Boilermakers in Pro Ball / Summer League Boilermakers
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue baseball alumnus Cameron Perkins has been named to the International League's roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game later this summer in Charlotte.
Perkins (2010-12) was selected as a reserve outfielder after batting .292 with 20 extra-base hits and 26 RBI in 63 games (as of June 28) for Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies affiliate). It marks Perkins' third career all-star honor in his Minor League Baseball career. He was also named a midseason all-star in the Florida State League (High-A) in 2013 and the Eastern League (Double-A) a year ago.
The International League will take on the Pacific Coast League in the annual Triple-A All-Star Game, set for July 13 at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, North Carolina, and televised live by MLB Network at 7 p.m. BB&T Ballpark is home to the Charlotte Knights, the White Sox affiliate in the International League.
It marks the second year in a row a Boilermaker will be part of the Triple-A All-Star Game. Perkins' college teammate Nick Wittgren (2011-12) worked a scoreless inning of relief for the Pacific Coast League last year. Wittgren made his big league debut with the Marlins in April of this season.
Since being selected in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft following Purdue's Big Ten championship season, Perkins has compiled a career .280 batting average to go along with 120 doubles and 223 RBI over five MiLB seasons. He also spent more than half the 2014 campaign at the Triple-A level.
Lehigh Valley is one of four teams in contention to win the competitive North Division of the International League. The IronPigs are tied for third place with a 45-34 record as of June 28. That mark would be good enough for first place in either of the International League's other two divisions. Lehigh Valley plays a three-game series against the Indianapolis Indians at Victory Field in Downtown Indianapolis from July 18 to 20.
MORE NOTABLES ON BOILERMAKERS IN PRO BALL
- Since being recalled by the Marlins again in late May, Wittgren has made 12 relief appearances. He has yet to allow an inherited base runner to score at the MLB level this year, stranding all 12. His top outing of the season continues to be the three innings of perfect relief he worked June 2 against the Pirates to earn his first MLB win. He struck out Victor Martinez and Nick Castellanos in a 1-2-3 inning at Detroit today (June 29). In the Marlins' four-game series win vs. the Cubs (June 23-26), he retired four of the five batters he faced in an inning and two-thirds of relief over two appearances, inducing a 4-6-3 double play in a matchup with Jason Heyward.
- Matt Frawley (2014-16) worked a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts in his June 21 pro debut for the West Virginia Black Bears (Pirates affiliate). He's worked three scoreless innings over his two appearances so far.
- Jordan Minch (2014-15) has not allowed an earned run in any of his last 10 appearances for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs affiliate). His ERA has dropped more than a run since May 30 while surrendering just seven hits over his last 9 1/3 innings.
- Dan Black (2007-09) is off to a good start south of the border in Mexican League (independent Triple-A). Since singing with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico, he has six homers, nine extra-base hits and 15 RBI in 19 games.
- Dan Sattler (2004-07) also started the season in the Mexican League but has since returned to the Upper Midwest, where he makes his home, to join the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent American Association. He has already made 13 relief appearances for the RedHawks since May 31, racking up 18 strikeouts while surrendering 15 hits in 15 2/3 innings. Sattler was part of an American Association championship team with the Wichita Wingnuts in 2014.
- Kyle Wood (2013-16) made his pro debut with the Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League on June 22 and has already played in six games for Windy City. He's 4-for-18 with RBI through June 28. Wood could face his Purdue classmate Shane Bryant (2015-16) when the Joliet Jammers host Windy City for a three-game series this weekend (July 1-3). Bryant has made two starts with Joliet since signing June 18.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FOR BOILERMAKERS PLAYING SUMMER BALL
- Tanner Schumacher struck out four over two innings of one-hit relief last night (June 28) and has now surrendered just two hits to go along with seven strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings over his last three appearances for the Rochester Honkers of the Northwoods League.
- After a slow start to his Northwoods summer, Jacson McGowan has been a productive hitter for the first-place Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. He's 6-for-10 with two doubles and three RBI in the last four games in which he has batted. Wisconsin Rapids leads the South Division with a 19-10 record as of June 28.
- Nick Dalesandro is also part of a first-place team in the Cape Cod League. His Harwich Mariners are a Cape-best 12-4 as of June 28. Dalesandro has reached base safely in eight of the 10 games in which he has played, batting .282. His work behind the plate caught the eye of a few a national college evaluators during a June 22 win.
- June 25, Adam Dressler had his best outing of the summer so far when he worked five innings of three-hit relief in a comeback win for the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League. He allowed a pair of inherited runners to score via sacrifice flies after entering the game with the bases loaded, no outs and Kenosha down 4-0. But Dressler retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, and his teammates scored 13 unanswered runs to defeat Battle Creek 13-6.
- The Lafayette Aviators have remained very competitive in the Prospect League in their inaugural season. Evan Kennedy and Evan Warden helped the Aviators win seven consecutive games from June 19 through 25. Kennedy has reached base safely in 18 of the last 19 games. Warden has an 11-game reached safely streak dating to June 15, and has recorded an RBI in eight of the last nine games in which he has batted. He had three hits and three RBI in the June 28 win at Champion City, his third three-hit game since June 12. At 16-13 as of June 28, Lafayette is a half game out of first place in the Prospect League's East Division.