Big name prospects shined last night at Riverwalk Stadium, home to the Montgomery Biscuits and the 2015 Southern League All Star Game. By night’s end, the North Division stars were shining brighter, as they walked away victorious in a 9-0 blowout.
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Dan Vogelbach, the Chicago Cubs No. 13-ranked prospect, started the night of with a bang, but it would be the South Side’s No. 1 prospect, Tim Anderson that would do the most damage. In a game that featured many of baseball’s top prospects, that’s a pretty impressive feat.
An error and then a walk for Cincinnati Reds’ top pitching prospect Robert Stephenson set the table for Vogelbach would blast a three-run bomb in the bottom of the second. The North would never look back. It would be Vogelbach’s only hit in four trips to the plate on the night, but it was enough to stick the dagger in the South Division pretty much right from the get go.
Leadoff hitter and birthday boy Tim Anderson, the Chicago White Sox’s best prospect, stole the show. He would take home All Star MVP honors on the night that he turn 22.
“My family got to come down and see it,” Anderson told MiLB.com. “My nieces were able to also. It was really good.”
That sure is one way to celebrate. Anderson, the White Sox 2013 first round draft pick, came into the game scorching hot, amid a five-game hitting streak that consisted on three multi-hit games in a row. He tacked on yet another multi-hit performance on the Southern League’s biggest stage with a 2-for-3 night. Both hits were for extra bases — a double and a triple — and he also drove in and scored a run. It was a dominant performance by the White Sox future shortstop.
“This is real exciting,” Anderson said on MiLB.com. “It was good to be around all these guys because they’re great guys.”
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12 North Division All Stars combined on a brilliant pitching performance striking out nine South Division foes while allowing just four hits. Mr. Shutout himself, Blake Snell — who had 49-game inning streak to start the season — started the game and set the pace. Jose Berrios, the Twins No. 4 prospect, would pick up the win, striking out two batters in his one inning of work.
Joining Anderson with multi-hit games were Twins top prospect Miguel Sano (2-for-5 with an RBI), Sano’s teammate and Anderson’s replacement at shortstop Jorge Polanco (2-for-2 with a run scored) and Anderson’s teammate catcher Adrian Nieto (2-for-2 with a run scored). Tyler Goeddel, the Rays No. 20 prospect who is transitioning from infield prospect to centerfielder, had a big bases loaded triple in the eighth inning. If the North Division needed any extra insurance, they got it from Goeddel, who is a member of the host Montgomery Biscuits.
“When you knew you were getting a louder introduction than a lot of the guys, it was awesome,” Goeddel said on MiLB.com. “The fans knew us, being the Biscuits. It was just a lot of fun.”