First-place Gateway will send six position players and one pitcher to the Frontier League’s midsummer classic. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
Sauget, IL –The Gateway Grizzlies announced on Monday that seven players will represent the club at the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 12, at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, Ill.
The seven players named to the All-Star Team – Abdiel Diaz, Gabe Holt, Andrew Penner, Jairus Richards, D.J. Stewart, Collin Sullivan, and Peter Zimmermann – were voted on by the league’s managers, coaches, general managers, and selected members of the media.
The seven Gateway all-stars ties the team with the New Jersey Jackals for the most selections from any one club for this year’s mid-season classic.
Diaz and Stewart will also form the starting left side of the infield at shortstop and third base, respectively, while Penner and Richards earn starting nods in the outfield. Collectively, that gives Gateway 44 percent of the West Division’s starting lineup.
A third-year Grizzlie from Puerto Rico who is also in his second season as Gateway’s everyday shortstop, Diaz is enjoying a solid season at the plate, with a .292 batting average, three homers, seven doubles, and 22 RBIs through July 2.
He has also stolen nine bases in 12 attempts while not making a single error at one of the premium defensive positions in baseball, and has batted all around the lineup for manager Steve Brook, helping to round-out the club’s mighty offense as their lone switch-hitter.
Holt has set the table for the Grizzlies’ Frontier League-leading offense all season long, and through Sunday’s games leads all active qualifying players in the league with a .428 batting average and a .508 on-base percentage as well as a league-high 71 total hits.
The second baseman from Warner Robins, Ga., and the Milwaukee Brewers organization also has 25 RBIs on the year, as well as stolen 13 bases without being caught once, and owns a whopping 20 multi-hit games in 2023 while reaching base in all but two of the games in which he has played.
Now in his fourth season in the Frontier League and second with the Grizzlies, Penner is enjoying a career year at the plate. Among active qualifying players in the league, he ranks third in batting average (.378) and total hits (65), fourth in on-base percentage (.471) and tied for fourth in runs scored (42).
The Frazier Park, Calif., native previously saw time in the circuit with the Evansville Otters, Washington Wild Things, and River City Rascals.
Acquired in a trade from the Windy City ThunderBolts in the offseason, Richards is also in the midst of a career year at the plate, and will return to Crestwood as an All-Star for the Grizzlies in 2023.
The Gig Harbor, Wash., native is batting .329 this season, and owns a .452 on-base percentage that places him inside the league’s top-10 qualifying batters through July 2.
The speedster also ranks second in the Frontier League with 28 stolen bases to go along with six home runs and 28 RBIs. Possessing one of the strongest outfield arms in the league, Richards has contributed seven outfield assists in Gateway’s first 43 games.
Stewart, a native St. Louisan, who spent five seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization before joining the Lake Erie Crushers last season, was acquired by the Grizzlies in an offseason trade and has proven to be a dynamite find.
This season, playing everyday as Gateway’s primary third baseman and sometime designated hitter, Stewart ranks sixth among all active Frontier League qualifying hitters in RBIs (40) and total hits (57), to go along with a .329 batting average, 11 doubles, and six home runs. He also has 12 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
The lone representative from the Grizzlies’ pitching staff, Sullivan is also enjoying a stellar season as an anchor of the team’s starting rotation. The right-hander from DeBary, Fla., and the Arizona Diamondbacks organization is currently tied for the league lead with six victories, and ranks second in the League in strikeouts (65) and strikeouts-per-nine-innings (11.04).
His 2.21 ERA is also fourth-lowest among all league hurlers, with Sullivan having pitched six innings or more in six of his eight starts in 2023.
Zimmermann, in his second season with the Grizzlies, has been one of the most-productive hitters in the Frontier League, and has been a strong contender for the MVP award through the first half of the season.
The native St. Louisan leads the entire Frontier League with 58 RBIs and has a.489 on-base percentage, which ranks second in the league among active qualifying hitters behind only teammate and fellow all-star Gabe Holt.
Zimmermann’s .369 batting average is also the fifth-highest in the league among active players.
Winners of seven of their last nine games overall and in first place in the Frontier League West Division standings, the Grizzlies will look to keep their momentum at home when they host the Florence Y’alls in a three-game series beginning on this evening at Grizzlies Ballpark.
Joey Gonzalez will start the series opener against Florence’s Jestin Jones, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. There will also be a Fourth of July fireworks show following the game.