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CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Whittleman Added to All-Star Team

June 14, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks are proud to announce infielder John Whittleman has been added to the 2011 Carolina League All-Star team. Whittleman will be joined on the squad by teammates Jake Odorizzi, Michael Mariot, Rey Navarro and Whit Merrifield, who were all named to the team when the original roster was released last week.

Whittleman is the only Rocks position player to earn Carolina League Player of the Week honors this season. He was recognized by the league on May 16 after recording eight extra-base knocks and driving in five runs in a six-game span. On the season, Whittleman has 22 extra-base hits and leads the team with six home runs. The Houston, TX native, who was acquired by the Royals in a trade for a player to be named later from the Texas Rangers on March 25, 2011, has also provided Wilmington with defensive flexibility. Whittleman has split time almost evenly between first base and third base in the field. He is tied for fourth in the C.L. in walks (32).

Whittleman was placed on the roster when Frederick's Tyler Townsend went to the disabled list.

Odorizzi, who was added to the Royals organization in an off-season trade with the Brewers for former Blue Rock Zack Greinke, has fanned 10 or more batters in three of his 2011 starts. The right-hander's best outing of the season came on May 10 when he fanned 13 Salem Red Sox in just six scoreless frames, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Mariot has made only one start on the mound in 2011, but has been dominant on the backend of his piggyback relationship with Noel Arguelles. The 22-year-old right-hander is 5-0 and, had he worked enough innings to qualify, his 2.17 ERA would rank fourth in the C.L.

Merrifield spent much of the year amongst the league's top five in hits and batting average, but a recent 1-for-32 slump lowered his average under .300 for the first time since mid-April. The hero of last year's College World Series for South Carolina still places fourth in the loop with 39 runs scored and has spent time defensively at second base, left field and center field. Navarro has been perhaps the most improved player in the league this season. After coming to the Kansas City organization as a shortstop in an early-May trade last season, he was switched to second base a month later. In 107 games with the Blue Rocks in 2010 Navarro managed just 18 multi-hit performances, but already has 19 through 60 contests in 2011.

The Carolina League All-Stars will play against the California League All-Star team on Tuesday, June 21 at John Thurman Field in Modesto, CA. Potomac's Matt LeCroy will manage the squad while Kinston's Aaron Holbert will serve as coach, and Potomac's Allan Wood is the athletic trainer. The contest has been labeled the 2011 California-Carolina League All-Star Smash.

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