Guiding Lights: Metro Bucs Name Five All-Stars

July 4, 2018 - LOS ANGELES -

Metro Bucs fielders Gavin Hagen, Tyler Greene, Sebastian Yasuda, Alex Aguillar and pitcher Henry Leake will play in the LA Metro League All-Star Game, having been selected by head coach Jay Cordero.

The selection is an expression of confidence from Cordero, and identifies these five players as role models for the rest of the Bucs squad.

“Im really proud of all my players in the first half of the season they’ve all worked incredibly hard,” said Cordero. “I wanted to specifically recognize these five players for their excellent performance this past couple of weeks and the first half of the season.”

Glendale Sports Complex will host the All-Stars for the annual competition which takes place Monday, July 9.

Ventura benefits from the offensive contributions of the four position players on a game-to-game basis. All of them have the ability to hit from multiple spots in the order. In a season that only recently turned 20 games old, each Ventura All-Star has at least seven RBIs.

Hagen is the only current Metro Buc to hit a home run this year, but don’t be fooled into thinking he is an all or nothing hitter. He has put his noticeably open stance to work this year leading the team with a .421 batting average.

Cordero considers Hagen an all around player.

“He is excellent defensively and brings a power bat to the middle of our lineup,” the Bucs skipper said.

Greene is a run producer through and through. He owns the team lead with 11 RBIs. He also has six doubles in a year when no other Buc has more than three. Moreover, Greene is strong on the base paths with 11 runs scored.

“Green has been a great producer of runs and RBI all summer long,” Cordero said, underscoring his consistency throughout the year.

Yasuda, called “Sea Bass” by teammates, is perhaps the most dependable player on the Bucs when the team finds itself needing a productive at-bat. Few players anywhere in baseball have more walks than strikeouts, and Yasuda is one of them. He has 12 walks while striking out in only five of his plate appearances.

Aguillar is tied with Greene for the most runs scored by any Metro Buc. He can also bat in the top, middle, or bottom third of the lineup. His work ethic is unquestionable to any who have been to Pote Field this year. Those who show up early will find him three feet in front of a fence, pounding it with baseballs and speaking with whoever might be around about how he can improve at doing so. He is one of only three Bucs with at least three doubles and 10 singles on the year. Aguillar is also just two walks away from having as many walks as strikeouts.

Aguillar’s work has been paying dividends recently.

“Making sure his front shoulder is working out towards the pitcher has been the biggest adjustment for him and lately its been starting to show,” said Cordero, who is also impressed with the play of both Yasuda and Aguillar on the defensive side of the ball.

“They’ve been the anchors of my defense holding down the middle infield all summer, and have been really good about getting on base and scoring runs,” he explained.

Leake is the ace of the pitching staff. As of this writing, he has more innings pitched than the Bucs have games played. His 2.14 ERA is the best on the team by nearly a run per nine innings. He is described by Cordero as someone who has been “a strong force on the mound all year [who] sets a tone at the beginning of the game and gives [Ventura] a chance every time he comes to the mound.”

Glendale Sports Complex will host the All-Stars for the annual competition which takes place Monday, July 9.

Contributions from throughout the lineup have complimented the stellar play of these five All-Stars, a combination which has landed the Bucs in first place in the LA Metro League.

*All photographs in this article were taken by Brian Melblom.