Three Pelicans capture All-Star nods

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (June 11, 2018) - Myrtle Beach catcher Jhonny Pereda, right-hander Tyler Peyton and infielder Aramis Ademan will represent the Pelicans at the 2018 All-Star Classic presented by US Foods®, the Carolina League office announced Monday. The 7:05 p.m. game on Tuesday, June 19 will pit a Southern Division squad against a team made up of Northern Division players at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C.  
Pereda, who recorded a .625 OPS last season in 92 games with South Bend, paces the Pelicans with a .773 OPS through June 11. The San Sebastian, Venezuela native, who was signed by the Cubs in 2013, is hitting .289/.373/.400 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs and a team-high 31 RBIs through 50 games. Pereda's strikeout percentage (14.1) is the fifth-lowest in the league and he has earned 24 walks while just striking out 29 times this season. The 22-year-old also leads the circuit's catchers in wRC+ (120) partly due to his ability to go the other way for hits; Pereda's opposite field percentage (38.4) ranks sixth in the league. 

Peyton, a 29th round selection of the Cubs in the 2016 draft out of the University of Iowa, has excelled on the mound in 2018 for the Pelicans. The Grimes, Iowa native ranks third on the team with 18 relief appearances, pacing the squad with a 1.42 ERA. The righty has converted on five of his six save opportunities while holding opponents to a .221 batting average against. Over his last 12 appearances, Peyton owns a 1.02 ERA (two earned runs over 17.2 innings). Though his 31.2 innings this season, he has whiffed 30 while walking 13. 
A Midseason All-Star last season with Short Season Class A Eugene, Ademan earned his second career All-Star nod. Rated by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Cubs' organization, the 19-year-old shortstop was the youngest player in the Carolina League to start the season. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native is hitting .228/.326/.341 with four doubles, three triples and three home runs while knocking in 21. In seven games thus far in June, Ademan is slashing .261/.414/.609 with two home runs, five RBIs and five walks against only three strikeouts. 
The Carolina League selected its All-Stars via a voting process that involved its managers and general managers, along with one media vote per market. Myrtle Beach has now had at least three players represent the Pelicans in the Midsummer Classic for the past eight seasons dating back to 2011. Last year, pitchers Adbert Alzolay and Justin Steele,  outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Daniel Spingola and infielder Bryant Flete represented the Pelicans in the 2017 All-Star Classic in Salem. 
The 2018 season is the 20th season for the Pelicans franchise and fourth as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For tickets visit MyrtleBeachPelicans.com/tickets, call (843) 918-6000, or visit the Pelicans Box Office.
ABOUT THE PELICANS: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Since being acquired by a group led by Chuck Greenberg during the 2006 season, the Pelicans have repeatedly set team attendance records and become known as one of Minor League Baseball's most innovative and creative franchises. The team and its employees have been dedicated to making a difference in the Myrtle Beach community, specifically giving back over $2 million in donations, fundraising proceeds, in-kind services and community service since launching the Pelicans Play It Forward Community Initiative in 2013. TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark has ranked in the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in six of the last seven seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences and the best in the Carolina League for six of the past seven seasons. In June 2017, the Pelicans won the 2017 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. On the field, the team has won four Mills Cup Championships, including claims to back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000, and again in 2015 and 2016. The Pelicans have made 11 postseason appearances behind 13 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, second half of 2016 and first half of 2017. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or email [email protected].