TWO GRIZZLIES NAMED TO PCL ALL-STAR TEAM

Bowker, Pucetas get the call.

From fresnogrizzlies.com:

The Pacific Coast League announced that outfielder John Bowker and pitcher Kevin Pucetas will represent the Fresno Grizzlies on the PCL All-Star Team. Bowker, Pucetas, and their fellow PCL All-Stars will take the field against the best of the International League in the 2009 Triple-A All Star Game on July 15th at PGE Park, home of the Portland Beavers. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm PDT.

The 2009 Pacific League All-Star squad is made up of 13 elected players who have received the most votes from ballots submitted by clubs’ field managers and general managers (1/3), members of the media (1/3), and online fan voting (1/3). The elected players are joined by 15 additional All-Stars selected by the Pacific Coast League office. All sixteen PCL clubs will be sending at least one representative to Portland.

Bowker was the leading vote getter from field managers and general managers, and members of the media, earning him a starting role in this year’s All-Star game. In his fifth season in professional baseball, Bowker makes the Triple-A All-Star squad in his first full season in the league, pacing the Grizzlies offense in every major statistical category. The left-handed slugger is among the league leaders in several offensive columns, as the Long Beach State product is second in the PCL in batting average (.359), fifth in hits (93), first in on-base percentage (.460), third in runs scored (58), and third in slugging (.637).

Bowker was named PCL Hitter of the Week in back-to-back weeks on May 25th and June 7th, and is coming off a month of June where he batted .392, with 12 home runs – a new Grizzlies Franchise record for homers in one month – and 29 RBI. He has racked up 16 home runs and 37 extra-base hits on the season.

Pucetas has been the anchor on the Fresno pitching staff, and one of the most commanding hurlers in the PCL this season. The South Carolina native, who was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 17th round of the 2006 First Year Player Draft out of Limestone College, has a league leading eight wins (tied with two others), a 3.17 ERA (5th in PCL), and has tossed the second most innings in the PCL (96.2). Pucetas has only improved as the season has progressed, going 3-1 in June with a 2.68 ERA in six starts, and an impressive 5-0 record and 1.02 ERA on the road this season. This will be the third minor league All-Star selection for the righty, as he has posted dominating numbers at each level thus far.

The PCL is looking for its second consecutive Triple-A All-Star game victory, after winning the contest by a score of 6-5 in the 2008 All-Star game hosted in Louisville, Kentucky. This will be the 12th showdown under the current IL vs. PCL format, with the PCL having a one game edge in the record books at 6-5. The winning League will have its champion play as the home team in the Triple-A Championship Game – the Bricktown Showdown – in Oklahoma City this September.

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