The Los Angeles Dodgers flexed their farm system muscles on Tuesday when nine members of their Double-A Tulsa team played in the annual Texas League All-Star Game.
In total, twelve different players on the Drillers were selected to represent the North Team, a team-record as nearly half the team was selected to play in the game for the North Division.
Among the selected were pitchers Chase De Jong, Trevor Oaks, Caleb Dirks, Jordan Schafer, Brock Stewart and Scot Barlow. Catchers Kyle Farmer and Paul Hoenecke made the squad, as did fellow infielders Drew Maggi, Willie Calhoun and outfielders Jacob Scavuzzo and Alex Verdugo.
Not on the team, is arguably one of the best players on the Drillers, top prospect Cody Bellinger who missed the first month of the season with an injury, but has been on a power surge in the last month.
"We grew up fast," Drillers infielder Drew Maggi said. "We got a lot of young guys who at first were getting comfortable in Double-A. They adapted well. I mean, we just do everything well now."
Among the leaders of the group that "do everything well" is Maggi who leads the team in batting average (.319), and on-base percentage (.409).
The underrated Willie Calhoun leads the team in home runs and credits his hitting coach Terrmel Sledge for his success.
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"Me and my hitting coach, we always talk about every day what I need to do against each pitcher," Calhoun told MiLB.com. "It's pretty much just a confidence thing with me. I never lack it and I'll always tell myself I'm going to do good."
The Drillers pitching staff leads the Texas League with a 2.96 ERA and Oaks leads the league with an 8-1 record. His teammates De Jong and Barlow each rank within the Top 10 in ERA respectively.
"It's definitely challenging in the sense that mistakes get hit much more frequently," De Jong told MiLB.com of the adjustment from Class-A to Double-A. "If you leave a fastball over the plate or hang a slider, the guy will put it in play and hit it hard. There's a lot more loud outs but also better defense which helps too."
The Drillers All-Star success is reminiscent of the 2015 summer classic in Cincinnati which nearly had all eight position players on the Kansas City Royals in the starting lineup.
The latest example of chicanery comes courtesy of the Chicago Cubs, which currently have their entire infield and outfielder Dexter Fowler, leading all-comers in the NL All-Star voting.
Nine Drillers players played in the game on Tuesday for the North Team with pitchers Brock Stewart and Trever Oaks unable to play after being promoted to Triple-A. (Stewart made his MLB debut for the Dodgers on Wednesday).
Chase De Jong started the game for the North Team and struck out the only batter he faced. Scott Barlow and Caleb Dirks each pitched one inning, striking out two. Jordan Schafer faced two batters in relief.
Alex Verdugo started in right field and was the best player for the North team on Tuesday, finishing 3-for-5 with a double. Willie Calhoun started at second base and went 0-for-2. Drew Maggi started at shortstop and went 1-for-3, Jacob Scavuzzo started in left field and went 1-for-4. Paul Hoenecke entered the game in the sixth inning at catcher and finished 0-for-2.
The North All Stars lost the game 8-5 to the South All-Stars after nine innings. The game was played at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri.
