Fantastic Four: Four RailRiders named 2019 Triple-A All-Stars

Moosic, Pa. – It’s no doubt the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are going to be bringing the heat to the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game. Four of the team’s hottest players will be making the trip down to El Paso, Texas on July 10. Mike Ford, Ryan McBroom, Kyle Higashioka and J.P. Feyereisen were all selected to represent SWB at the game. 

Ford, a three-time all-star in the Single-A and Double-A leagues, spent 10 games with the team’s MLB affiliate New York Yankees this season before rejoining Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the beginning of May. The 26 year-old currently ranks fourth in the International League for batting average (.325), is tied for fourth in home runs (18), is second in OBP ( .424), and ranks first in both SLG (.665) and OPS (1.089).

Acquired in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017, 27 year-old Ryan McBroom has been a key component for the RailRiders. McBroom ranks sixth in the International League for batting average  (.319), third in SLG (.601), fifth in OPS (.990), sixth in XBH (35) and third in runs (53). McBroom has also been a three-time all-star in the Single-A and Double-A leagues. 

Higashioka has spent a number of rotations between the New York Yankees and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders over the past two years. He was again called up for a short stint early in the season before spending time with SWB. Higashioka, 29, has hit six home runs in the last twelve games, bringing his total to 12 for the season. The catcher is looking to surpass his previous career high in home runs this season.

Feyereisen is the lone pitcher that will be representing the RailRiders in El Paso. The 26 year-old relief pitcher has a 6-0 record over 24 appearances this season with a 2.21 ERA. Feyereisen ranks second in the International League for lowest batting average against (.134), second highest K/9.0 IP ratio (13.50) and fewest baserunners per 9.0 IP (8.35). Over his last seven appearances, the pitcher has allowed just two hits over 10.0 innings, recording 17 strikeouts. 

The last time the RailRiders had four players selected to the same all-star game was in 2016, when Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Ben Gamel and Chad Green were all selected to play.

The Triple-A All-Star game will start at 7:00 pm on July 10 and will be featured on the MLB network or is available for streaming on milb.tv.