Twelve Nations Represented as MLB Announces XM All-Star Futures Rosters

Written by: Jerry Milani on 26th June 2009

Twelve Nations Represented as MLB Announces XM All-Star Futures Rosters | read this item

xmfutureslogo Major League Baseball today announced the U.S. and World Team rosters for the 11th annual XM All-Star Futures game, to be played on Sunday, July 12, as part of the All-Star festivities at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. With 12 nations represented – the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Italy, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Japan, Panama, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands Antilles – the global growth of the game has never been more evident.

The game, which begins at 2 p.m. ET, will be televised in over 200 countries. It can be seen live in North America on ESPN2 and MLB.TV and heard live on XM MLB Home Plate, Ch. 175.

The diversity in the Futures Game, which will feature the rising stars of baseball, coupled with the latest global fan voting for the All-Star game (which has players from five different nations leading at their respective positions), are also barometers of that international strength.

“Every week there is another example of the rapid international growth that baseball is witnessing, whether it is a large increase in Little League participation in Europe, new school programs in Africa or Asia, or new sponsors in Latin America,” said IBAF President Dr. Harvey Schiller. “The diversity in nations that will be represented during the Major League Baseball All-Star festivities is further proof that the game at the highest level is also growing quickly, with many of these younger stars already exposed to international play through the Olympics, the World Baseball Classic and other events. This will help baseball gain even more exposure in emerging nations, and it shows that the future of the sport on a global basis is very bright.”

MLB, in conjunction with the MLB Scouting Bureau, MLB.com, Baseball America and the 30 Major League clubs, selected the 25-man rosters for both clubs. Each MLB organization is represented. Players from all full-season Minor Leagues were eligible to participate.

oquendo Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith will serve as manager for the U.S. Team, and St. Louis Cardinals third-base coach and former Major League infielder Jose Oquendo will skipper the World squad. Oquendo was as the helm of Team Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Team Rosters for the XM All-Star Futures Game are below:

U.S. Team Roster
Pitchers (10)
* Bumgarner, Madison (Giants)
* Drabek, Kyle (Phillies)
* Duffy, Danny (Royals)
* Kelly, Casey (Red Sox)
* Latos, Mat (Padres)
* Lincoln, Brad (Pirates)
* Matusz, Brian (Orioles)
* Parker, Jarrod (D-backs)
* Reckling, Trevor (Angels)
* Tillman, Chris (Orioles)

Catchers (2)
* Castro, Jason (Astros)
* Flowers, Tyler (White Sox)

Infielders (8)
* Alvarez, Pedro (Pirates)
* Carter, Chris (Athletics)
* Espinosa, Danny (Nationals)
* Sizemore, Scott (Tigers)
* Vitters, Josh (Cubs)
* Wallace, Brett (Cardinals)
* Weeks, Jemile (Athletics)
* Young, Eric (Rockies)

Outfielders (5)
* Heisey, Chris (Reds)
* Heyward, Jason (Braves)
* Jennings, Desmond (Rays)
* Jones, Daryl (Cardinals)
* Stanton, Mike (Marlins)

World Roster
Pitchers (10)
* Banuelos, Manny (Yankees)
* Chacin, Jhoulys (Rockies)
* Feliz, Neftali (Rangers)
* Flande, Yohan (Phillies)
* Lo, Chia-Jen (Astros)
* Mejia, Jenrry (Mets)
* Perez, Luis (Blue Jays)
* Septimo, Leyson (D-backs)
* Sulbaran, J.C. (Reds)
* Tazawa, Junichi (Red Sox)

Jesus Montero, courtesy TrentonThunder.com

Catchers (2)
* Montero, Jesus (Yankees)
* Santana, Carlos (Indians)

Infielders (8)
* Baez, Pedro (Dodgers)
* Castro, Starlin (Cubs)
* Escobar, Alcides (Brewers)
* Flores, Wilmer (Mets)
* Lawrie, Brett (Brewers)
* Liddi, Alex (Mariners)
* Viciedo, Dayan (White Sox)
* Villalona, Angel (Giants)

Outfielders (5)
* Durango, Luis (Padres)
* Gillies, Tyson (Mariners)
* Kang, Kyeong (Rays)
* Tosoni, Rene (Twins)
* Weglarz, Nick (Indians)

Topics: all star game, International, St. Louis