Sports stats

CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Three Sox Prospects Named Carolina League All-Stars

June 7, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Salem, VA - Garin Cecchini and Blake Swihart were both selected as starters for the upcoming Carolina League-California League All-Star Game, to be held at the home of the San Jose Giants on Tuesday, June 18. In addition, Henry Owens will be a part of a stacked Carolina League pitching staff at the Advanced-A midsummer showcase. Each of these three players are currently ranked among the top ten Boston Red Sox prospects by Baseball America

Cecchini, a 22-year-old third-baseman from Lake Charles, Louisiana, was perhaps the easiest choice on every voter's ballot. After starting the season 0-for-7, he has been the top hitter in the Carolina League throughout the first half. His .346 batting average is #1 in the circuit, as is his .461 on-base-percentage. In addition, he's second in slugging percentage (.553) and extra-base hits (25). This marks his third straight season making the All-Star team after being recognized with Lowell in 2011 and Greenville in 2012.

Swihart, a 21-year-old catcher from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, has overcome a slow offensive start to be one of the best all-around players in the Carolina League. His .289 average is seventh best in the league, but Swihart owns a .313 clip since his 2-for-18 start to the year, the second best average in the league (trailing only Cecchini) since April 13. The 26th pick in the first round of the 2011 draft, Swihart is second among Carolina League catchers in gunning down base-stealers, having nabbed 17-of-49 (34.7%) on the basepaths this season.

Owens, the youngest member of the Salem Red Sox roster, joins the two aforementioned position players on the squad of stars. A 20-year-old lefthander from Huntington Beach, California, Owens is second in the Carolina League with 68 strikeouts. He's gone 4-2 with a 3.21 ERA in his 11 starts, holding opposing hitters to a .190 average. In his most recent two starts, Owens has allowed just one run on three hits over 11 innings, a splendid performance that helped to secure his All-Star spot.

This will be the 17th time that the Carolina League's best have squared off against the elite California League stars, with the two leagues tied 7-7-2 in the previous 16 meetings. Last year, behind a towering home run from Salem's Travis Shaw, the Carolina League stars prevailed 9-1 at BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem.

The 2013 classic will commence at 10:35 eastern time from San Jose's Municipal Stadium on June 18.

Check out the Salem Red Sox Statistics



Carolina League Stories from June 7, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central