Eight Braves Make All Star Game (July 9th)

When the Southern League All-Star Game takes place July 9 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., the hometown Braves will be well represented. Mississippi, winners of the SL South Division during the season's first half, placed a league-leading eight players on the South Division All-Star Team, which was announced Wednesday.

Second baseman Diory Hernandez, sixth in the league in hitting with a .319 average, joins the outfield trio of Matt Esquivel (16 homers and tied for league lead in RBIs with 57), Brandon Jones (.276 BA, 11 HRs, 53 RBIs) and Carl Loadenthal (.296 average and a league-leading 26 steals) on the roster.

In addition, four Braves pitchers were named to the squad: Jose Ascanio (2-0, 2.81 ERA, four saves), Joey Devine (2-4, 2.18 and a league-leading 16 saves), Matt Harrison (5-3, 3.13) and Jo-Jo Reyes (8-1, 3.56), who will not play due to his recent promotion to Triple-A Richmond.

Jacksonville, which finished a game behind the Braves during the season's first half, placed six on the All-Star roster. The Suns will send infielder Juan Gonzalez (.284, four HRs, 23 RBIs), outfielder Xavier Paul (.274, eight HRs, 37 RBIs), along with pitchers Eric Cyr (6-2, 2.94) and Jon Meloan (5-2, 2.17) to Pearl. Shortstop Chin-Lung Hu (Futures Game) and outfielder Jason Pridie (promotion) were named to the squad but won't play.

Mega-prospect Evan Longoria (.295, 17 HRs, 57 RBIs) heads a list of five Montgomery Biscuits named to the All-Star team, while former No. 1 overall draft pick Justin Upton (.314, eight HRs, 32 RBIs in the SL) from Mobile was among the five BayBears named. But both players were also selected to represent the U.S. Team at the All-Star Futures Game in San Francisco, so they will be unable to participate in the SL event, as well.

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-3, 2.93), who leads the Southern League in strikeouts with 106 in 86 innings, heads a list of five Birmingham Barons going to Pearl: Gonzalez, second baseman Chris Getz (.316, two homers, 19 RBIs), outfielder Thomas Collaro (.287, 16 HRs, 55 RBIs), designated hitter Donny Lucy (.276, three homers, 13 RBIs), and right-handed pitcher and Staten Island native Jack Egbert (7-6, 3.00).

The South squad may be looking for a little payback come July 9. Last year, in front of nearly 7,500 fans at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, the North team crushed the South Division, 9-4.

Braves manager Phillip Wellman will oversee the South Division club. Wellman, who served as the Braves' hitting coach for the past three seasons, is in his first year at the helm of the club. Under him, the Braves finished the first half of the season with the best record in the Southern League at 42-28.

Wellman told MiLB.com that his job will be an easy one at the SL All-Star Game due to the nature of the exhibition. His greatest challenge, he said, will be to make sure everyone on the roster gets a chance to play and stays injury-free.

"That's why they call it an All-Star Game," Wellman said. "Let them be stars."

Taken from
Southern League.com