Minor League All-Star Teams

July 13, 2006


Kendrick earned his first big league promotion in April, but hit just .115 over his first 26 at-bats, earning a ticket back to Salt Lake. He had no such trouble upon his return to the minors, as he proceeded to hit .369 for Salt Lake, raising his career mark to .361 over 1,472 minor league at-bats. Kendrick, 23, was leading all players at the Triple-A level with a .627 slugging percentage, the product of 43 extra-base hits. Major league pitchers were able to get Kendrick to expand his zone, and a low walk total remained the only blemish on his resume.

Pos.	Player, Team	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
C	Carlos Ruiz, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Phillies)	215	35	66	14	0	7	34	23	31	3	.307	.381	.470
1B	James Loney, Las Vegas (Dodgers)	270	47	104	21	2	7	46	20	22	7	.385	.426	.556
2B	Howie Kendrick, Salt Lake (Angels)	287	56	106	25	5	13	61	12	48	11	.369	.409	.627
3B	Josh Fields, Charlotte (White Sox)	295	56	97	23	3	13	52	39	91	17	.329	.408	.559
SS	Stephen Drew, Tucson (Diamondbacks)	337	54	96	15	3	13	51	32	49	3	.285	.340	.463
OF	Scott Hairston, Tucson (Diamondbacks)	250	51	85	15	1	18	55	32	49	2	.340	.422	.624
OF	Chris Denorfia, Louisville (Reds)	262	38	91	14	1	4	34	30	31	14	.347	.409	.454
OF	Shin-Soo Choo, Tacoma (Mariners)	318	60	104	18	3	11	42	39	59	22	.327	.401	.506
DH	Scott Thorman, Richmond (Braves)	256	35	83	14	2	15	44	30	44	3	.324	.394	.570
Pos.	Player, Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Jeremy Sowers, Buffalo (Indians)	9	1	1.39	15	15	2	0	97	78	1	29	54	.224
SP	Jered Weaver, Salt Lake (Angels)	6	1	2.10	12	11	2	0	77	63	7	10	93	.223
SP	Tom Gorzelanny, Indianapolis (Pirates)	6	5	2.35	16	16	0	0	100	67	4	27	94	.194
SP	Jason Hirsh, Round Rock (Astros)	10	2	2.28	18	18	1	0	110	81	4	45	99	.206
RP	Pat Neshek, Rochester (Twins)	6	2	1.95	33	0	0	14	60	41	7	14	87	.189

Wood is the extra-base hit master. The 21-year-old mashed 58 homers last year between high Class A Rancho Cucamonga, the Arizona Fall League and Team USA and led the minors in doubles, total bases and extra-base hits. This season, it's been more of the same story at Double-A Arkansas. While he has an incredibly high number of strikeouts, Wood is one of the elite power hitters in the minors, and has actually improved his walk total this season.

Pos.	Players, Teams	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
C	Kurt Suzuki, Midland (Athletics)	293	45	88	20	1	6	44	46	40	4	.300	.406	.437
1B	Joey Votto, Chattanooga (Reds)	333	60	109	29	2	19	56	43	76	15	.327	.403	.598
2B	Elliot Johnson, Montgomery (Devil Rays)	322	46	97	13	8	13	39	25	76	15	.301	.353	.512
3B	Alex Gordon, Wichita (Royals)	289	60	86	24	1	11	40	43	61	16	.298	.402	.502
SS	Brandon Wood, Arkansas (Angels)	331	54	96	31	2	19	61	43	108	13	.290	.376	.568
OF	Adam Lind, New Hampshire (Blue Jays)	328	41	102	23	0	17	65	22	80	2	.311	.355	.537
OF	Billy Butler, Wichita (Royals)	338	56	109	24	0	10	59	31	51	0	.322	.383	.482
OF	Hunter Pence, Corpus Christi (Astros)	331	61	95	18	5	20	63	30	72	10	.287	.347	.553
DH	Joe Koshansky, Tulsa (Rockies)	314	54	93	19	0	21	67	40	87	2	.296	.372	.668
Pos.	Player, Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Humberto Sanchez, Erie (Tigers)	5	3	1.76	11	11	0	0	72	47	2	27	86	.190
SP	Matt Garza, New Britain (Twins)	6	2	2.51	10	10	0	0	57	40	2	14	68	.181
SP	Matt Albers, Corpus Christi (Astros)	10	2	1.98	17	17	0	0	104	85	3	40	84	.220
SP	Ubaldo Jimenez, Tulsa (Rockies)	9	2	2.45	13	13	0	0	73	49	2	40	86	.194
RP	Juan Salas, Montgomery (Devil Rays)	3	0	0.00	23	0	0	14	35	13	0	14	52	.110

Though Kevin Slowey put up better peripheral numbers, it’s hard to overlook Lofgren’s amazing season in the Carolina League, especially since he is just 20 years old—two years younger than Winthrop product Slowey. Lofgren didn’t quite average a strikeout per inning, but he racked up 11 wins and a tidy 1.95 ERA thanks to his ability to induce plenty of ground balls. Nevertheless, he ranks fifth in the CL in strikeouts while leading the league in wins and ERA.

