Six players from the Jefferson City Renegades won't get a chance to relax during the MINK League's brief All-Star break.
Infielder Tyler Cunningham, outfielders Hunter Swift, Mike Million and Cole Evans, and pitchers Taylor Thompson and Jacob Voss were selected to the South Division All-Star team, the league announced Tuesday. The MINK League's third annual All-Star Game between the North and South divisions will take place at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Chillicothe.
"They're all well-deserving," Renegades manager Mike DeMilia said. "I nominated the guys, but we weren't sure who was going to get picked. When it came back that we were getting six guys (on the All-Star team), I was pretty happy with that."
Swift leads all active Renegades with a .316 batting average, 30 hits and 25 runs scored. Evans is right behind him with a .315 batting average and 17 RBI, while Million has team-highs five home runs and seven stolen bases to go with his .296 average. Cunningham tops Jefferson City with 19 RBI and is batting .259.
As for the All-Star pitchers, Thompson has posted a 2-0 record in four starts, including a compete-game win Sunday at Chillicothe. He has a 3.53 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 35 innings on the mound. Voss led the Renegades with a 1.59 ERA in eight relief appearances, posting two saves. He has recorded 17 strikeouts in 11 innings.
"The coaches in the league have noticed all of those guys," DeMilia said.
The All-Star teams are led by the managers of the defending division champions. Rusty Aton of the Ozark Generals will manage the South All-Stars, while Craig McAndrews of the Sedalia Bombers will lead the North All-Stars.
The All-Star selection process starts with each manager nominating players for selection to their division's All-Star team. The All-Star manager then chooses his team from the pool of nominated players within the division.
Each of the eight MINK League teams had at least five All-Stars selected this season. Chillicothe, Ozark and Nevada led the way, each with eight All-Stars. The North roster has 25 players and the South roster has 28 players.
"They'll all play half a game, the pitchers will all get an inning," DeMilia said. "It'll be just like the Major League All-Star Game."
Thursday's activities start at 10 a.m. with a Pro Scout Day. Each team will then hold an hour-long batting practice session, leading up to the Home Run Derby at 5 p.m., the last event before the All-Star Game.
Each team will have one representative in the Derby, which consists of head-to-head matchups in a single-elimination, three-round setup.
Evans will represent the Renegades in the Home Run Derby.
"If you ever get to see him at batting practice, he puts on a show some days," DeMilia said. "I think he'll have a good chance to perform well. I think he'll have a chance to win it, honestly."
Evans will compete against Nevada's Nick Kreutzer in the first round. Players get to use aluminum bats and can choose their own pitchers. The player with the most home runs after accumulating 10 outs in his head-to-head matchup will advance to the next round.
"Mentally, I'm just going to try to get myself ready, but more than anything, I just want to enjoy the experience and have a lot of fun," Evans said.