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Minor League Level Review (AAA): All Star Rosters Announced, Wil Myers Hits Home Run #26

By Jason Hunt
March 12, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Corey Brown hits the ball in the second inning of the spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE
March 12, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Corey Brown hits the ball in the second inning of the spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-US PRESSWIRE

The AAA All-Star Game is on July 11th in Buffalo, NY, and the rosters have been set for both leagues. You can find the full IL roster here, and the full PCL roster here. Here's a brief look at a few of the players who are currently set to go to the game.

International League

Ryan Lavarnway (BOS) - Lavarnway isn't hitting for as much power this season as he did last (7 HR this year vs 18 in his stint in AAA last year in the same amount of games), but he has a higher batting average and on base percentage, and is striking out less times as well.

Corey Brown (WAS) - Brown was called up very briefly at the end of May, but is back in AAA to get consistent playing time. It seems to be working, as he is hitting .304/.389/.595 with 19 HR, 50 RBI, and 8 steals. Definitely someone to keep an eye on if there is another injury in the Nationals' outfield.

Starling Marte (PIT) - Marte is having a very solid season so far (.284/.343/.483), but there are a couple of concerns for me with him. He has improved his walk rate, but it is still relatively poor (20 walks in 329 plate appearances), especially given his strikeout rate (68 so far). The other thing that stands out is his stolen base success rate (16 for 28).

Matt Harvey (NYM) -Harvey has been a bit up and down at times, as he'll have great starts and then poor ones back to back. On the season, he is 7-3 with a 3.41 ERA, a 1.332 WHIP, and 96 strikeouts against 40 walks in 92 1/3 innings pitched. Unless something changes pretty quickly, I think this is what you're looking at with Harvey in the bigs: a K per inning, but a bit of a risk to your WHIP.

Tyler Cloyd (PHI) - Cloyd has been a great story thus far, as he was an 18th round draft pick and has been pitching extremely well so far. He is already 25 years old, but he still could see a call up potentially. On the season, he has 11 wins, a 2.04 ERA, and a 73/20 K/BB rate in 101 2/3 innings pitched between AA and AAA.

Pacific Coast League

Josh Vitters (CHC) - Vitters seems to be coming around some, but one of his main concerns still remains. He has a slash line of .294/.347/.503 with 13 home runs and 43 runs batted in so far. However, the big issue I have seen previously is his low walk rate, and while he has done better this year, he is still at 19 BB/46 K for the season. I think it may be a year later than they had hoped, but Vitters looks like he could be ready to contribute for the 2013 season on the North side.

Wil Myers (KC) - Have we started #FreeWilMyers yet? In 78 games between AA and AAA he now is hitting .326/.404/.678 with 26 home runs and 68 RBI. Meanwhile, this guy is hitting .257/..294/.390 with 7 home runs. Just saying....

Adam Eaton (ARI) - Eaton has been going nuts all season, but it's a bit hard to judge just how much of that is related to playing in Reno. He is hitting .378/.452/.517 with a 30/40 BB/K rate and is 23 for 29 on stolen base attempts.

Danny Hultzen (SEA) - Not named to the PCL All Star Game since he just got there, Hultzen has posted some different numbers in his two AAA starts: 7 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 9 K, and 9 BB. Let's see what he does in his next start before really starting to worry.