The Eastern League announced the rosters for their July 15th All-Star game on Wednesday and five players from the Altoona Curve are on the Western squad. The Curve will be represented by pitcher Jason Creasy, first baseman Josh Bell, infielder Dan Gamache, INF/OF Adam Frazier and second baseman Max Moroff.
Moroff(pictured above) has been the biggest surprise in the minors for the Pirates this year, although Frazier is quickly gaining on him. Moroff is second in the EL in batting average with a .323 mark, just one point behind the leader. He also ranks ninth in OPS, first in runs, first in hits, third in OBP, third in walks, fourth in total bases and tied for seventh in doubles.
Josh Bell has had trouble in the field during his first full year at first base, but his hitting has been great all season. He is third in the EL in batting, third in OBP(one point behind Moroff), second in hits, first in triples, fifth in total bases(two behind Moroff), fourth in walks(one behind Moroff) and eighth in OPS.
Dan Gamache got off to a horrible start this season, and missed some time, so he doesn’t qualify for league leaders. In 156 at-bats, he is hitting .308/.349/.468 with five homers and eight doubles. He was hitting .079 through the first full month of the season.
Adam Frazier missed the first month due to a hand injury and he hasn’t been in the lineup everyday, so he’s a bit of a surprise based only on the fact he has 124 at-bats all season. He has been the better hitter for Altoona since his return, batting .363/.419/.484, with a .419 average in his last nine games. With Gift Ngoepe promoted to Indianapolis, Frazier has started twice in a row at shortstop. He has spent more time in center field, but has also played third base and left field this year.
Jason Creasy is the only pitcher on the staff, which would have been hard to believe at the end of April when Altoona had the best ERA in all of baseball. Since then, Tyler Glasnow has been injured, Angel Sanchez has been promoted and both Chad Kuhl and Zack Dodson have cooled down. Creasy himself hasn’t been as good as early in the year either. His 8-1 record probably helped him get into the All-Star game. He has a 2.99 ERA in 87.1 innings, but his 32:36 BB/SO ratio leaves something to be desired. Creasy ranks 14th in the league in ERA.