Pos.	Player, Team	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
C	Jake Fox, Daytona (Cubs)	249	45	78	15	1	16	61	27	49	4	.313	.383	.574
1B	Cody Ehlers, Tampa (Yankees)	312	44	91	22	1	13	76	29	55	3	.292	.349	.494
2B	Yung Chi Chen, Inland Empire (Mariners)	278	49	95	17	3	5	48	22	40	21	.342	.388	.478
3B	Chase Headley, Lake Elsinore (Padres)	319	52	94	24	0	10	46	45	61	1	.295	.381	.464
SS	Reid Brignac, Visalia (Devil Rays)	335	69	107	21	2	16	61	28	62	8	.319	.375	.537
OF	Brett Gardner, Tampa (Yankees)	232	46	75	12	5	0	22	43	51	30	.323	.433	.418
OF	Carlos Gonzalez, Lancaster (Diamondbacks)	310	62	97	31	3	13	74	22	78	11	.313	.366	.558
OF	Ryan Patterson, Dunedin (Blue Jays)	354	65	102	25	0	19	69	20	61	2	.288	.327	.520
DH	Mark Reynolds, Lancaster (Diamondbacks)	273	64	92	18	2	23	77	41	72	1	.337	.422	.670
Pos.	Pitcher, Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Yovani Gallardo, Brevard County (Brewers)	6	3	2.09	13	13	0	0	78	54	4	23	103	.196
SP	Chuck Lofgren, Kinston (Indians)	11	3	1.95	16	16	0	0	88	63	1	33	81	.203
SP	Kevin Slowey, Fort Myers (Twins)	4	2	1.01	14	14	0	0	89	52	2	9	99	.164
SP	Greg Smith, Lancaster (Diamondbacks)	9	0	1.63	13	13	2	0	88	57	3	31	71	.190
RP	Brian Anderson, San Jose (Giants)	0	0	1.24	36	0	0	26	44	26	3	13	49	.170

Low Class A is loaded this season with five outfielders drafted in the first round out of high school in 2005. While all of them are at least holding their own, none is performing as well as Dayton outfielder Jay Bruce. The 12th overall pick is not just lighting up the Midwest League leader board, but the minor league leader board as well. The 19-year-old leads the minors in doubles as well as extra-base hits. While the rest of the talented outfield quintet had been on the prospect radar for years, The Boss emerged as one before his senior year of high school. Two years later, one might say he has as much going for him as any of them.

Pos.	Player, Team	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
C	J.R. Towles, Lexington (Astros)	210	29	66	17	1	8	37	17	36	10	.314	.387	.519
1B	Kala Kaaihue, Rome (Braves)	228	44	75	16	2	15	49	52	66	3	.329	.458	.614
2B	Jeff Natale, Greenville (Red Sox)	175	38	60	10	0	10	41	41	20	2	.343	.487	.571
3B	Eric Campbell, Rome (Braves)	316	61	93	19	3	14	56	15	48	10	.294	.333	.506
SS	Brent Lillibridge, Hickory (Pirates)	274	59	82	18	5	11	43	51	61	29	.299	.414	.522
OF	Jay Bruce, Dayton (Reds)	329	52	106	36	5	13	60	33	73	12	.322	.388	.581
OF	Colby Rasmus, Quad Cities (Cardinals)	303	49	94	22	3	11	50	29	55	17	.310	.373	.512
OF	Jose Tabata, Charleston (Yankees)	293	46	94	22	1	5	50	28	56	14	.321	.395	.454
DH	Sergio Pedroza, Dodgers (Columbus)	304	59	87	24	1	20	73	67	88	2	.286	.436	.569
Pos.	Pitcher, Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Nick Adenhart, Cedar Rapids (Angels)	10	2	1.95	16	16	1	0	106	84	2	26	99	.215
SP	Tip Fairchild, Lexington (Astros)	10	3	1.66	18	16	1	0	109	90	5	19	98	.227
SP	Matt Maloney, Lakewood (Phillies)	9	5	1.61	16	16	2	0	101	65	3	44	110	.179
SP	Jacob McGee, Southwest Michigan (Devil Rays)	6	6	2.52	18	18	0	0	96	74	4	47	120	.213
RP	Anthony Claggett, West Michigan (Tigers)	4	1	0.46	31	0	0	7	39	25	0	13	40	.189