Voting Open for BlueClaws 25th Anniversary Team: Infielders
SAL Jersey Shore BlueClaws

Voting Open for BlueClaws 25th Anniversary Team: Infielders

Published on February 2, 2026 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release


JERSEY SHORE, NJ - Voting is now open for the BlueClaws 25th Anniversary Team. Every Monday, BlueClaws fans can vote on one position group. After catcher voting last week, infielder voting runs this week! In March, the BlueClaws will then unveil the 25th Anniversary Team as part of the team's 25th Anniversary Celebration.

Fans are asked to select six infielders from the following grouping:

Keaton Anthony (2024) - The former Iowa Hawkeye starred with the BlueClaws in 2024, hitting .356 with four home runs in 56 games. He was promoted to Reading at the end of the season and then hit over .300 at both Reading and Lehigh Valley in 2025.

Willians Astudillo (2014) - He hit .333 in 117 games with the BlueClaws in 2014, and was alive for the South Atlantic League batting title on the last day of the season. Astudillo would later play 190 big league games across five seasons with the Twins and Marlins.

Jake Blalock (2004) - He hit .271 with 16 home runs and 90 RBIs with the BlueClaws in 2004 and is the only BlueClaw to ever hit three home runs in a game, which he did that May in Lexington.

Alec Bohm (2019) - Bohm's time with the BlueClaws was brief, but the former 3rd overall pick hit .367 in 22 games before a promotion to Clearwater. He would make his big league debut in 2020, hitting .338 in 44 games, and has been the Phillies third baseman ever since.

Malquin Canelo (2014-15) - After playing 45 games with the BlueClaws in 2014, he was the team's every-day shortstop in 2015, hitting .311 in 63 games before a promotion to Clearwater. He played Minor League Baseball through 2021.

Adrian Cardenas (2007) - A competitive balance pick of the Phillies in 2006, Cardenas played for the BlueClaws in 2007, hitting .295 with nine home runs and 20 stolen bases while also playing in the MLB Futures Game. He was later traded to the Athletics and made his big league debut with the Cubs in 2012.

JP Crawford (2013-14) - A first round pick in 2013, Crawford became the first (and still only) high school draft pick to play for the BlueClaws in the year he was drafted. He then hit .295 in 60 games adding three home runs and an SAL All-Star appearance before a promotion to Clearwater. He played for the Phillies in both 2017 and 2018 before a trade to Seattle where he has been their everyday shortstop since 2019.

Carson DeMartini (2025) - A fourth round pick in 2024 from Virginia Tech, DeMartini made his BlueClaws debut in 2025 and hit a three run home run on Opening Night. He ended with eight home runs in 53 games before a promotion to Reading.

Chris Duffy (2012) - He had arguably the most dominant stretch of baseball ever from a BlueClaws hitter. After joining the team on May 29th, he hit .384 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs in just 60 games, adding 1.086 OPS, for the BlueClaws in 2012. He was promoted to Clearwater on July 30th.

Maikel Franco (2011-12) - He played 11 games with the BlueClaws in 2011, and homered off Jameson Taillon, but starred in 2012, hitting .280 with 14 home runs in 132 games, including .346 in the second half. He made his big league debut in 2014 and was with the Phillies through 2019 before playing for Kansas City, Baltimore, and Washington.

Freddy Galvis (2008) - The everyday shortstop in 2008, Galvis hit .238 with three home runs and 14 stolen bases while wowing fans with dynamite defensive plays across 127 games. He played 1,102 games in the big leagues, hitting over 100 home runs, including two 20 home run seasons.

Harold Garcia (2009) - He stole 42 bases while hitting .291 as part of the BlueClaws championship team in 2009, forming a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the lineup with centerfielder Anthony Gose. Garcia hit .305 the next year between Clearwater and Reading.

Darick Hall (2017) - Nobody hit more home runs in a season as a BlueClaw than Darick Hall did in 2017, when he smashed 27 and adding in a franchise single-season record 96 RBIs. He hit 164 career minor league home runs and played in the big leagues for the Phillies in both 2022 and 2023.

Brad Harman (2005) - One of the first Australians to play for the BlueClaws, he hit ..303 with 11 home runs with the BlueClaws in 2005 and is one of just eight BlueClaws in team history to both play 100 games and hit at least .300.

Rhys Hoskins (2015) - He opened the season with the BlueClaws in 2015 and hit .322 in 68 games with nine home runs. He played in the SAL All-Star Game before a promotion to Clearwater. Hoskins debuted with the Phillies in 2017 and hit several memorable home runs in his time in Philadelphia. He spent the last two seasons with the Brewers.

Ryan Howard (2002) - One of only two players to have his number retired by the team (Cole Hamels is the other), Howard spent 2002 with the BlueClaws and hit .280 with 19 home runs. He would later return for rehab appearances in 2007, 2010 (when his #29 was retired) and 2012. Howard won the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year and the 2006 NL MVP, one of only a handful of players to do so in back to back years (Cal Ripken, Jr., Dustin Pedroia, Kris Bryant). He was a star of the 2008 World Series Champion Phillies and hit 382 career big league home runs.

