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This Week in the Southern League – Midseason All-Star Roster Set

Swanson is part of a small Braves contingent at the Southern League All-Star game.

After Sunday there’ll just be seven more games left in the first half of the Double-A Southern League season. The Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners) have already sewn up the North division first-half championship. In the South, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati Reds) and Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers) look like they’ll take that division down to the wire, with the Shuckers just a game back.

But there’s a party planned at the end of that short marathon, the Southern League South vs North All-Star Game on Tuesday, June 21 in Pearl, Miss. at 7:30 p.m. If you want to see your team’s stars of the future, the game will be broadcast on MiLB.com.

The North team will be led by Chattanooga Lookouts (Minnesota Twins) manager Doug Mientkiewicz and his staff. He’ll have five of his own players, pitchers D.J. Baxendale and Trevor Hildenberger along with catcher Mitch Garver and outfielders Travis Harrison and Daniel Palka.

While the Generals’ manager, Darren Brown, is getting a few days off, his best players dominate the North roster as they should. Six Generals made the team, but only a few will play. Starting pitcher Dylan Unsworth was just placed on the disabled list. Pitcher Edwin Diaz has already been called up to the Mariners and pitched in three games as a reliever.

Emilio Pagan will pitch and represent the Generals. He’ll be joined by outfielders Guillermo Heredia and Tyler O’Neill. All these men are heading out of Double-A soon, so this might be the last chance you get to see them in Double-A.

The Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs) actually lead the North team with seven All-Stars, which bodes well for a second-half run for the Cubs’ farm hands, especially if the Generals team gets decimated by promotions. Pitchers Paul Blackburn, Juan Paniagua and Tyler Skulina will be joined by catcher Victor Caratini, third baseman Jeimer Candelario, infielder Chesny Young and outfielder Mark Zagunis. Candelario’s spot on the team was hard-earned. The 22-year-old from New York battled through an early season slump at the plate. He’s currently with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, but the move might not be permanent so he’s still got his All-Star spot.

Former Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays) outfielder Johnny Field won’t be. He’s been promoted to the Triple-A Durham Bulls probably to stay.

The South team will be managed by Luis Dorante, who isn’t currently managing in the Southern League. He’ll be working with the Mississippi Braves staff. Dorante will only be missing one player due to a call-up. Kyle Wren, formerly of the Shuckers, is with the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

To be the current front-runner in the South, the Blue Wahoos are way under-represented on the All-Star roster. Only four Blue Wahoos made the team and three of them are pitchers Alejandro Chacin, Nick Routt and Jackson Stephens. Second baseman Brandon Dixon is the only position player to make the team.

The Shuckers on the other hand, put six guys on the team, counting Wren. Pitchers Josh Hader and Stephen Peterson, catcher Jacob Nottingham, third baseman Garrett Cooper and outfielder Brett Phillips.

Like the Smokies, the Jacksonville Suns (Miami Marlins) put seven players on the team. Even though the Suns are having a down year, currently in last place  in the South, they too could be on their way to a second-half surge.

Pitchers Tyler Bremer, Austin Brice and Moises Sierra will take the diamond by shortstop Peter Mooney and outfielders Austin Dean and Yefri Perez.

The Braves are the most under-represented South team, but they may have the biggest star on the field in shorstop Dansby Swanson. Swanson will probably spend the rest of the season in Double-A, but that’s it. Unless he completely falls apart over the next few months he’ll be in Triple-A next season. Swanson has just two teammates that made the team with him, outfielders Willians Astudillo and Dustin Peterson.

If you do tune in, here are the guys to really keep an eye on. For the North, just anybody in Generals jersey. Caratini and Young for the Smokies are budding stars. On the South roster, relief pitcher Josh Hader from the Shuckers has an ERA of 0.95. Sierra, from the Suns, is a guy that’s had a couple of stints in the major leagues and is having no trouble against Double-A pitching. He’s leading the league with a .328 batting average.

Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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