Four Sod Poodles Dubbed Texas League All-Stars 

New York City - Today, Minor League Baseball announced league awards and All-Star teams for the three Double-A Leagues voted on all by league Managers. Four Sod Poodles were named Texas League All-Stars in 2022, tying Wichita (Double-A, Minnesota) for the most All-Stars in the league this season. Blaze Alexander (SS), Corbin Carroll (OF), Leandro Cedeño (1B), and Juan Centeno (C) were all named All-Stars at their respective positions.

Cedeño, 24, was named an All-Star at first base for the 2022 season after hitting .310 with a league-best 30 home runs and the second-most RBI in the league with 93. His career season saw the Venezuela native top previous career highs in nearly every offensive category. He was named Texas League Player of the Week on August 28, Texas League Player of the Month in August, and a MiLB.com Organization All-Star in his first season in the Diamondbacks farm system. Cedeño set Amarillo franchise-highs for home runs and RBI in a single season. He drew national attention after hitting the longest home run of the stat cast era against San Antonio on July 16. Video of his 527 ft homerun made rounds on social media and was even featured on SportsCenter ahead of the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby.

Alexander, 23, is the D-backs’ No. 14 rated prospect and finished his 2022 season hitting .306 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 88 games played for Amarillo. His .306 batting average was a career-best for the former 11th-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. Alexander also set career highs in hits (97), doubles (17), home runs (17), and RBI (54). He started 70 games at shortstop for the Sod Poodles in 2022 with 103 putouts,186 assists, and helped to turn 38 double plays at the position, the second most in his career so far. After the Sod Poodles season ended, Alexander joined Triple-A Reno for their Pacific Coast League Championship run. In seven games with the Aces, Alexander hit .259 with two home runs, a double, and four RBI. Alexander was a Baseball America Rookie All-Star in 2018 with the Missoula Osprey in the Pioneer League and earned Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star Honors in 2019 when he played for the Kane County Cougars.

Centeno, 32, earned All-Star honors as a catcher after hitting .302 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 81 games played for Amarillo. Like Cedeno and Alexander, Centeno had a career season in 2022. He set career highs in games played, at-bats (311), runs (52), hits (94), doubles (22), home runs (14), and RBI (58). Behind the plate, Centeno caught 25 attempted base stealers, the second most in the Texas League in 2022. The veteran catcher also ended his 2022 campaign with Triple-A Reno where he appeared in a total of 10 games for the Aces and hit .333 with two doubles, a home run, and nine RBI. He was also named a 2022 MiLB.com Organization All-Star.

Carroll, 22, is the D-backs’ No. 1 rated prospect and was one of three outfielders to earn All-Star honors. The former 16th overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft had a breakout 2022 season. After missing nearly all of 2021 after an injury, Carroll began the 2022 season in Amarillo. He played in 58 games, hitting .313 with 16 home runs, 39 RBI, and an OPS of 1.073. Prior to his promotion to Triple-A Reno, Carroll ranked in the top three in the Texas League in home runs, OBP, SLG, OPS, triples, walks, XBH, total bases, and runs. Despite not playing in a Texas League game since June 24, he finished the year leading the league in triples with eight. Carroll was a MLB All-Star Futures Game Selection and made his MLB Debut with the Diamondbacks on August 29. He finished his 2022 campaign hitting .260 with four home runs, nine doubles, two triples, and 14 RBI in 32 games for the big-league club and was named the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year.

To round out the league awards, Frisco’s Jared Goedert was named the Texas League Manager of the Year after their Texas League Championship. Springfield’s Moisés Gómez earned league MVP honors while Arkansas’ Taylor Dollard was named the Pitcher of the Year. Springfield’s Jordan Walker was named the league’s Top MLB Prospect.

At least one Sod Poodle player has been named a league All-Star in each of the first three seasons of Sod Poodles baseball. These four join Stone Garrett (2021), Luis Torrens (2019), Ivan Castillo (2019), Edward Olivares (2019), and Lake Bachar (2019).

For the most up-to-date news on the Sod Poodles along with detailed information on the 2023 season, promotions, and tickets, follow the team on social media @sodpoodles on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For questions and more information, call 806-803-7762 or email [email protected].