Gateway Grizzlies outfielder Shawon Dunston Jr. and relief pitcher Dakota Smith will represent the Grizzlies at the 2019 Frontier League vs. Can-Am League All-Star Game July 10 in Rockland, N.Y., at Palisades Credit Union Park. The Frontier League announced its 27-man All-Star roster Friday.
Dunston Jr., 26, is hitting .271 with four home runs and 22 RBIs. He ranks third in the Frontier League with 16 stolen bases (on only 18 attempts) and has started 36 of the Grizzlies’ 42 games in center field. In his eighth year as a professional since he was an 11th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2011 MLB Draft, Dunston Jr. had a short stint in independent baseball last season when he appeared in eight games for the Chicago Dogs, who were playing their first season in the American Association. Before that, he spent five seasons in the Cubs’ organization and reached the Class A-Adv. Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Pelicans. He also played in the San Francisco Giants’ organization with the Class-A Augusta (S.C.) GreenJackets.
Dunston Jr.’s father and namesake, Shawn Sr., was the drafted by the Cubs No. 1 overall in 1982 and went on to play 18 seasons in the big leagues with the Cubs, Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Mets. The two-time All-Star hit .269 with 150 home runs in his career.
Smith, 26, rejoined the Grizzlies prior to the 2018 season after a stint in the Boston Red Sox organization and is in his fourth year with Gateway and fifth in professional baseball. After a promising first month to 2018 as a starter, injury issues cut his season short and moved him back to the Grizzlies’ bullpen in 2019. Smith has appeared in 21 games (half of the Grizzlies’ schedule so far) and posted a 2.49 ERA. He’s tossed 21 2/3 innings and struck out 33 batters while walking only four. Over his last two appearances, he’s struck out all six hitters who have come to the plate against him.
Smith previously pitched for Gateway in 2015 and 2016 and posted phenomenal numbers in his final year: 2-1 record with a 2.25 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 42 strikeouts (against only eight walks) in 40 innings pitched. The Leavenworth, Kan., native spent 2017 with the Class-A Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League. Before starting with the Grizzlies in 2015, Smith played four years at the University of Kansas, where he served primarily as an outfielder. Smith was a career .280 hitter for the Jayhawks with 12 home runs and 126 RBIs in 197 games. He hit a career-best .337 during his junior campaign. Smith also appeared in 19 games out of the KU bullpen during his career posting a 1-2 record with a 3.67 ERA.
All-Star events begin with the All-Star Charitable Luncheon featuring New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling on Tuesday, July 9. The Home Run Derby takes place that night and features former New York Yankees and Mets players Mookie Wilson, Jesse Barfield, and John Flaherty.
The Can-Am League vs. Frontier League All-Star Game presented by WMC Health/Good Samaritan Hospital is Wednesday, July 10. For tickets and additional information, please visit http://www.rocklandboulders.
“We are extremely pleased and excited to be playing the Can-Am League All-Stars,” Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee said. “Everyone is looking forward to coming to the New York area. This is an unprecedented game for our League. We want to thank all of the owners, teams and Executive Director Kevin Winn for making this possible. Above all, we want to thank Shawn Reilly and the entire Rockland Boulders staff for their hard work.”
