Baseball fans will find some very familiar names on this year’s roster of South Atlantic League All-Stars.
The sons of prominent big leaguers Mariano Rivera, Lenny Dykstra, Mike Matheny and Charlie Hayes will be coming to Lexington for the SAL All-Star game Tuesday, June 21 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.
Pitcher Mariano Rivera of the Hagerstown Suns also has the same first name as his famous father, the all-time major league leader in saves with 652 and a 13-time American League All-Star with the New York Yankees. The younger Rivera, 22, is on the Northern Division All-Star roster. He was first drafted by the Yankees in the 29th round in 2014, but did not sign. A year later, he signed with Washington after the Nationals chose him in the fourth round. With Hagerstown this year, he’s 3-0 with a 3.73 earned run average in 18 relief appearances. (His ERA jumped to 3.73 from 2.67 when he gave up four runs in one inning to the Lexington Legends June 12.) Rivera has four saves in seven save opportunities.
Second baseman Luke Dykstra of the Rome Braves, son of former Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets star Lenny Dykstra, will play for the Southern Division. Luke Dykstra, 20, was drafted by Atlanta in the seventh round in 2014 and signed with the Braves out of Westlake High School in California. He split time between Rome and Danville (Appalachian League) in 2014, and batted .348 in 26 games for Rome in 2015. This season, he’s hitting .319 in 55 games for Rome, and has 29 runs batted in.
Also on the Southern Division roster is Greenville Drive outfielder Tate Matheny, son of St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. Tate Matheny, 22, was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the June 2015 first-year player draft. He played in college at Missouri State, and was 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, second team All-MVC, and Baseball America Freshman All-American. He began his pro career in 2015 with Lowell (New York-Penn League), and batted just .181 with 20 RBI in 52 games, but this year, at a higher classification, he’s batting .293 for Greenville with six doubles, three triples, four homers and 27 runs batted in.
West Virginia Power third baseman and Northern Division All-Star Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of 14-year major leaguer Charlie Hayes, who led the National League in doubles with 45 for the Colorado Rockies in 1993, and is remembered by New York Yankees fans for making a catch for the final out of the 1996 World Series, giving the Yankees their first World Series title in 18 years. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 19, was a first round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015, and is ranked the sixth-best prospect in the Pittsburgh organization by mlb.com. He’s batting .276 with six homers and 31 RBI in 52 games for West Virginia.
Hayes and the Power are currently in Lexington for a three-game series against the Legends.
Tickets for the All-Star game are available at www.lexingtonlegends.com or by calling 859 422-7867.