Hedges & Portillo Honored By MWL

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Fort Wayne TinCaps catcher Austin Hedges and right-handed pitcher Adys Portillo have been named to the 2012 Midwest League Post-Season All-Star team.

Hedges, the starting catcher for the Eastern Division team in the 2012 Midwest League All-Star game, is currently hitting .278 with a team lead-tying ten home runs, along with 51 runs batted in. The 20-year-old California native has caught 90 games this year, more than any other catcher in the league. Hedges has thrown out 46 runners on the base paths, second best in the league.

Portillo, who played with the TinCaps from Opening Day until his promotion to Double-A San Antonio on July 19 ^th, was the starting and winning pitcher for the Eastern Division in this year’s All-Star game. With Fort Wayne this season, the 20-year-old Portillo went 6-6 with a 1.87 ERA. He also struck out 81 hitters while walking 45 in 91⅔innings.

The team is selected by the Midwest League managers. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Fort Wayne player has made the post-season All-Star team. This is the first time Fort Wayne has placed multiple players on the post-season All-Star team since 2003.

STITES TO PITCH IN ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

The San Diego Padres announced today that Fort Wayne TinCaps reliever Matt Stites will pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year as a member of the Peoria Javelinas. The 2012 Arizona Fall League will consist of 24 of MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects and 33 former first-round draft choices. Of players that have participated in the Arizona Fall League, 60% have reached the major leagues.

Stites, 22, has 13 saves this season in a TinCaps uniform. He has a 0.78 ERA in 46 innings, having allowed just four earned runs. From May 29 ^th to August 23 ^rd, a span of 25 2/3 innings, he did not allow an earned run. The Festus, Missouri, native has struck out 56 batters and walked three this year. He will be joined on the team, which is comprised of prospects from the Padres, Mariners, Phillies, Reds and Twins organizations, by Nate Freiman (2010), Rymer Liriano (2010, 2011), Kevin Quackenbush (2011), Cory Spangenberg (2011) and Jeudy Valdez (2009, 2010), all of whom have played in Fort Wayne.

Stites is currently on pace to have the lowest ERA by a Fort Wayne player with a minimum of 45 innings pitched in a single season in franchise history. The record is currently 1.11, set in 2009 by Nick Schumacher (7 ER in 56 2/3 IP). The franchise ERA record for a player with at least 75 innings pitched in a single season belongs to LaTroy Hawkins, who had a 2.06 ERA in 1993 (36 ER in 157 1/3 IP).