Otto Kemp (2023-24) - An undrafted free agent from Point Loma Nazarene in 2022, Kemp joined the BlueClaws in 2023 and helped the team reach the SAL postseason. He returned for the start of 2024 and hit .333 in 41 games, adding four home runs. He made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2025.

Scott Kingery (2015) - A second round pick in 2015, Kingery came straight to the BlueClaws for his professional debut. He hit .250 with three home runs and 11 stolen bases that year and made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2018. He has played 344 career big league games and spent last year with the Angels.

Nick Maton (2018) - He was the BlueClaws everyday shortstop in 2018, helping the team reach the SAL Championship Series. He hit .256 with eight home runs with the BlueClaws, and hit the third of back-to-back-to-back home runs in Game 1 of the Championship Series that year to tie Lexington in the ninth inning of a game the BlueClaws would eventually win in 11 innings. He made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2021 and spent last year with the White Sox.

Travis "Moose" Mattair (2008-09, 11) - The fan favorite third baseman spent 2008 and 2009 with the BlueClaws, winning a ring in '09, before playing basketball for a year and then returned to the BlueClaws in 2011. His 288 games are the second most in club history. He would later move to the Reds organization and played two years in Pensacola, then their Double-A team, through 2014.

Aidan Miller (2024) - The Phillies first-round pick in 2023 joined the BlueClaws in June of 2024 and hit .258 with six home runs and 12 stolen bases in 58 games, playing in the Futures Game too, before a promotion to Reading. One of the top prospects in baseball, he is poised to make a big league debut in 2026.

Jim Murphy (2009, 11) - The Washington State product hit more home runs (36) than anyone to ever wear the BlueClaws uniform, hitting 14 as the cleanup batter for the 2009 SAL Champions and 22 more in 2011. The popular slugger played seven years in the organization, reaching Lehigh Valley.

Roman Quinn (2013) - The speedster was a 2nd round pick of the Phillies in 2012 and played for the BlueClaws in 2013, where he hit five home runs and stole 32 bases. He later made 222 big league appearances, mostly with the Phillies.

Juan Richardson (2001) - Richardson was the BlueClaws third baseman in their inaugural season. He hit 22 home runs that year, which remains the third highest single-season total in team history.

Darin Ruf (2010) - Ruf's time with the BlueClaws was brief but powerful. He hit .330 in 32 games in 2010, adding four home runs, before a promotion to Clearwater. He went 5-5 in his final game with the BlueClaws on May 12th in Greenville.

Jake Scheiner (2018) - Scheiner was with the BlueClaws in 2018, helping them reach the South Atlantic League Championship Series. That year, he hit .296 with 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases. He was traded to the Mariners in 2019 for OF Jay Bruce.

Jonathan Singleton (2010) - When Ruf was promoted to Clearwater, he was replaced by Singleton, who had a tremendous season with the BlueClaws. That year, he hit .290 with 14 home runs and 77 RBIs in 104 games, and hit two home runs on Father's Day as the BlueClaws clinched a playoff spot - they would go on to win the league title. He was traded to the Astros in the Hunter Pence trade a year later and has played 272 big league games.

Bryson Stott (2021) - The Phillies first-round pick in the 2019 draft, Stott's BlueClaws debut was delayed a year by the pandemic, but he hit .288 with five home runs and a 1.001 OPS with the BlueClaws in 2021 before his promotion to Double-A Reading. Stott was a part of the inaugural Jersey Shore BlueClaws team. Stott made his big league debut in 2022 and has been a Phillies regular ever since.

Josh Tobias (2016) - Drafted out of the University of Florida in 2015, Tobias hit .304 in 96 games with the BlueClaws in 2016, adding seven home runs. He is one of only 12 BlueClaws (minimum 300 PAs) to hit .300 in a season and only five players had a higher batting average than he did.

Jonathan Villar (2010) - Villar played 100 games with the BlueClaws in 2010, stealing 38 bases and hitting .272. He was traded to the Astros at the deadline in 2010 in the deal that brought Roy Oswalt to the Phillies. Villar played over 1,000 career big league games between 2014 and 2022. In 2019, he played all 162 games with the Orioles, hitting 24 home runs and stealing 40 bases.

Nick Ward (2022) - The Phillies signed Ward, formerly in the A's system, before the 2023 season. He hit .270 with eight home runs and 22 stolen bases with the BlueClaws that year. Ward has also won three championships with the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League.

Rixon Wingrove (2022-23) - The Aussie slugger hit 12 home runs with the BlueClaws in 2022 and 15 more in 2024, and his 27 BlueClaws home runs are a joint-third most in franchise history. He also has four two-home run games with the BlueClaws, tied for the club record with both Jim Murphy and Jhailyn Ortiz.

The BlueClaws are celebrating 25 Years at the Jersey Shore all summer long, beginning with their 25th Anniversary Opening Night on Tuesday, April 7th. Tickets for Opening Night and other games are currently on sale online.

Check out the Jersey Shore BlueClaws Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from February 2, 2026


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