Baltimore Orioles: Ryan Mountcastle Among Final Group Of All-Stars

Baltimore Orioles Triple-A and Double-A All-Stars were named this week, highlighted by the surging Ryan Mountcastle.

In what has been a week of exciting news in Birdland with the signing of number one overall 2019 draft pick, Adley Rutschman, the return to Baltimore of San Diego Padre third baseman Manny Machado and the signing of 2019 second round draft pick Gunnar Henderson, some Baltimore Orioles minor league news may have been missed.

On Monday, the Eastern League named the All-Stars for their contest to be held on July 10th at The Diamond, home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco affiliate).  The Bowie Baysox will be represented by four players, IF Rylan Bannon, IF Mason McCoy, LHP Zac Lowther and LHP Alex Wells.

Bannon, who is currently hitting .269/ .358/ .386 is the Baysox leader in games played (75), hits (71), doubles (17), and walks (33).  He also ranks in the top-10 in the Eastern League in those categories.

McCoy, who leads the Baysox in batting average and triples (4), is hitting .335/ .394/ .437 and leads the Eastern League in batting average, is third in on-base percentage and is sixth in OPS (.830).  He has earned all these honors despite the fact that he was promoted to Bowie on May 6th.

Lowther, the Baysox win leader, has an 8-4 record with a 2.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 70 strikeouts.  He is tied for the league lead in wins and has the fourth best ERA, as well.

Wells has a 5-1 record with a 1.97 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts.  He is second on the team in wins and is third in the League in ERA and eighth in WHIP.

These four Baysox have certainly earned their spots in the All-Star game based on their performances to date.

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The International League announced their All-Stars for the game on July 10th at Southwest University Park, home of the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego affiliate).  The Norfolk Tides will be represented by the Baltimore Orioles #2 ranked prospect, IF Ryan Mountcastle and their #6 prospect, LHP Keegan Akin.

Akin (3-2 record in 14 starts, 4.37 ERA, 1.51 WHIP) leads the Tides in starts and strikeouts (83).  His strikeout total is good for second in the entire International League, while his ERA is sixth best.  Additionally, he has held IL batters to a .261 batting average which is tied for seventh best in the league.

Mountcastle is hitting .309/ .330/ .502 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI and leads the Tides in hits (90), home runs, RBI, and total bases (146).  He also is second in the league in hits, tied for eighth in RBI, sixth in total bases, and eighth in batting average.  Additionally, Mountcastle is the Baltimore Orioles organizational leader in home runs, RBI and total bases; he is one of the most talked about Orioles prospect.

Fans will be able to see Akin and Mountcastle in action on MLB Network and on MiLBTV.com at 9 pm on Wednesday, July 10th.  The Baysox All-Stars will be seen on MiLBTV.com as well at 7 pm.

Congratulations to all of these deserving All-Stars and remember to follow their path to Baltimore all season long here at Birds Watcher.