I'm sure by now you've heard the announcement or seen it on
www.silverhawks.com that the Silver Hawks will be sending six players to the Midwest League All-Star Game.
The players that made the team are listed below with a few of my comments:
Yazy Arbelo - Not a surprise that Arbelo got the starting nod at first base. He leads the league in homers, RBIs, extra base hits, slugging percentage, and total bases. He has been an absolute beast at the plate and deserves the starting honors.
Matt Helm - Some might be a bit surprised by this, but he has just been the model of consistency at the plate. The average has hovered in the .270 - .300 range all season long, and he has been a RBI machine, particularly with two outs
Ender Inciarte - Again, perhaps a slight surprise given that he didn't start the year with South Bend, but with an average over .300, solid defense, and good speed, Inciarte was a logical candidate for a reserve outfielder.
Zach Walters - Speaking of consistent players, how about Walters? Just plugging away with a .300+ average, six homers, and 36 RBIs to rank first or second on the team in most offensive categories. Not only that, he can play second, third, short, and DH, shining at all positions.
David Holmberg - You might not have guessed it when Holmberg was 0-3, but he is certainly deserving of an all-star nomination now that he is 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA. A bulldog on the mound, Holmberg gives the Silver Hawks a strong chance of winning every time to the hill.
Tyler Green - Another player who has had a great start to the season, despite missing some time on the DL. Even more impressive is when you factor in that this is his first season in professional baseball.
And a few notes on some guys that could have made it, but didn't for various reasons:
Mike Freeman - Started his hot streak way too late to make the All-Star team, but if they were voting again now, he'd had a good chance of being elected.
Raywilly Gomez - Catchers don't get a lot of publicity, especially those without a lot of power. However, Gomez has a great approach at the plate and routinely puts the bat on the ball.
Patrick Schuster - Same numbers of wins and the same ERA as David Holmberg, yet Schuster gets left behind. Arguably one of the bigger snubs on the team.
Dan Taylor - If he didn't have the one start where he allowed four earned runs in 4.0 innings, Taylor would be 2-1 with a 0.71 ERA while holding opponents to a .106 batting average. Translation: ALL STAR.
Blake Cooper/Jeremy Erben/Mike Bolsinger/Eury De La Rosa - Four members of the bullpen from the start of the season with phenomenal numbers, but unfortunately just not enough room on the team to include them.
