(July 2, 2018) — The York Revolution announced today it will send four players to Long Island for the 2018 Atlantic League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 11, at Bethpage Ballpark. They’ll play for a Freedom Division team led by Revolution manager Mark Mason and members of his coaching staff.
Outfielder Welington Dotel, left-handed pitcher Robert Carson, and right-handed pitcher Grant Sides were named to the Freedom Division roster. Second baseman Alexi Casilla was also selected, but he will be replaced on the roster by outfielder Jared Mitchell.
Dotel signed with the Revs on May 8 and hasn’t stopped hitting since joining the team. He hit a go-ahead two-RBI double and drove in all three of the Revs runs in their 3-2 win over Southern Maryland on May 9 in just his second game and has hit safely in 39 of 48 games with the Revs. Dotel, the team’s everyday left fielder, is second on the club with a .322 batting average and has two home runs, 10 doubles, and 26 RBI in 48 games with the Revs this season. He caught fire in mid-May, owning a league-best 17-game hitting streak from May 15 through June 5 and had at least one RBI in five straight games from May 23 through May 27. He hit .348 and raised his season batting average 39 points during the streak. The 2015 Atlantic League Player of the Year leads the Revs with 18 multi-hit games, including two three-hit games, and went 4-for-6 with a home run in a doubleheader at Somerset on June 13. He also has two separate stints with four straight multi-hit games.
Casilla started the season on a seven-game hitting streak and has been one of the Revs most consistent hitters all year. The veteran second baseman has been a force hitting in the two-hole of the lineup while also playing excellent defense, all while nursing a sore hamstring for a chunk of the first half. Casilla has two home runs, eight doubles, and 18 RBI in 49 games this season. His .309 batting average ranks eighth in the league, and he leads the Revs with 21 infield hits. He’s the only Rev with two four-hit games this season; he went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double, and four RBI on May 30 against Southern Maryland and posted a 4-for-4 effort on June 29 against Somerset. He’s tied for second on the team with 17 multi-hit games and has two separate seven-game hitting streaks.
Mitchell, who is replacing Casilla on the All-Star roster, has been a mainstay in right field for the Revs and has provided a spark in the leadoff spot, where he’s spent almost all of the first two months of the season. Mitchell went on a 15-game hitting streak from May 23 through June 9 and hit .371 during the streak. Mitchell leads the league with 37 walks and leads the Revs in runs (40), stolen bases (13), and games played (55). His 40 runs scored are also second most in the league. He is batting .246 with four home runs, 21 RBI, and a .359 OBP. The former first-round pick has 10 multi-hits game and five multi-RBI games and has made no errors in 55 games in right field. Mitchell’s season highlights include hitting a leadoff home run on Opening Day, going 4-for-6 with a double and three singles on May 8 at Southern Maryland, and finishing a homer shy of the cycle with three runs scored on May 29 against Southern Maryland.
Sides helped the Revs win their third Atlantic League title in 2017 after joining the team in September and signed back with the team in early May this year. Sides started as the Revs’ setup man before transitioning into the primary closer role. He’s 5-for-5 in save opportunities, has two holds, has allowed just one run in 16.1 innings pitched (good for an 0.55 ERA), and didn’t allow his first run of the season until June 29. The right-hander has retired 14 of the 18 leadoffs batters he’s faced, and opponents are 0-for-11 against him with runners in scoring position. He’s racked up 23 strikeouts with only two walks and 10 hits allowed and owns a 2-0 record in 15 appearances. He got the final five outs with three strikeouts and earned the win on May 29 against Southern Maryland for his longest outing of the season. He has eight appearances with two strikeouts and had five consecutive outings with two or more strikeouts from May 20 through May 29.
Carson has been arguably the Revs most valuable pitcher this season. The left-hander has pitched in multiple roles in relief and recently transitioned to the starting rotation because of injury issues with the team’s pitching staff. Carson is tied for the team lead with five wins and owns a 1.92 ERA over 42.0 innings with 36 strikeouts and only 13 walks and one home run allowed. He’s made 19 appearances, including three starts, and earned a six-out save on Opening Day. In his three starts, he’s allowed just three earned runs in 17.0 innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks, and he has earned wins in each of his last two starts. His best start came on June 22 against Sugar Land, when he worked seven shutout innings with four strikeouts and no walks. In relief, Carson has made eight appearances of more than one inning and six appearances of more than two innings.
This year’s mid-summer classic marks Mason’s first time managing at the Atlantic League All-Star Game. He served on the Freedom Division’s coaching staff in 2011 and 2012 under then-Revolution manager Andy Etchebarren. He is the winningest manager in Revolution history, entering the season with 351 victories over his first five seasons guiding the club.
Mason led the Revolution to the Second Half Freedom Division title in 2017 as well as a 6-1 postseason record en route to winning the franchise’s third Atlantic League championship and first since 2011. The 6-1 run through the playoffs established the best postseason mark in Revolution history. He was named the Atlantic League Manager of the Year in 2014 and has guided York to three postseason appearances as the team’s skipper.
“It’s a privilege to be in a position to lead the Freedom Division’s best players against the best players from the Liberty Division,” said Mason. “It should be an exciting game and a great time on Long Island. I’m very much looking forward to this amazing opportunity.”
Mason will be joined on the Freedom Division’s coaching staff by fellow Revolution coaches Enohel Polanco (hitting/third base coach) and Sandy De Leon (first base coach).
Complete 2018 All-Star Game rosters for both the Freedom and Liberty Division were released earlier today by the Atlantic League and can be found here.
PHOTO caption (photo by Joe Doll)
Top row: Sandy De Leon (left), Mark Mason, Enohel Polanco
Bottom row: Jared Mitchell (left), Grant Sides, Robert Carson, Welington Dotel