masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Single-A Frederick Keys will be sending three players to the Carolina League-California League All-Star Game on Tuesday, June 21, hosted by the Lake Elsinore Storm. Pitcher Matthew Grimes, infielder Aderlin Rodriguez and catcher Jonah Heim will represent the Keys.
The 24-year-old Grimes earns his first professional All-Star nod after also being named the Carolina League Player of the Month for May and the Orioles organization minor league Pitcher of the Month. The right-hander is 7-2 with a…

The Single-A Frederick Keys will be sending three players to the Carolina League-California League All-Star Game on Tuesday, June 21, hosted by the Lake Elsinore Storm. Pitcher Matthew Grimes, infielder Aderlin Rodriguez and catcher Jonah Heim will represent the Keys.

Thumbnail image for Grimes tall pic Keys.jpgThe 24-year-old Grimes earns his first professional All-Star nod after also being named the Carolina League Player of the Month for May and the Orioles organization minor league Pitcher of the Month. The right-hander is 7-2 with a 1.08 ERA in 11 games. Over 66 2/3 innings, he has allowed 14 runs on 54 hits to go with 12 walks and 46 strikeouts. Opponents are batting only .223 against him. Grimes has thrown 28 consecutive scoreless innings dating to a start on May 17. An 18th-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech in 2014, Grimes ranks second in the league in ERA and fifth in all of the full-season minor leagues. He leads all Carolina League pitchers in WHIP (0.99), while he is tied for second in wins, third in innings pitched and fourth in average against.

Rodriguez, 24, earns an All-Star nod during his first Carolina League season. The O’s minor league Player of the Month for May, the Keys first baseman has been one of the league’s top power threats in the first half. Over 54 games, Rodriguez is hitting .276 with 10 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and a .486 slugging percentage. A native of the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez is second in the league in home runs and total bases, fourth in home run/at-bat ratio (1/21 AB) and fifth in slugging. In May, he led all Carolina Leaguers in slugging (.583).

Heim, 20, will make his first professional All-Star game appearance. The catcher with the highest caught stealing percentage in the Carolina League (35.6%), Heim is tied for second on the Keys with five home runs and has nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (24). Rated the No. 15 prospect in the Orioles system according to Baseball America, Heim was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He was a non-roster invitee to O’s major league spring training this year.