For the first time, the Iowa Cubs will be represented by four players at the Triple-A All-Star Game. INF/OF Arismendy Alcantara, RHP Kyle Hendricks, LHP Tsuyoshi Wada and RHP Blake Parker were named Pacific Coast League All-Stars Thursday and will represent the Cubs in Durham on July 16.
Arismendy Alcantara will start at second base of the PCL All-Stars.
Kyle Hendricks and Tsuyoshi Wada have put together good seasons for Iowa, but neither pitcher will start the game. The Sounds’ Jimmy Nelson (Brewers) was named the starter for the PCL All-Star squad.
Kyle Hendricks is tied with Jimmy Nelson for the most wins in the PCL. Hendricks is third in the league in innings pitched (100 2/3), fourth in the league in strikeouts (93) and tied with teammate Tsuyoshi Wada for fifth in the league in WHIP (1.17). Hendricks has been named to an All-Star team in each of his last three seasons. Hendricks was on the Carolina League All-Star team in 2012 and was a Southern League All-Star last year, his first full year in the Cubs’ system.
For the season, Kyle Hendricks is 10-5 in 16 starts with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP (95 hits allowed, 23 walks).
LHP Tsuyoshi Wada is 9-4 in 16 starts with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP this season and there is a very good chance he makes his big league debut Tuesday in one of the two games in Cincinnati. In 99 innings, Wada has given up 91 hits with 25 walks and 101 strikeouts. And the 101 strikeouts are good enough for second in the league. Wada is third in the PCL in wins, fourth in the league in ERA (2.55) and tied for fifth in the league in WHIP (1.17). Wada was a four-time All-Star in Japan and is healthy enough for the first time to make an All-Star roster in the United States.
RHP Blake Parker has thrown strikes and closed games for Iowa in between trips to Chicago. Parker blew his first save of the season earlier this week and has 18 saves in 25 games this year. Parker has allowed five runs, four earned, on 21 hits with nine walks and 34 strikeouts in 25 innings (1.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP).
Arismendy Alcantara has played his way into the conversation of the top prospects in the Cubs system. The 22-year old Alcantara is putting up big numbers in the hitter-friendly PCL, but his peripheral numbers are not much different from what he did in the Southern League last year.
Arismendy Alcantara is hitting .310/.350/.546 in 83 games this season with 22 doubles, 11 triples, 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases with a .896 OPS.
Iowa Cubs broadcaster, Deene Ehlis will be part of the radio broadcast and Baseball America’s John Manuel will help call the game on the MLB Network.
All four players representing the Iowa Cubs in the Triple-A All-Star Game have a very good chance of finishing the season with the big league team. Three of the four players are on the Cubs’ 40-man roster (Arismendy Alcantara, Tsuyoshi Wada and Blake Parker) which means a September call up at the latest and Kyle Hendricks, who has to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, could make his big league debut once the trading season is over.