Five Dash players earn CL All-Star honors

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 11, 2018) - Dash outfielder Luis Basabe, outfielder Joel Booker, right-hander Dylan Cease, left-hander Bernardo Flores and right-hander Matt Foster have been named Carolina League All-Stars, the league office announced Monday.
The five players will be a part of the Southern Division team in the 2018 All-Star Classic, presented by US Foods, against the Northern Division All-Stars on Tuesday, June 19, at 7:00 p.m. from Five County Stadium, the home of the Carolina Mudcats.

Basabe has shined in a prospect-laden outfield for the Dash. Rated by MLB Pipeline as the 13th-best prospect in the White Sox organization, Basabe currently leads Winston-Salem with eight home runs and a .484 slugging percentage, and he ranks third on the team with 28 RBIs. Through the first month of the 2018 season, he led the league in slugging percentage and ranked eighth in batting average, while also tying for the league lead in total bases and extra-base hits en route to being named White Sox co-Minor League Player of the Month with Winston-Salem alumnus Seby Zavala. This is Basabe's third career All-Star nod and his first as a White Sox farmhand. As a Red Sox farmhand, he was named a Midseason South Atlantic League Postseason All-Star in 2016 and a New York-Penn League Midseason All-Star in 2015.
Booker, a former 22nd-round pick by the White Sox in the 2016 MLB Draft, currently leads the Dash with a .375 on-base percentage, 36 runs scored and 13 steals. Booker, who was a South Atlantic League Midseason All-Star with Low-A Kannapolis last year, also ranks second on the team with a .286 average. The Columbus, N.C., native has been a catalyst for the Dash offense, contributing to two of Winston-Salem's walk-off victories this season. 
Cease, who joined the White Sox system as part of a four-prospect package from the Cubs in exchange for Major League left-hander Jose Quintana in July of 2017, has dominated at the High-A level this season. The right-hander leads the league in strikeouts (78) and is tied for the league lead in wins (eight), all while posting a 2.97 ERA in 12 starts. Earlier in the season, Cease, the White Sox fifth-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, struck out a career-high 12 batters across seven scoreless innings against the Lynchburg Hillcats on May 1. This is Cease's third career All-Star selection, as he was named a Midwest League Midseason All-Star in 2017 and a Northwest League Postseason All-Star in 2016. 
Flores has been one of the most consistent starters in the Carolina League this season, reeling off seven consecutive quality starts to date. Of his 11 total starts, nine have been quality outings. The southpaw is currently second in the league in innings pitched (70.2) while leading Dash qualifiers with a 2.80 ERA. 
Foster has been lights out in the bullpen this season for Winston-Salem. The right-hander is third in the league in saves (six) and has converted each of his save opportunities while compiling a dazzling 36:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A former 20th-round selection by the White Sox out of the University of Alabama, Foster has shined over his last 13 outings. During that span, the Alabama native has posted an 0.95 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 19.0 innings pitched. 
Winston-Salem's five All-Star nods are the second-most in the Dash era (2009-present), trailing only the 2010 squad, which had seven Midseason All-Stars. The players were selected via a voting process that involved the league's managers, general managers and media.
The 2018 All-Star Classic will be the third All-Star event held by the Carolina Mudcats at Five County Stadium since the club's arrival in Zebulon, N.C. in 1991. It will also be the first for the Mudcats in the club's Carolina League era of play.
The Mudcats last hosted an All-Star event in Zebulon in 2008 when the Southern League All-Star Game was played at Five County Stadium on July 14, 2008. The Mudcats also hosted a Midseason All-Star event in 1997 when the Southern League All-Stars faced off against the Seattle Mariners at Five County Stadium on July 21, 1997.