The Florida State League announced the All-Star selections for their June 15th All-Star game. The Bradenton Marauders had seven players selected.
Outfielders Travis Swaggerty and Calvin Mitchell, shortstop Robbie Glendinning, third baseman Dylan Busby and pitchers Cody Bolton, Luis Escobar and Joel Cesar were all chosen to represent the Marauders.
The obvious choices here are Bolton, Mitchell and Glendinning. Bolton has been one of the best pitchers in the league, posting a 1.90 ERA in 42.2 innings, with an 0.96 WHIP and 44 strikeouts. Mitchell is hitting .295/.332/.457 with nine doubles, two triples and five homers. Glendinning is batting .320/.358/.583 with ten doubles, a triple and five homers in 27 games. He spent the start of the season with Altoona, where he had a .300 average and an .848 OPS.
The other four players haven’t had great seasons or full seasons. Busby was putting on a show early in the year with ten homers, but he’s now down to a .197 average and 59 strikeouts in 41 games. His last home run was 19 days ago. Swaggerty is having a solid season, especially considering it’s a pitcher-friendly league, but it’s not numbers that stand out when you think of All-Stars. He’s hitting .253/.347/.367 in 40 games. His OPS is 44 points behind fellow Bradenton outfielder Chris Sharpe, who also leads the team in stolen bases, which makes you wonder why Sharpe wasn’t the choice.
Escobar and Cesar pitched great with the Marauders, but they combined for just 25.2 innings and neither has been with the team since May 8th. The fact that they were both selected, while starter Domingo Robles with his 2.61 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 62 innings didn’t make the team, doesn’t make much sense. Robles has thrown 9.1 more innings than anyone else in the FSL. The possible saving grace here is that guys who need to be replaced on the roster in the minors, are almost always replaced by teammates.
Regardless of snubs or questionable choices, having seven players chosen for the All-Star game is quite an impressive number.
