Four Chihuahuas named to All-PCL team
ROUND ROCK, Texas – The Pacific Coast League announced Monday the 2016 All-PCL Team, as voted on by the league’s field managers and media representatives. The youthful 12-man roster features nine players who participated in this year’s Triple-A All-Star Game, eight who are 25-years-old or younger and seven who have yet to appear in a major league game.
The infield is comprised of Reno’s Kyle Jensen at first base, El Paso’s Carlos Asuaje at second base, Colorado Springs’ Orlando Arcia at shortstop and Oklahoma City’s Rob Segedin at third base. Jensen is Minor League Baseball’s RBI leader (120); his 30 home runs have bested all Triple-A players. Asuaje and Segedin are tied for fourth in the league in batting (.319), while Asuaje’s 162 hits lead Triple-A. Arcia has a .723 OPS in his first year at Minor League Baseball’s highest classification.
The Chihuahuas’ Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot and Tacoma’s Stefen Romero make up the outfield.
Renfroe ranks in the league’s top five in total bases (1st – 283), home runs (2nd – 28), RBI (2nd – 99), hits (2nd – 155), slugging percentage (3rd – .559) and runs (3rd – 91). Romero has hit .314 with 226 total bases and a .558 slugging percentage, placing him among league leaders in all three categories. Margot has paced the PCL with 12 triples, while collecting 151 hits and 92 runs in 117 games.
The fourth Chihuahua, 24-year-old Austin Hedges, is the team’s catcher. He has compiled 79 RBI in 77 games, becoming the only PCL player this season to have more RBI than games played (minimum 15 games). El Paso is the first club since the 2012 Albuquerque Isotopes to have four representatives. Tacoma Rainier Dan Vogelbach was voted the designated hitter. The 23-year-old owns a league-high 90 walks, with his 90 RBI trailing only Jensen and Renfroe for the league best. Vogelbach spent his first 89 games this season with the Iowa Cubs before being acquired by the Mariners in a mid-July trade.
Fresno’s Brady Rodgers, who started for the PCL in the All-Star Game, earns a spot as the right-handed starting pitcher. The Arizona State product is pacing the league with a 2.91 ERA in 130.0 innings and has gone 11-1 in his last 14 starts. PCL wins leader Ty Blach, a member of the Sacramento River Cats, is the left-handed starting pitcher. The southpaw also tops the PCL with 162.2 innings and three complete games. The Grizzlies’ James Hoyt, with his Triple-A-leading 29 saves, earns the nod as the top relief pitcher. The Idaho native has struck out 91 hitters and allowed just 27 hits in 54.0 innings.
