With the Minor League season coming to a close, the Texas League announced its post-season All-Star Team. Three Los Angeles Dodgers prospects, representing Double-A Tulsa, were named to the team: second baseman Willie Calhoun, right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong and outfielder Alex Verdugo.
De Jong was also named Texas League Pitcher of the Year. He joins former Drillers pitchers Danny Smith (1992), Jeff Francis (2004), Samuel Deduno (2009) and Tyler Anderson (2014) to win the award.
The 22-year-old De Jong had a strong season with the Drillers, going 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 141.2 innings over 25 starts. His 14 wins rank first in the Texas League.
De Jong was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City over the weekend and made his debut Sunday, collecting eight strikeouts and allowing just one run in 5.1 innings.
Calhoun has paced the Texas League in many offensive statistics. The 21-year-old is batting .255/.319/.472, leading the league in RBIs with 88 and ranking second with 27 home runs, 74 runs scored and 232 total bases.
He recently was named among the prospects who will be sent to the Arizona Fall League to finish out the season.
The Dodgers selected Calhoun in the fourth round in 2015 and he has quickly worked his way up the Minor League ranks.
In 125 games, Verdugo is hitting .275/.338/.410 with 13 home runs, 62 RBIs and 58 runs scored. He ranks fifth in the league with 125 hits, and leads with 13 outfield assists. The 20-year-old was selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2014 Draft.
The Texas League All-Stars are selected through voting by league managers, coaches and media members.
