2018 Triple-A All-Star Game

The guys in Triple-A have today through Wednesday off because the Triple-A All-Star Game is happening July 11, 2018 at Huntington Park, Columbus, Ohio,

The Triple-A All-Star Game is an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the two affiliated Triple-A leagues—the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Each league fields a team composed of players in their respective leagues as voted on by fans, the media, and each club's field manager, coaches, and general manager. From the inaugural 1988 event through 1997, teams of American League-affiliated Triple-A All-Stars faced off against teams of National League-affiliated Triple-A All-Stars.

Traditionally, the game has taken place on the day after the mid-summer Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the season (though not the mathematical halfway-point which, for most seasons, is usually one month prior). Both Triple-A leagues share a common All-Star break, with no regular-season games scheduled for two days before the All-Star Game itself. Some additional events, such as the All-Star Fan Fest and Triple-A Home Run Derby, take place each year during this break in the regular season.

Each league's roster consists of 30 players, though the actual number of players on gameday may be less due to call-ups, injuries, or players choosing not to participate.

Thirteen players are elected for each team through a vote by fans, team personnel, and media members. Fans can submit online ballots with votes for one player at each infield position, a catcher, a designated hitter, three outfielders, and four pitchers—two starters and two relievers. Fan balloting accounts for one-third of the total vote.

The ballots of each club's field manager, coaches, and general manager account for another third.Votes from broadcasters and members of the media make up the final third.Once 13 All-Stars are elected, each league office selects an additional 17 players to fill out their roster. One goal of adding these additional players is to make sure every Triple-A team is represented on the All-Star rosters.

Our Triple-A affiliate team. the Chihuahuas, are in the Pacific Coast League (PCL).

The El Paso Chihauhuas have only 2 guys that will be playing Wednesday:Missing is Forrestt Allday who has been playing All-Star quality baseball lately.

First we have Padres, Chihuahuas and Friar Phil favorite LUIS URIAS who is a GEMINI like me born on June 3, 1997!

Here's his bio:

Luis Fernando Urías Figueroa is a Mexican professional baseball infielder in the San Diego Padres organization.

Urías signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in December 2013.

He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Padres and was promoted to the Arizona League Padres after two games; in 45 total games between the two clubs, he batted .297 with 14 RBIs. In 2015, he played for the Tri-City Dust Devils and Fort Wayne TinCaps, posting a combined .299 batting average with 17 RBIs in 61 total games between the two teams. Urías started 2016 with the Lake Elsinore Storm.

Urías was chosen to play for the Mexico national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In 2017, he played for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League, where he posted a .296 batting average with three home runs, 38 RBIs and a .778 OPS.

He began the 2018 season with El Paso.

He bats/throws: R/R Ht: 5' 9" Wt: 185 lbs. I am anxious to see him play Wednesday. I would like to see him come up to the "Big Show" and platoon at Shortstop with Asuje while Pirela returns to El Paso to improve his defensive fielding.

The other player on this year's A-S team is RHP Brett Kennedy.

From Wikipedia: Brett Kennedy (born August 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the San Diego Padres organization.

Kennedy attended Atlantic City High School in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As a junior, he was 3-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched.[46] After graduating, he enrolled at Fordham University where he played college baseball for the Fordham Rams. In 2015, as a junior, he compiled a 6-8 record and 4.14 ERA while striking out 97 and walking only 20 in 87 innings.

Kennedy was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round (327th overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft.[48] He signed and made his professional debut that same year with the Tri-City Dust Devils and spent the whole season there, going 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 12 games (nine starts).

In 2016, he pitched for the Fort Wayne TinCaps and Lake Elsinore Storm, where he was combined 8-11 with a 3.55 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 28 games started between both teams, and in 2017, he played with the San Antonio Missions where he pitched to a 13-7 record and 3.70 ERA in 26 starts.

He began 2018 with the El Paso Chihuahuas. Kennedy was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE:

KEEP AN EYE ON THE MADFRIARS WEBSITE AND THEIR TWITTER ACCOUNT. THEY ARE THE BEST SOURCE OF MiLB NEWS I HAVE FOUND ON THE WEB!

Here are the rest of the guys on this year's PCL roster:

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ROSTER

PITCHERS R.J. Alvarez, RHP -- Round Rock Shawn Armstrong, RHP -- Tacoma Alberto Baldonado, LHP -- Iowa Manny Banuelos, RHP -- Oklahoma City Zac Gallen, RHP -- New Orleans Dakota Hudson, RHP -- Memphis D.J. Johnson, RHP -- Albuquerque Brett Kennedy, RHP -- El Paso James Naile, RHP -- Nashville Trevor Oaks, RHP -- Omaha Daniel Poncedeleon, RHP -- Memphis Tyler Rogers, RHP -- Sacramento Pat Venditte, SHP -- Oklahoma City Bobby Wahl, RHP -- Nashville

CATCHERS Christian Bethancourt, Colorado Springs Rocky Gale, Oklahoma City Garrett Stubbs, Fresno

INFIELDERS Eric Campbell, 2B -- New Orleans J.D. Davis, 3B -- Fresno Josh Fuentes, 3B -- Albuquerque Nate Orf, 2B -- Colorado Springs AJ Reed, 1B -- Fresno Luis Urias, 2B -- El Paso Patrick Wisdom, 3B -- Memphis Chase d'Arnaud, SS -- Sacramento

OUTFIELDERS Jabari Blash, OF -- Salt Lake Zach Borenstein, OF -- Las Vegas Socrates Brito, OF -- Reno Mike Tauchman, OF -- Albuquerque Kyle Tucker, OF -- Fresno Alex Verdugo, OF -- Oklahoma City

DESIGNATED HITTER

Frank Schwindel, Omaha