Sure enough, Greenville got three batters on the Johnson League All-Star team: Jake Urban, Dwight Smith and Roman Empire.
Urban was no surprise at all, picking up 13 of 22 votes for starting shortstop after hitting .308/.374/.616 with 10 doubles, 5 triples, 27 homers, 75 RBI, 76 runs, 31 walks, 38 strikeouts and 10 stole bases in 328 at-bats before the midseason classic. He's posted an OPS+ of 156 and a 38.7 VORP, though he's struggled in the field this season (-0.5 ZR and .979 fielding percentage after marks of 4.6 and .988 last year).
Smith was signed to a one-year deal early in April to help the offense after both Reddie Ray and Dan Manville went down with injuries. The 34-year-old outfield has played far beyond expectations, hitting .340/.396/.561 with 15 doubles, 13 homers, 51 RBI, 38 runs, 23 walks and 39 strikeouts in 253 at-bats. He's been pretty terrible in the outfield (-9.1 ZR and .972 fielding percentage), but his bat seems to have made up for his deficiencies with the glove. He won the starting rightfield spot by one vote over Hawaii's Silas Camarena.
Empire's honor is almost as big of a surprise. He lost out on the starting spot at second to Vancouver's Douglas Newhouse (who deserved to get the nod with this .317/.426/.594 slash line and 29 stole bases), but earned a reserve spot thanks to his own .338/.410/.481 slash line with 18 doubles, 8 homers, 66 RBI, 49 runs, 35 walks and 44 strikeouts in 308 at-bats. He has been in the leadoff spot most of the year and done a very good job of setting the table for the rest of the lineup, especially for a rookie. He has an OPS+ of 136 and a 23.3 VORP, though he's struggled in the field just like his fellow Greenville all-stars (-8.2 ZR and .976 fielding percentage). At 23 years of age (and likely to move back to his more natural third base spot next year if he doesn't improve at second), this likely is the first of many All-Star nods for Empire.
The Moonshiners also had a starting pitcher named to the All-Star team. No award for guessing who, though, since it's career All-Star Jay Lee. The 27-year-old pitcher is 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 144 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 136 innings (18 starts). Lee, who received the most votes (22) of any Johnson League starter, is expected to be named to every All-Star team for the rest of his career, as long as he's healthy.
