Renegade All-Stars
Hudson Valley sent six players to the All-Star Game in Mahoning Valley on Tuesday, the most of any
American League farm club. Despite the American League falling to the National League 9-1, several
Renegades made impressive contributions.
Three position players went to the game from Hudson Valley. Tommy Coyle got the start at second base
and led off for the American league, going 1-for-2 with a triple. Joey Rickard got the start in right field and went hitless in his lone at bat.
Jose Molina, the Renegades’ strongest reliever this year, didn’t give up a hit and recorded two strikeouts
in the seventh inning. 19-year-old right-hander Taylor Guerrieri, selected by the Rays at 24th overall in
the 2011 draft, struck out two in the following inning and surrendered a solo home run. Jeff Ames, also
picked by the Rays in the 2011 draft, also gave up a run in one inning in the game.
Showcase at Fenway
As if the All-Star game wasn’t enough, the Renegades got another opportunity for a chance to show
off their talents. Hudson Valley took on the Lowell Spinners at Fenway Park on Saturday as a part of
the “Futures at Fenway.” Guerrieri got the start for the Renegades and gave up two runs on four hits in three
innings and now has an ERA of 1.22. Jeff Ames was the winning pitcher in the game, going three more
innings and just surrendering one hit.
But it was catcher Jake DePew who took full advantage of his chance to play at Fenway Park. DePew, a .214
hitter, went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. The 21-year old catcher out of Granite City,
Illinois also had two hits in each of the preceding games. He hit a homerun over the famous Green
Monster as well as a double in the “Futures at Fenway game,” an experience neither DePew nor the rest
of the will forget for a long time.
Rickard stays hot
While seemingly all other players that started the season with high batting averages have settled down,
Joey Rickard has not slowed down at all. The College World Series champion of two months ago with
Arizona has a batting average over 30 points higher than the rest of the Renegades at .310. Rickard hit
his second homerun of the season on Monday, doubling his total from his season at Arizona. The Las
Vegas, Nevada native also has had three multi-hit games in the last five and has shown a good eye,
drawing 10 walks in 33 games so far.
Other notes
Sean Bierman went a season-long seven innings in Sunday’s win at Lowell, giving up one run on three
hits… The Renegades will next host six straight home games with series against the Connecticut Tigers
and Aberdeen IronBirds.
Eric Vander Voort is the Hudson Valley beat writer for Rays Digest. You can follow him on Twitter at @ecvandervoort.
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