The Texas League has announced that Springfield Cardinals 1B Luke Voit and former Springfield RHP Luke Weaver have been named to the 2016 Texas League Postseason All-Star Team. The exclusive Postseason All-Star Team is made up of the league's top players from both divisions, consisting of only 10 spots for position players and eight for pitchers.
Voit, 25, has been one of the best and most complete offensive players in the Texas League this season, currently hitting .301 with 19 home runs, 19 doubles and 72 RBIs through 128 games. In his first Double-A campaign, Voit is on pace to win the league's batting title, leading the circuit in average, hits (138) and games (125), while ranking 2nd in on-base percentage (.379), tied for 3rd in RBIs, 3rd in total bases (222), tied for 3rd in slugging percentage (.484) and 4th in runs scored (68).
A native of Wildwood, Missouri and former Missouri State Bear, Voit was also selected to the North Division Team for the 2016 Texas League All-Star Game, presented by Great Southern Bank, which was played at Hammons Field on June 28. Swinging away at his home park and where he played his college ball, Voit dramatically came from behind to beat Midland 3B Matt Chapman in the Bass Pro Shops Home Run Derby, providing one of the most memorable moments in Hammons Field history.
Weaver, 23, took the Texas League by storm through his two months with Springfield, going 6-3 with a 1.40 ERA in 12 starts from June 5 – August 2. In his Double-A debut on June 5 in Frisco, Weaver dominated with 7.1 shutout innings, allowing just five hits with no walks and a career-high 10 strikeouts. That performance earned Weaver the Texas League Pitcher of the Week Award, despite only being in the league for one day at that point.
The DeLand, Florida native and 2014 1st-round pick out of Florida State rattled off 88 strikeouts through 77.0 innings in Double-A, allowing only 12 earned runs (23 total runs) on 63 hits and just 10 walks. He started his Springfield stint with an incredible 4-0 record and 1.15 ERA through five starts in June, winning the Texas League Player of the Month and St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month awards. Weaver was promoted to AAA-Memphis on August 5 and tossed six scoreless innings in his lone Triple-A start on August 8. He was then called up to St. Louis, making his Major League debut at Wrigley Field on August 13. Through three big league starts, Weaver is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA, including six one-run innings in his last start against Oakland on August 26.
The Texas League has also announced that Midland 3B Matt Chapman has been named Texas League Player of the Year, while Tulsa RHP Chase De Jong won Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, Midland's Field Manager Ryan Christenson is the league's Manager of the Year, with Frisco Hitting Coach and former Missouri State Bear Jason Hart being named the Mike Coolbaugh Coach of the Year.
