TinCaps Sending Five To All-Star Game
FORT WAYNE – TinCaps center fielder Michael Gettys, catcher Austin Allen and right-handed pitchers J.C. Cosme, Enyel De Los Santos, and Jake Nix have been selected as 2016 Midwest League All-Stars, the league announced Tuesday.
The quintet will represent Fort Wayne and the Eastern Division in the 52nd Midwest League All-Star Classic on Tuesday, June 21 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the home of the Kernels.
Gettys will start in the outfield for the Eastern Division squad, and Allen is the reserve catcher.
Gettys, who was chosen by the Padres in the second round in 2014 out of Gainesville High School in Georgia, leads the TinCaps in runs (30), hits (61), triples (4), total bases (83) and stolen bases (22). Gettys’ 22 steals rank second in the Midwest League, and the speedster also leads the circuit in games played (56, out of 57) and outfield assists (10).
Allen, the fourth-round pick of the Padres in 2015, leads the TinCaps in batting average (.320), on-base percentage (.398) and slugging percentage (.431). The backstop from Florida Tech surged out of the gates in April and hit .460 with seven extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in the season’s first month. Allen led all of the minor leagues in batting average through May 8, was tabbed as the Midwest League Player of the Month for April and was recognized as the league’s first Player of the Week (April 7-17).
The 20-year old Cosme has a 5-2 record with a 2.93 ERA and ranks second on the TinCaps in innings pitched (46). The Padres acquired Cosme in February from the Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne. Cosme, who hails from Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, was drafted by Baltimore in the 17th round in 2014.
De Los Santos boasts a 3-2 record with a 2.91 ERA and has tossed a team-high 52.2 innings. His .199 opponents’ batting average is the fifth-best in the Midwest League, and his 0.99 WHIP is the seventh-best. The 20-year old native of the Dominican Republic was acquired from the Mariners in mid-November in exchange for reliever Joaquin Benoit.
The 20-year old Nix, the third-round pick of the Padres in 2015, has made a team-high 11 starts with a 3.05 ERA. In 38.1 innings pitched, the Los Alamitos, California, native has fanned 36 and walked just nine.
The five All-Star selections are the most for the TinCaps since boasting six in 2010.