Six Arkansas Travelers will represent the North Division in the Texas League All-Star game, the league announced Wednesday.
Catcher Tyler Marlette and outfielders Ian Miller and Chuck Taylor were voted starters and will be joined by pitchers Zac Curtis, Tyler Herb and Peter Tago at Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas, on June 27.
It is the first season that the Travelers have been a member of the Seattle Mariners' farm system. Arkansas had three All-Stars -- no starters -- as a Los Angeles Angels affiliate last season.
Taylor and Miller have held the Texas League's top two spots in batting average for most of the season, with Miller leading at .335. The Mariners' 14th round pick in 2013 also leads the league with 22 stolen bases.
Taylor is second in batting average (.332), second in on-base percentage (.423) and third in slugging percentage (.500). Drafted by the Arizona in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, the Mariners selected him off the Diamondbacks' roster in the minor-league portion of last December's Rule 5 Draft.
Marlette has had multiple hits in 6 of his last 12 games. The Mariners' fifth-round pick in the 2011 draft has seven home runs this season and is tied for third in the league with 44 RBI.
Curtis (0-2, 2.82 ERA) is one of two Travs along with Thyago Vieira who are on the Mariners' 40-man roster. The left-handed reliever pitched 1 2/3 innings for the Mariners on May 11 and 12 when the major league team had eight pitchers on the disabled list. Since his return, Curtis has the third-most saves (6) in the Texas League.
Through Herb's first six starts, the 25-year-old was 0-2 and had a 5.23 ERA. Since then, Herb has won his last five decisions and lowered his ERA to 3.53. The Mariners' 29th round draft pick of 2014, the right-hander is tied for third in the Texas League with 70 strikeouts.
Tago (0-2, 3.00 ERA) was a 2010 first-round pick by the Colorado Rockies, and the Mariners signed him to a minor league contract on Nov. 26. In 24 innings out of the bullpen, the right-hander has struck out 33 batters and walked 12 -- his highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.75) of his career.
Sports on 06/15/2017