Five Biscuits Make Southern League Mid-Season All-Star Team
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (biscuitsbaseball.com) – The Southern League announced Tuesday that five Montgomery Biscuits players have been named Mid-Season Southern League All-Stars for the 2016 Southern League All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday, June 21 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. Representing the Biscuits are shortstop Willy Adames, pitcher Jake Faria, first baseman Casey Gillaspie, pitcher Chih-Wei Hu, and pitcher Chris Kirsch.
Adames has burst onto the scene in just his first year at the Double-A level on his way to his first midseason All-Star selection. The Dominican shortstop is currently hitting .283 with 7 home runs and 24 RBI in 55 games for the Biscuits, and is tied for the Southern League lead in extra-base hits with 28. Adames also leads the league in runs scored (41), and is second in doubles (20), total bases (100), and walks (32). The 20-year-old has also tallied four game-winning hits in the ninth inning this season.
Faria, who is pitching in his first full first half in Double-A, has continued to flummox hitters across the south. The 2015 minor league leader in wins is just 1-5, with a 4.62 ERA, but has dominated on the mound with 70 strikeouts in 64.1 innings pitched going into Tuesday. The 70 strikeouts are second in the league behind Biloxi’s Josh Hader and Biscuits teammate Ryne Stanek who each have 73. Opponents are also hitting just .204 off the 22-year-old right-hander, which is third-best in the Southern League.
Gillaspie, also in his first full year at Double-A has proven to be an on-base threat throughout the first half. The 23-year-old first baseman has the Southern League’s best on-base percentage (.420), and leads the league in walks with 39 in 54 games. Gillaspie has the three longest on-base streaks on the team with clips of 12, 18, and now 21, and has been on base in 51 of 54 starts for the Biscuits. The switch-hitter has also hit nine home runs, which is the fourth-most in the Southern League.
Hu has put together a remarkable first year at the Double-A level and has kept hitters off-balance all season long. The 22-year-old is 2-3 in 2016, but has consistently had an ERA in top ten in the league. His current ERA of just 1.96 is fourth-best in the Southern League, and the Biscuits won the first six games that the right-hander started this season. The Taiwan native has also struck out 49 batters in 55 innings and allowed just one home run all year.
Kirsch, like the rest of his teammates, is a first-time midseason All-Star selection, and the left-hander has fared well in his second season in Double-A. The 24-year-old, who is the only lefty in Montgomery’s starting rotation, was the first Biscuit starter to reach three wins in 2016 and had a ERA of 1.06 in his first three starts that included wins over the Tennessee Smokies and the first-place Jackson Generals. Kirsch is currently 3-2 with an ERA of 4.00.
The 2016 edition of the Southern League All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday, June 21 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. Players were selected by a vote of League field managers, radio broadcasters, general managers and print media. All players on Southern League rosters as of May 31 are eligible in the voting process.
