Nine Lightning Players Make All-Star Roster
LEESBURG, FL- The Florida Collegiate Summer League announced both All-Star teams for the 2021 season on Thursday morning, with the Leesburg Lightning tied for the second-most players on a team with nine. The Lightning will team up with the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs and Winter Garden Squeeze to make up the West team. The league-leading Sanford River Rats, DeLand Suns, and Seminole County Snappers will comprise the East Team.
The All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 6th at Sanford Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m. The participants for the Home Run Derby, which will precede the All-Star Game, have yet to be announced.
Pitchers:
It’s no surprise that the Lightning, who hold a league-low 2.71 ERA, account for five of the nine total pitchers in the West. Myles Caba (South Florida State) will get the start for the West, a tremendous honor for the first-year Lightning player. He has been one of the most dominant, if not the most dominant, arm in the whole league this year. Amongst qualifiers, his ERA (0.55) leads the league, while his WHIP (.92) and opponent batting average (.113) are in the top five in the league. He’s been a flamethrower as well, fanning 23 batters over 16.1 innings.
He’ll have some familiar backup out of the bullpen. Two Lightning starters in Dominick Madonna (North Florida) and Tyler Tipton (FGCU) will work out of the ‘pen. Madonna has started three out of his five appearances, two of which have come against the River Rats. In his most recent start, he struck out seven and allowed just one earned run over 4.1 innings. He holds a 2.03 ERA over 13.1 innings pitched. Tipton has been equally as dominant in the first half of the season, starting two of his four appearances. Over 12.2 innings of work, he’s allowed just two earned runs. Over his last ten innings of work, he’s struck out more batters (9) than hits allowed (8), all while allowing only one earned run.
Two integral pieces of the Lightning bullpen, which as a unit has a 3.36 ERA and accounts for all ten victories for the Lightning this season, also made the team. Gerry Kelly (Undecided), who was a FCSL Player of the Week Honorable Mention in Week 2, brings his .90 ERA (3rd in the league) and 17 strikeouts to the All-Star game. He has struck out 13 over his last eight innings, allowing just one run in that span. Zach Henderson (Valdosta State), who leads the league in saves with three, also made the team. He’s tied for most appearances with seven, striking out seven batters over 7.1 innings of scoreless innings. He also picked up a win against the River Rats on June 8th.
Batters
Clay Stearns (Troy) has paced the Lightning offense all season, and he is rewarded with the starting nod behind the dish. His .283 average leads all qualifying catchers, while his team-high 13 RBI rank second at the position.
The Lightning account for two of the outfielders in Vaun Brown (Florida Southern) and Jordan Griffin (Carson-Newman). Brown has been one of the best players in the league since arriving a few weeks ago, slashing .389/.542/.833/1.375, although he came up a few plate appearances short of qualifying. His two home runs are tied for the team lead, along with a team-high eight stolen bases. He’s tied for fifth in the league in that category, despite playing nearly half the games as everyone else on that list. Griffin has been a big part of the Lightning offense this season as well, slashing .244/.346/.333/.679. He ranks second on the team in runs scored with nine. Brett Kelly (UNCG) also made the team as an extra hitter despite missing a few games with an injury. Kelly has been red hot since returning, hitting going 6-for-15 with a pair of doubles. Despite coming up a few at-bats short of the qualifying marker, he’s slashing .320/.370/.400/.770.
You can see the both teams in their entirety here: http://www.floridaleague.com/view/fcsl/news/news_535934
Matias Weilmann (Ithaca College)