West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer announced the league’s all-star selections for its 2019 All-Star Game this morning. This year’s mid-summer classic is being held Tuesday, July 23 in Bend at Vince Genna Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm.
“Overseeing the West Coast League’s All-Star selection process is both a blessing and a burden … for the same reason! Far too many talented players with compelling All-Star credentials! But with the help of Northwest area scouts, Baseball America, and all of our canny head coaches, I’m confident that this year’s All-Star Game in Bend will be the greatest talent showcase in West Coast League history,” said WCL Commissioner Rob Neyer.
The night prior to the All-Star Game on Monday, July 22, the WCL’s top sluggers will battle in the annual WCL All-Star Game Home Run Derby. The derby starts at 6:30 pm. Later this week, WCL All-Star Home Run Derby representatives will be announced for each team.
The North will be coached by Ryan Wright of the Kelowna Falcons, while the South will be led by Bend Elks skipper Joe Dominiak and his staff.
The North Division is comprised of the Bellingham Bells, Kelowna Falcons, Port Angeles Lefties, Wenatchee AppleSox, Victoria HarbourCats and Yakima Valley Pippins. The South Division is made up of the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, Cowlitz Black Bears, Portland Pickles, Ridgefield Raptors and Walla Walla Sweets.
The Corvallis Knights lead the way with seven selections while the Victoria HarbourCats have the second-most with six. Both the Knights and HarbourCats were the first-half winners in their respective divisions and they have the top two overall records in the league.
One of the standouts heading to Bend is infielder Brooks Lee of the Corvallis Knights. Lee, who will play for the South All-Stars, was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 37 overall prospect going into this year’s MLB Draft. Despite being selected by the San Francisco Giants, the incoming freshman will head to college and play for his dad at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Cal State Fullerton hurler Joe Magrisi of the Yakima Valley Pippins headlines the pitching staff for the North. Magrisi has already been named the WCL’s Moss Adams Pitcher of the Week twice this season. So far this summer he leads the WCL in both ERA (0.63) and strikeouts (53).
Both catchers for the North are red-hot sluggers from the Victoria HarbourCats. Tyson Hays of Illinois State is hitting .422 in 14 games. His teammate and fellow catcher Frankie Niemann of Tulane has a .400 batting average in 26 games.
This year’s North and South rosters feature seven players from the Pac-12 Conference, six from the Big West Conference and five from the West Coast Conference.
Tickets to the WCL All-Star Game can be purchased by clicking here.
NORTH
C – Tyson Hays of Illinois State (Victoria HarbourCats)
C – Frankie Niemann of Tulane (Victoria HarbourCats)
INF – Matthew Christian of Campbell (Port Angeles Lefties)
INF – Troy Viola of San Jose State (Bellingham Bells)
INF – Ryan Altenberger of Xavier (Wenatchee AppleSox)
INF – Cole Cummings of Pima CC (Kelowna Falcons)
INF – Parker Bramlett of Angelo State (Victoria HarbourCats)
OF – Guthrie Morrison of Gonzaga (Bellingham Bells)
OF – Cole McKenzie of Purdue (Wenatchee AppleSox)
OF – Jason Willow of UC Santa Barbara (Victoria HarbourCats)
OF – Jack Machtolf of Gonzaga (Bellingham Bells)
OF – Nick Plaia of Cal Baptist (Victoria HarbourCats)
P – Joe Magrisi of Cal State Fullerton (Yakima Valley Pippins)
P – Nick Proctor of Cal (Bellingham Bells)
P – Jimmy Chatfield of Yale (Bellingham Bells)
P – Kristian Scott of Chico State (Kelowna Falcons)
P – A.C. Chavez of St. Mary’s (Port Angeles Lefties)
P – Jack Hyde of San Diego (Victoria HarbourCats)
P – Sam Wyatt of Northern Colorado (Wenatchee AppleSox)
P – Jake Saum of UCLA (Wenatchee AppleSox)
P – Jack Gonzales of Dixie State (Yakima Valley Pippins)
SOUTH
C – Zack Moeller of Utah (Corvallis Knights)
C – Steve Ramirez of Riverside CC (Ridgefield Raptors)
INF – Andy Atwood of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Corvallis Knights)
INF – Justin Folz of St John’s (Walla Walla Sweets)
INF – Michael Curialle of UCLA (Corvallis Knights)
INF – Zach Needham of Lewis-Clark State (Bend Elks)
INF – Brooks Lee of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Corvallis Knights)
OF – Patrick Caulfield of UCLA (Walla Walla Sweets)
OF – Briley Knight of Utah (Corvallis Knights)
OF – Michael Hicks of Boise State (Ridgefield Raptors)
OF – Jake Holcroft of Portland (Corvallis Knights)
OF – Austin Bell of Dallas Baptist (Cowlitz Black Bears)
P – Carter Benbrook of UC Santa Barbara (Ridgefield Raptors)
P – Gil Luna of Arizona (Bend Elks)
P – Timothy Josten of Cal State Fullerton (Corvallis Knights)
P – Rance Pittman of Southeast Missouri State (Cowlitz Black Bears)
P – Titus Groeneweg of Cal State Fullerton (Portland Pickles)
P – Travis Craven of Whitman (Walla Walla Sweets)
P – Conner Thurman of San Diego (Portland Pickles)
P – Reid Sebby of Nevada-Reno (Walla Walla Sweets)
P – Ryan Kaser of Lewis-Clark State (Bend Elks)
Note: Universities and colleges noted are where players will be enrolled this upcoming school year.
About the West Coast League:
The West Coast League (WCL) is the premier summer collegiate baseball league west of the Mississippi. Situated in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the 15-year-old, 12-team, professionally operated wood-bat league showcases pro prospects from major conferences around the nation. Every summer, the league features unparalleled fan and player experiences, with the best summer weather in North America. Ninety alums and current players of WCL teams were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, including the No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman. In 2018, 294 WCL alums appeared or were active in affiliated professional baseball, including 39 in the major leagues, such as 2019 MLB All-Star Game MVP Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians); standout outfielder Mitch Haniger (Seattle Mariners); ace hurler James Paxton (New York Yankees); slugger Rhys Hoskins (Philadelphia Phillies); and rising star pitchers Marco Gonzales (Seattle Mariners) and Matt Boyd (Detroit Tigers). Overall member attendance was 496,278 this past summer, a tremendous increase of 20 percent over the previous season.
