Rodriguez, Heidenreich lead CAR All-Stars
Nellie Rodriguez and Matt Heidenreich have both already moved on to Double-A ball, but both are still leaving their marks on the Carolina League.
Rodriguez was voted the 2015 Carolina League Most Valuable Player on Saturday while Heidenreich took the Class A Advanced circuit's Pitcher of the Year honors. Voting was done by league managers, general managers and media.
Rodriguez, the Indians' No. 23 prospect, was a 2012 15th-round pick by Cleveland back in 2012 and enjoyed his best professional season with Lynchburg this season. The 21-year-old first baseman led the Carolina League with 17 homers, 84 RBIs, a .495 slugging percentage and an .852 OPS before getting the bump to Double-A Akron on Aug. 11. His 94 RBIs between the two levels has marked a career high.
Heidenreich, who got his promotion to Double-A Birmingham on Aug. 17, still leads the Class A Advanced circuit with 12 wins for Winston-Salem and ranks among the league leaders in ERA (2.76, third), WHIP (1.16, fourth) and strikeouts (103, sixth). This all comes in the 24-year-old right-hander's second stint in the White Sox system. A 2009 fourth-round pick by Chicago, Heidenreich was traded to the Astros in July 2012 but was cut by Houston last November and signed a Minor League deal with the White Sox one month later.
Considered the No. 38 prospect in the game, Lynchburg outfielder Clint Frazier was the only top-100 prospect to crack the Carolina League's end-of-season All-Star team. The 20-year-old slugger has a .280/.370/.451 line with 15 homers, two triples, 32 doubles, 70 RBIs and 13 steals in 72 games with the Hillcats.
Here is the complete list of the Carolina League end-of-season All-Stars:
2015 Carolina LEAGUE year-end ALL-STAR TEAM
NAME | POS | TEAM | MLB ORG |
---|---|---|---|
Omar Narvaez | C | Winston-Salem | CWS |
Nellie Rodriguez* | 1B | Lynchburg | CLE |
Jake Peter | 2B | Winston-Salem | CWS |
Trey Michalczewski | 3B | Winston-Salem | CWS |
Johan Camargo | SS | Carolina | ATL |
Chesny Young | UTIL INF | Myrtle Beach | CHC |
Clint Frazier | OF | Lynchburg | CLE |
Connor Lien | OF | Carolina | ATL |
Mark Zagunis | OF | Myrtle Beach | CHC |
Adam Engel | UTIL OF | Winston-Salem | CWS |
Jacob Schrader | DH | Carolina | ATL |
Matt Heindenreich† | SP | Winston-Salem | CWS |
Cody Wheeler | RP | Frederick | BAL |
Mark Johnson | MGR | Myrtle Beach | CHC |
James Stone | Trainer | Wilmington | KC |
Sam Dykstra is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.