Three Hops Named to Northwest League All-Star Team 

Hillsboro, OR (September 20, 2023) – Minor League Baseball™ (MiLB™) today announced the league awards and All-Star teams for the High-A Northwest League. Votes were cast by league managers and final decisions were determined by the Commissioner’s Office. 2023 Hops’ Infielder Ivan Melendez and Starting Pitcher’s Dylan Ray and Yu-Min Lin were named to the Northwest League All-Star team.

Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2022 second-round pick, Ivan Melendez, joined the Hops on April 13th. Melendez hit .270/.352/.593 with 18 home runs and 43 RBI in 58 games. His 18 home runs are a Hillsboro single-season franchise record, breaking the previous mark of 15 by A.J. Vukovich in 2022. Melendez also had a 17-game hit streak from May 5th-25th, marking the second longest streak in Hops’ history. The former University of Texas star had 134 total bases in 2023 for the Hops to lead the team. Melendez adds to his trophy case by being named the Third Baseman on the Northwest League All-Star team, after sweeping the Division 1 Baseball awards in his final season at Texas. The corner infielder was promoted to AA Amarillo on July 13th and hit 12 home runs in just 38 games with the Sod Poodles. Melendez finished the season with 30 home runs across two levels.

The University of Alabama product, Dylan Ray, was entering his second season of professional baseball after being selected in the fourth-round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Ray was on the Hops’ Opening Day roster and had a 3.81 ERA in 22 games with Hillsboro. Before being promoted to AA Amarillo on August 26th, Ray was top three in six different pitching categories in the Northwest League. The right-hander was the July NWL pitcher of the month, posting a 4-0 record and 0.72 ERA during that span. He was second on the Hillsboro pitching staff in wins (7), innings pitched (99.1) and strikeouts (123) for the 2023 season.

Yu-Min Lin posted a 3.43 ERA in 13 starts with the Hops in 2023. During the 2022 season, he struck out 40.3% of batters: 6th-best among 1,343 pitchers in affiliated professional baseball with at least 50 innings pitched. Lin struck out 76 in 60.1 innings pitched with Hillsboro. The southpaw was named the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week on June 4th after his 13-strikeout performance against Everett. The 13 strikeouts tied Jamison Hill (2022) for the most in a game by a Hillsboro pitcher. The 20-year-old was promoted to AA Amarillo on July 13th.