Josh Michael: Three Shorebirds selected to South Atlantic League All-Star Game, one snubbed

While the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is more than a month away, the minor league All-Star Games will be here before you know it. The low Single-A South Atlantic League is where the Delmarva Shorebirds play, and on Tuesday, three Shorebirds were named to the All-Star Game: outfielder Zach Jarrett, first baseman Seamus Curran and third baseman Trevor Craport.

This year's South Atlantic League All-Star Game will be the 59th edition and will be held at First National Bank Field in Greensboro, N.C., on June 19. Craport, Jarrett and Curran will play for the Northern Division team in the midsummer classic.

Jarrett, 23, was a 28th-round selection by the O's in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Charlotte. He has been on a tear this season and earned the Orioles' Minor League Player of the Month award for his torrid April. He is hitting .281 with 10 home runs, seven doubles, one triple, 29 RBIs and has scored 35 runs over 52 games. He also boasts a .347 OBP and is currently among the league leaders in home runs, RBIs and total bases.

Craport, 21, was an 11th-round selection last year out of Georgia Tech and is having a terrific year at the hot corner for the Shorebirds. He is hitting .286 with eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 32 RBIs and has scored 34 runs. After an OK April, Craport really turned it on in May. Over 26 games in May, he hit .323 with 10 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs to go along with a .956 OPS.

Curran, 20, is the youngest of the trio, but has been in the organization the longest. He was selected in the eighth round in 2015 out of high school and is a big lefty presence at the plate standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 245 lbs. He is exhibiting good power thus far in 2018 with 11 doubles and 11 home runs, and has driven in 37 runs and scored 31 runs. Curran is among the South Atlantic League leaders in home runs and RBIs.

What's really cool about this trio heading to the All-Star Game together is that a week ago in a game against Kannapolis, N.C., Jarrett, Curran and Craport hit back-to-back-to-back home runs.

Some may be surprised to see just three Shorebirds get selected to the All-Star Game, and you would not be alone. I was very surprised, as well. There would have easily been two more if not for promotions for both Michael Baumann and Zac Lowther. The one I am most surprised about that got snubbed, though, was right-hander Brenan Hanifee.

Hanifee has been terrific for the Shorebirds this season, and is 4-1 with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP over nine starts and 50 1/3 innings pitched. He is all over the league leaderboard in several pitching categories, including 14th in wins, 15th in WHIP and 18th in ERA. I understand that there have been several pitchers having good seasons in the South Atlantic League, but Hanifee was snubbed in my opinion.

Congratulations to Jarrett, Curran and Craport on their selections to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game!

Josh Michael blogs about the Orioles for Baby Birdland. Follow him on Twitter: @BabyBirdland. His opinions on the Orioles will appear here as part of MASNsports.com's longstanding initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.