{"id":12491,"date":"2010-06-21T01:09:05","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T05:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=12491"},"modified":"2020-12-25T17:37:03","modified_gmt":"2020-12-25T22:37:03","slug":"competitors-ready-for-all-star-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2010\/06\/21\/competitors-ready-for-all-star-monday\/","title":{"rendered":"Competitors ready for All-Star Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TinCaps<\/p>\n

Press release from the TinCaps:<\/p>\n

Competitors ready for All-Star Monday<\/strong>
\nTop talents go toe-to-toe in throwing contests, Home Run Derby<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The lineups are tentatively set for the Midwest League Home Run Derby and\u00c2\u00a0Skills Challenge, set for Monday at Parkview Field. Six first-round draft picks are among the players\u00c2\u00a0expected to showcase their skills.<\/p>\n

Two first-rounders from last year’s draft, Cedar Rapids OF Mike Trout and Clinton INF Nick\u00c2\u00a0Franklin, will slug it out in the Home Run Derby. They are expected to be joined by Quad Cities\u00c2\u00a0INF Matt Adams and Wisconsin OF Khris Davis as the Western Division’s contingency. Franklin\u00c2\u00a0ranks second in the league with 14 home runs. Davis wowed the crowd by launching an estimated\u00c2\u00a0425-foot missile to center field earlier this month at Parkview Field.<\/p>\n

From the East, Jerry Sands could be the early favorite after blasting a league-best 18 home runs\u00c2\u00a0for the Great Lakes Loons. Sands also paces the league with 46 RBIs and a .657 slugging\u00c2\u00a0percentage. Fort Wayne INF Nate Freiman is expected to hit at his home ballpark; the 6-foot-8\u00c2\u00a0slugger has cracked six home runs and possesses immense raw power. South Bend INF Matt\u00c2\u00a0Davidson was a supplemental first-round pick by the Diamondbacks last year and has hit nine\u00c2\u00a0round-trippers this season. Dayton INF Henry Rodriguez has driven six long balls in the first half.<\/p>\n

The Midwest League sluggers will be joined by 2010 Garrett High School grad Spencer Burns<\/a>,\u00c2\u00a0who won the TinCaps’ Hometown Hitters competition which pitted Northeast Indiana’s top highschool\u00c2\u00a0hitters against each other. Burns topped Elmhurst High’s Kristian Gayday, 1-0, in a playoff\u00c2\u00a0on Wednesday. Burns, who will hit with an aluminum bat, will attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater this fall and play on the Warhawks’ football team which is an NCAA Division-III\u00c2\u00a0powerhouse.<\/p>\n

Prior to the Home Run Derby, twelve All-Stars will take part in the MWL Skills Challenge. In the outfield throwing competition, Beloit’s Aaron Hicks, Quad Cities’ D’Marcus Ingram, Lake\u00c2\u00a0County’s Bo Greenwell and Fort Wayne’s Danny Payne are the probable participants. Hicks was\u00c2\u00a0a first-round selection by the Twins in 2008, is rated Minnesota’s top prospect and ranked as the\u00c2\u00a0best outfield arm in the Twins’ organization by Baseball America. Payne is among the league\u00c2\u00a0leaders with seven outfield assists this year and Greenwell is right behind with six.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin’s Scooter Gennett, Peoria’s Hak-Ju Lee, Great Lakes’ Christian Lara and South\u00c2\u00a0Bend’s Chris Owings are expected to compete in the infield throwing challenge. Lee was a key\u00c2\u00a0signee for the Cubs out of South Korea and was rated the best prospect in the Short-A Northwest\u00c2\u00a0League last year. Owings was a supplemental first-round selection by the Diamondbacks in 2009.<\/p>\n

Burlington’s Wil Myers, Kane County’s Max Stassi, Lansing’s A.J. Jimenez and Lake County’s\u00c2\u00a0Roberto Perez are set to display their arms in the catchers’ throwing competition. Myers is rated\u00c2\u00a0the Royals’ No. 3 prospect after being drafted in the third round last year. Stassi, only 19, is\u00c2\u00a0Oakland’s fourth-best prospect according to Baseball America. Jimenez and Perez are statistically\u00c2\u00a0the league’s best catchers when it comes to throwing out runners. Jimenez has thrown out 53\u00c2\u00a0percent of runners trying to steal while Perez has cut down 47 percent.<\/p>\n

The throwing events will test the players’ accuracy and arm strength. Competitors will throw\u00c2\u00a0toward targets with small bull’s-eyes in the center. Throws which hit the target count for a single\u00c2\u00a0point; throws hitting the bull’s-eye are worth three points.<\/p>\n

Monday’s schedule is as follows:<\/p>\n