Quad Cities leads all Western Division teams with three starters for June 23 game at Dozer Park in Peoria
DAVENPORT, Iowa (June 5, 2015) - Three Quad Cities River Bandits were selected to start the 2015 Midwest League All-Star Game, and one was named as a reserve for the Western Division in the June 23 game at Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill., the Midwest League announced on Thursday. Quad Cities was the only Western Division with multiple players named as starters.
River Bandits catcher Jacob Nottingham, second baseman Mott Hyde and third baseman Nick Tanielu were selected by Western Divison field managers to start the 51st Midwest League All-Star Game. River Bandits right-hander Austin Chrismon was named as a pitcher. The four All-Stars are the most to represent Quad Cities since 2012. The last time Quad Cities had three players start an All-Star Game was 2006, when Bryan Anderson, Colby Rasmus, and Randy Roth all represented the club in the Western Division starting lineup.
Nottingham, 20, was the youngest starter named to the Western Division roster. A sixth-round pick by the Houston Astros in the 2013 First-Year Players Draft out of Redlands (Calif.) High School, Nottingham leads the Midwest League with a .590 slugging percentage and .988 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS), and leads all Astros minor leaguers with a .342 batting average. He is tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (23), tied for second in total bases (95), is third in batting average, and is tied for fourth in home runs (eight). Through Wednesday, he led all Midwest League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage and a 59.1 percent rate (13-for-22) in catching attempted base stealers. Nottingham is currently ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the Astros organization by MLB.com. He leads the River Bandits with 33 RBIs and was named the Quad Cities Player of the Month for May, when he led the team with a .355 batting average, four home runs, 13 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs, a .591 slugging percentage and .997 OPS.
Hyde, 23, was the Astros' 26th round pick in the 2014 draft out of Georgia Tech University. The Resaca, Ga., native is tied for second in the Midwest League with 16 doubles and leads all Western Division second baseman with 31 runs, 27 bases on balls, a .387 on-base percentage and .801 OPS. He is the only River Bandit this season to win Midwest League Player of the Week, which he won for April 27-May 3, when he was 11-for-22 with four doubles, one triple, three RBIs, five runs scored, four walks and no strikeouts in six games. Hyde has played a team-high 47 games through Thursday, starting 28 games at second base, 10 at shortstop and eight as the designated hitter for Quad Cities this season.
Tanielu, 22, was the Astros' 14th round pick in the 2014 draft out of Washington State University. The Huntsville, Ala., native is 14th in the Midwest League and ninth among Astros minor leaguers with a .307 batting average. He leads Quad Cities in batting average on the road (.333), with runners on base (.419) and with runners in scoring position (.457). Tanielu is second to Nottingham on the River Bandits team in batting average, RBIs (25) and hits (50) this season. Tanielu has started 40 games at third base, one at first base and two as a designated hitter for Quad Cities. He was the MVP of the New York-Penn League All-Star Game in 2014, when he started as a designated hitter and went 3-for-3, including a hit to drive in the only run for the North All-Stars in what ended as a 1-1, nine-inning tie.
Chrismon, 22, became the first player ever drafted out of Christopher Newport (Va.) University when he was taken by Houston in the 26th round of the June 2013 draft. The Newport News, Va., native is 4-1 with two saves in 10 games (six starts) this season and ranks third among qualifying Astros minor leaguers and ninth in the Midwest League with 1.07 walks-plus-hits per inning pitched (WHIP). He is also fifth among Astros minor leaguers in ERA (2.93) and opponents' average (.251). He also leads Quad Cities in innings pitched (46) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.00) this season.
The Western Division will be led in the All-Star Game by the Peoria Chiefs field staff, including Chiefs manager Joe Kruzel, who was the River Bandits hitting coach from 2008 to 2012.
Through Thursday, Quad Cities was 37-17, a mark that gave the club the best record in all of professional baseball.
UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is hosting a Father's Day Cookout for the 1:15 p.m. game Sunday, June 21. Call 563-324-3000 to order a package that includes a game ticket and access to the all-you-can-eat buffet in the Budweiser Champions Club. The day includes a Mega Mini-Fridge Giveaway presented by Budweiser and 7G Distributing and is a Family Sunday presented by B100 and ESPN 93.5. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
