Baseball Factory Alumni Selected to 2011 All-Star Game

The initial rosters have been released for the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and they are loaded with Baseball Factory Alumni. This year’s Midsummer Classic, which will be held on Tuesday July 11th at the Arizona Diamondback’s Chase Field, 18 former Baseball Factory players were chosen to participate.

Jose Bautista (OF) of the Blue Jays and Josh Hamilton (OF) of the Rangers were both elected by the fans to start the game for the American League. Bautista, who currently leads the league in home runs with 27 home runs, broke the record for all time fan votes with 7,454,753! It will be his second straight appearance in the All-Star Game. Hamilton, who has been plagued much of the year with injuries, will be appearing in his fourth All-Star game. Michael Cuddyer (OF) will be making his first appearance, elected as reserve along with former Team One standout Carlos Quentin (OF). Chris Perez (RHP), Justin Verlander (SP) and James Shields (SP) were all selected to pitch in the game for the American League. CC Sabathia (SP) was selected after James Shields was ruled out due to the fact that he pitched on Sunday. However, CC also pitched in the same game on Sunday ruling him out as well. Their replacement David Robertson (RHP) will be making his All-Star Game debut.

For the National League, former Baseball Factory stars Brian McCann (C), Prince Fielder (1B) and Ryan Braun (OF), were all elected to start the game. McCann has been a mainstay at the All-Star Game, as well as earning the MVP award last year. Gaby Sanchez (1B) of the Marlins has had an excellent year and was picked to be a reserve on the team for the first time in his career. Jay Bruce (OF) of the Reds will also be making his first appearance in the Midsummer Classic. Troy Tulowitzki (SS) and Justin Upton (OF) were selected by the fans to be alternates and will be making their second appearance each. Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay (RHP) will pitch in the Midsummer Classic for the 8th time and is a frontrunner to start the game. Braves’ relief pitcher Jonny Venters was also selected as a pitcher for the first time in his career.

The rosters are subject to change depending on injury replacements, but Baseball Factory and Team One would like to congratulate all the former players who earned a spot on this year’s roster! We wish the players best of luck in the 2011 Major League All-Star Game!

MLB Futures Game to Highlight Many Baseball Factory Alumni

Another big event taking place over the weekend is the MLB Futures Game, which includes some of the most talented young players in the minor leagues and gives fans a chance to preview players who could develop into the next big stars at the Major League level. Out of the 25 players on the U.S. roster, seven have come through the Baseball Factory program.

Fans are more excited than usual to see the Futures Game this year, as it will be the first time many get the chance to see Bryce Harper and Mike Trout. Harper (OF) and Trout (OF) are two of the youngest, most highly touted prospects in the game today. Harper first burst onto the scene as “The Chosen One” when Sports Illustrated dubbed him this and put him on the cover of their magazine as a seventeen year-old in May 2009. Since then, Harper has been given huge expectations and unbelievable hype that so far he has lived up to. Now fans will finally get a chance to see him up close on a big stage. Harper participated in an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in 2008. Trout, another highly touted prospect, was drafted 25th overall in 2009 by the Angels and has done nothing but impress since. Before the season began, many experts picked Trout as the number one minor league prospect. Due to injuries, the Angels called Trout up to the Major Leagues on July 7 from Double-A Arkansas. Just 19 years of age, this made him one of only a few players ever to make their MLB debut before turning 20. In 2009, Baseball Factory named Trout the 9th overall prospect on the Baseball Factory Top 100 High School Prospects.

In addition to Harper and Trout, five other Baseball Factory players will be featured including: Devin Mesoraco (C), Nolan Arenado (3B), James Darnell (3B), Tyler Thornburg (RHP) and Jacob Turner (RHP). Baseball Factory would like to wish these players the best of luck in the MLB Futures Game!