Four AppleSox Selected to 2019 WCL All-Star Game

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Four members of the Wenatchee AppleSox will represent the organization on Tuesday, July 23, at the 2019 West Coast League All-Star Game in Bend, Oregon.

Ryan Altenberger, Cole McKenzie, Jake Saum and Sam Wyatt have been selected by commissioner Rob Neyer. Altenbrger will also participate in the home run derby the night before at 6:30 at Vince Genna Stadium.

This is the second consecutive year that the AppleSox have had four All-Stars selected. Wenatchee hosted the inaugural WCL All-Star Game in 2006.

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Altenberger is hitting .280/.425/.400 with eight extra-base hits, tied for third-most on the Sox. He leads the AppleSox with 23 walks and is second in the WCL. Altenberger went on a team-best nine-game hitting streak from June 27-July 7, batting .387 (12-for-31) with three multi-hit games and 12 walks. He’s also shown off his speed this year by swiping eight bags, tied for fourth most on the AppleSox. Altenberger’s best game came on June 19 when he went 5-for-5 with five singles and two runs in a 9-5 win over Port Angeles. He has played left field, right field, second base, third base and shortstop this season for the AppleSox. Altenberger has currently reached base in 14 consecutive games.

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McKenzie is hitting .370/.466/.481 to lead the AppleSox in all four categories. He also leads the AppleSox in hit (40), stolen bases (11), doubles (9), extra-base hits (10) and hit by pitches (8). McKenzie’s batting average and on-base percentage are the second-best and third-best in the WCL, respectively. His current 18-game on-base streak is the fifth-longest in the league this summer. McKenzie has recorded 12 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games, both tops on the AppleSox. He has recorded three different hitting streak hits of at least five games. McKenzie’s best game of the summer was on June 18 when he went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs and two stolen bases in a 7-5 win over the Lefties. He has started and batted third in all 29 games he’s played in this summer.

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Saum is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five games, three starts. He has gone at least five innings in all three of his starts and is third on the AppleSox with 26 strikeouts. Saum’s three wins also lead the Sox and he has only allowed three extra-base hits. The AppleSox have won each of the last four games that Saum has pitched in. His best outing was his last on July 11. The southpaw struck out 10 in six innings and allowed just one run. His double-digit punchouts set a single-game high for AppleSox pitchers this season. Saum has walked just seven batters in 20 innings.

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Wyatt is 1-2 with a 2.73 ERA entering his third start of the season tonight. He has tossed five-or-more innings in relief twice and has tossed five innings in both of his starts. Wyatt’s 29 strikeouts lead the AppleSox and his 26.1 innings and ERA are third and fourth-best. He has struck out five or more batters in three outings and is averaging about 3.1 innings per outing. Wyatt’s best appearance came on July 2 against Kelowna, when he allowed on unearned run over five innings and did not allow a hit in his first 4.1 innings. He struck out seven, one off his season-high, and allowed just the one aforementioned hit. Wyatt has allowed more than two runs in an outing just once this season.