Five Myrtle Beach Pelicans make All-Star squad as league begins new format

Five Myrtle Beach Pelicans were named to the Carolina League’s Southern Division All-Star team Monday.

Pitchers Adbert Alzolay and Justin Steele, outfielders Eloy Jimenez and Daniel Spingola and infielder Bryant Flete will play for the Southern Division team, which will take on the Northern Division All-Stars in the 2017 All-Star Classic at 7:05 p.m. June 20 in Salem, Va.

Voting for the All-Star game was completed by managers and general managers, with the media also offering input.

The top player in the Cubs’ farm system — and No. 8 among all baseball prospect — Jimenez was elected to the Carolina League All-Star Game as the Southern Division’s designated hitter. Through 22 games, he is batting .293 with six home runs and 20 RBIs.

No participant in next week’s all-star activities has played in fewer games. However, he has come on of late, going 10-of-29 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in the past nine games.

Much of Jimenez’s production has come following a 1-for-17 slump.

While Jimenez’s bat is starting to come around, that of Spingola has proven consistent all season long. The Myrtle Beach outfielder is one of the circuit’s best at the dish, hitting .308 through 56 games.

In that time, he has 15 doubles, six triples, a pair of home runs and 26 RBIs.

Finding a home at the top of the Pelicans’ batting order, Flete is batting .298 over 49 games this year. He has five home runs and 26 RBIs on the season. Over the last 23 games in which the 24-year-old from Venezuela has seen time, Myrtle Beach has gone 16-7.

Though neither necessarily carries the burden of being the Cubs’ top pitching prospect, Alzolay and Steele have done more than their share to help the Pelicans’ staff become one of the Carolina League’s best.

Steele boasts a 4-3 record to go along with a 2.51 ERA, tied for first among players currently active on the circuit. In 61 innings of work, he has given up a mere 63 hits, striking out 50 opposing batters while walking 22.

As for Alzolay, his 5-1 record is the best among hurlers on the Pelicans’ pitching staff. For the season, he has a 3.14 ERA to go along with 61 strikeouts, sixth-best in the Carolina League.

In addition to those players, the Myrtle Beach coaching staff of manager Buddy Bailey, pitching coach Anderson Tavarez, hitting coach Guillermo Martinez and assistant Ty Wright, along with athletic trainer Toby Williams and strength and conditioning coach Jason Morris will represent the club in the all-star event.

This is the Pelicans’ first All-Star game in which the Southern Division takes on the Northern Division. In the previous 20 years, the Carolina League played against the California League.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Five Myrtle Beach Pelicans make All-Star squad as league begins new format."