft out of St. Mary's University in California.

Donofrio, 26, earns his second straight selection to the Texas League All-Star Game after receiving the nod for the North Division Team in 2014 as well. The Los Gatos, California native has gone 2-2 with a 1.93 ERA through 19 outings this year, registering 25 strikeouts through 32.2 innings. After allowing four runs through his first 9.1 innings this year, Donofrio has surrendered only three runs through his last 23.1 innings, going 2-0 with a fantastic 1.16 ERA during that stretch. Following a 1-0 record with a 1.76 ERA in a great May, he has started June with four scoreless outings, blanking the opposition through his first eight innings this month while striking out seven. Donofrio was selected by the Cardinals in the 31st round of the 2012 June Draft out of the University of California at Berkeley.

Reyes, 23, has taken the Texas League by storm since being promoted from High-A Palm Beach and debuting on May 4. The Warden, Washington native has gone 4-2 with a terrific 1.90 ERA through his first eight starts with Springfield, striking out 39 batters with only 14 walks and nine earned runs in 42.2 innings. Reyes has not allowed more than two earned runs in any outing so far, and dealt back-to-back scoreless starts last week to earn the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for June 8 - 14, as announced by the league today. After tossing seven scoreless innings in the shutout win against Arkansas on June 9, Reyes dominated the Drillers yesterday, no-hitting Tulsa through his first 6.2 innings. Reyes retired a remarkable 18 in a row in between a two-out walk in the first and a two-out walk in the seventh, striking out a season-high eight along the way. He finished the fantastic outing with only the two walks and one hit allowed, wrapping up his week with only five hits scattered through13.2 scoreless innings while striking out 15 batters. A college teammate of LHP Marco Gonzales, Reyes was selected by St. Louis in the 40th round of the 2013 June Draft out of Gonzaga University.

Thomas, 27, has been one of the best relievers in the Texas League all season, posting a 1-2 record with a 2.33 ERA through 21 outings (one start). Through 38.2 total innings this year, he has tallied 39 strikeouts while only walking five batters all year. The Liberty, Missouri native leads all Texas League relievers with an average of only 7.13 baserunners per nine innings (28 runners/35.1 IP). He is also 2nd in the league with just 1.02 walks per nine innings and has the fourth-lowest batting-average-against at .188. Thomas has given up an earned run in just three of his 20 relief appearances this year. He was signed by the Cardinals as a non-drafted free agent out of Avila College in 2012.

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