Baseball America named their 2014 Minor League All-Star Team on Wednesday and it incorporates all players from Class-A to Triple-A. How many of these players will we see join MLB rosters this month?
The starting infielder for Baseball America's minor league All-Star team includes catcher Blake Swihart (Red Sox), first baseman Matt Olson (Athletics), second baseman Mookie Betts (Red Sox), third baseman Kris Bryant (Cubs), and shortstop Corey Seager (Dodgers).
Betts was promoted earlier this year on June 29, but was sent back down to the minors in the middle of July before being called up again on August 1. He's remained with the team since and is batting .284 with four home runs, 15 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 28 games. Swihart has made his case for a September call up (.293 average with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs in Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket) but there has been no speculation of the Red Sox doing so.
The Chicago Cubs said they would not be calling up Kris Bryant (mainly because of the service time considerations) despite the 22-year-old leading the minors in home runs with 43. Corey Seager, the 20-year-old Dodgers prospect, likely won't be called up because the team promoted outfielder Joc Pederson and second baseman Alex Guerrero on September 1 and it will be hard for them to work in more players. Same goes for Athletics' prospect Matt Olson, who is batting .262 with 37 home runs and 97 RBIs in Class-A Stockton.
The outfield consists of Joc Pederson (Dodgers), Steven Souza (Nationals) and Michael Taylor (Nationals). Pederson, the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year and MVP, made his debut with the Dodgers on Monday night and we'll likely see more of him as the month progresses, while Souza and Taylor were called up by the Nationals earlier this year. They're both on the team's 40-man roster now after being sent back down in August.
The pitching staff includes Tyler Glasnow (Pirates), Kendall Graveman (Blue Jays), Daniel Norris (Blue Jays), Jimmy Nelson (Brewers), Henry Owens (Red Sox), and closer Cam Bedrosian (Angels). Nelson and Bedrosian have already seen major league action this year. The Blue Jays added Norris to their roster on Tuesday and will later add Graveman. Glasnow was selected to take part in the Arizona Fall League, so he'll likely rest until the league begins on October 7, while Red Sox GM Ben Cherington is mulling a promotion for Owens.
Oh yeah, and Rangers prospect Joey Gallo is the team's designated hitter. The 20-year-old third baseman batted .271 in both Class-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs. However, Rangers GM Jon Daniels said the youngster would not be promoted this season.
You can check out more details about Baseball America's minor league All-Star team here.
