Swanson Heads Southern League All-Star Roster

The Southern League’s all-star game will be held on June 21 at Mississippi’s TrustMark Park, and the game’s rosters were announced over the course of the past two days.

The host M-Braves have four representatives, including former shortstop Dansby Swanson, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft. Swanson was dealt from the Diamondbacks to the Braves as part of the package to obtain righthander Shelby Miller. After a quick stop at high Class A Carolina, Swanson is hitting .277/.361/.438 with five doubles, four homers and 17 RBIs.

Joining Swanson are outfielder designated hitter Dustin Peterson, righthander Chris Ellis and catcher Willians Astudillo. Astudillo, signed as a minor league free agent, has struck out just 16 times over his last 550 at-bats and consistently leads the minor leagues in lowest strikeout rate.

The second highest-ranked player from this year’s Top 100 is Montgomery shortstop Willy Adames, who checked in at No. 46. The 20-year-old Adames, acquired by the Rays from the Tigers as part of the package for David Price two Julys ago, is hitting .284/.386/.502 with 19 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBIs. Scouts are split on whether Adames can stick at shortstop, but they agree that he can hit.

A pair of twice-traded Brewers prospects—catcher Jacob Nottingham and lefthander Josh Hader—also stand out on the Northern Division’s roster. Nottingham, who was originally drafted by the Astros in 2013 was then dealt to the A’s (with righty Daniel Mengden) for lefty Scott Kazmir. Nottingham was on the move again in February, traded with righty Bubba Derby to the Brewers for outfield Khris Davis. Nottingham is hitting .259/.321/.402 with four doubles, seven home runs and 19 RBIs Double-A Biloxi.

Hader, originally drafted by the Orioles in the 19th round in 2012, was dealt to Houston in 2013 and then again last July as part of the four-prospect package that sent Carlos Gomez to the Astros. Hader, a low-slot lefty with mid-90s velocity, has been particularly nasty this season. He’s allowed just 38 hits in 57 innings with Biloxi while striking out 73. He’s 2-1, 0.95.

Southern League All-Stars
NORTHERN DIVISION
Position	First Name	Last Name	Team
C	Willians	Astudillo	Mississippi
C	Jacob	Nottingham	Biloxi
1B	Garrett	Cooper	Biloxi
2B	Brandon	Dixon	Pensacola
3B	Kevin	Medrano	Mobile
SS	Dansby	Swanson	Mississippi
IF	Peter	Mooney	Jacksonville
DH	Dustin	Peterson	Mississippi
OF	Austin	Dean	Jacksonville
OF	Mitch	Haniger	Mobile
OF	Brett	Phillips	Biloxi
OF	Moises	Sierra	Jacksonville
OF	Yefri	Perez	Jacksonville
LHP	Anthony	Banda	Mobile
RHP	Tyler	Bremer	Jacksonville
RHP	Austin	Brice	Jacksonville
RHP	Alejandro	Chacin	Pensacola
RHP	Chris	Ellis	Mississippi
RHP	Jake	Esch	Jacksonville
LHP	Amir	Garrett	Pensacola
LHP	Daniel	Gibson	Mobile
LHP	Josh	Hader	Biloxi
RHP	Joey	Krehbiel	Mobile
LHP	Stephen	Peterson	Biloxi
RHP	Jackson	Stephens	Pensacola
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Position	First Name	Last Name	Team
C	Victor	Caratini	Tennessee
C	Mitch	Garver	Chattanooga
1B	Casey	Gillaspie	Montgomery
2B	Chesny	Young	Tennessee
3B	Jeimer	Candelario	Tennessee
SS	Willy	Adames	Montgomery
IF	Jake	Peter	Birmingham
DH	Dan	Palka	Chattanooga
OF	Guillermo	Heredia	Jackson
OF	Tyler	O’Neill	Jackson
OF	Eudy	Pina	Birmingham
OF	Mark	Zagunis	Tennessee
OF	Travis	Harrison	Chattanooga
RHP	Brett	Ash	Jackson
RHP	D.J.	Baxendale	Chattanooga
RHP	Paul	Blackburn	Tennessee
LHP	Brian	Clark	Birmingham
RHP	Jake	Faria	Montgomery
RHP	Trevor	Hildenberger	Chattanooga
RHP	Chih-Wei	Hu	Montgomery
LHP	Chris	Kirsch	Montgomery
RHP	Brad	Markey	Tennessee
RHP	Emilio	Pagan	Jackson
RHP	Dylan	Unsworth	Jackson
LHP	Ryan	Yarbrough	Jackson