The Gateway Grizzlies are pleased to announce that seven players – Abdiel Diaz, Gabe Holt, Andrew Penner, Jairus Richards, D.J. Stewart, Collin Sullivan, and Peter Zimmermann – will represent the club at the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 12, at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, Illinois, as voted by the league’s managers, coaches, general managers, broadcasters, and members of the local media.
Diaz and Stewart will also form the starting left side of the infield at shortstop and third base, respectively, while Penner and Richards earn starting nods in the outfield. Collectively, that gives the Grizzlies 44 percent of the West Division’s starting lineup. The seven all-stars are also tied for the most selections of any Frontier League team with the New Jersey Jackals.
A third-year Grizzlie from Puerto Rico who is also in his second season as Gateway’s everyday shortstop, Abdiel Diaz is enjoying a solid season at the plate, with a .292 batting average, three homers, seven doubles, and 22 RBIs through July 2. He has also stolen nine bases in 12 attempts while not making a single error at one of the “premium” defensive positions in baseball, and has batted all around the lineup for manager Steve Brook, helping to round-out the club’s mighty offense as their lone switch-hitter.
Gabe Holt has set the table for the Grizzlies’ Frontier League-leading offense all season long, and through Sunday’s games leads all active qualifying players in the league with a .428 batting average and a .508 on-base percentage as well as a league-high 71 total hits. The second baseman from Warner Robins, Georgia and the Milwaukee Brewers organization also has 25 RBIs on the year, as well as stolen 13 bases without being caught once, and owns a whopping 20 multi-hit games in 2023 while reaching base in all but two of the games in which he has played.
Now in his fourth season in the Frontier League and second with the Grizzlies, Andrew Penner is enjoying a career year at the plate. Among active qualifying players in the league, he ranks third in batting average (.378) and total hits (65), fourth in on-base percentage (.471) and tied for fourth in runs scored (42). The Frazier Park, California native previously saw time in the circuit with the Evansville Otters, Washington Wild Things, and River City Rascals.
Acquired in a trade from the Windy City ThunderBolts in the offseason, Jairus Richards is also in the midst of a career year at the plate, and will return to Crestwood as an All-Star for the Grizzlies in 2023. The Gig Harbor, Washington native is batting .329 this season, and owns a .452 on-base percentage that places him inside the league’s top-10 qualifying batters through July 2. The speedster also ranks second in the Frontier League with 28 stolen bases to go along with six home runs and 28 RBIs. Possessing one of the strongest outfield arms in the league, Richards has contributed seven outfield assists in Gateway’s first 43 games.
A St. Louis native playing right across the river from his hometown, D.J. Stewart has done it all for the Grizzlies this season as their everyday third baseman, placing sixth among all active Frontier League qualifying hitters in RBIs (40) and total hits (57) to go along with a .329 batting average, 11 doubles, and six home runs. Stewart, who is in his first full season in the circuit after being acquired in an offseason trade from the Lake Erie Crushers, has also contributed to the league’s top stolen base club total, with 12 in only 13 attempts on the basepaths.
The lone representative from the Grizzlies’ pitching staff, Collin Sullivan is also enjoying a stellar season as an anchor of the team’s starting rotation. The right-hander from DeBary, Florida and the Arizona Diamondbacks organization is currently tied for the league lead with six victories, and ranks second among all qualifying Frontier Leaguers in strikeouts (65) and strikeouts-per-nine-innings (11.04. His 2.21 ERA is also fourth-lowest among all league hurlers, with Sullivan having pitched six innings or more in six of his eight starts in 2023.
Last, but by no means least, Peter Zimmermann has been, bar-none, one of the most-productive hitters in the Frontier League this season, his second with the Grizzlies and as a professional. Also from St. Louis, Zimmermann has paced the Grizzlies’ offense all season long, and leads the entire Frontier League with 58 RBIs entering play today. His .489 on-base percentage stands as the second-highest in the league among active qualifying hitters behind only teammate and fellow all-star Gabe Holt, as do his .745 slugging percentage and 14 home runs behind only New Jersey’s Josh Rehwaldt. Zimmermann’s .369 batting average is also the fifth-highest in the league among active players.
Winners of seven of their last nine games overall and in first place in the Frontier League West Division standings, the Grizzlies will look to keep their momentum at home when they host the Florence Y’alls in a three-game series beginning on tonight, July 3, at Grizzlies Ballpark. Joey Gonzalez will start the series opener against Florence’s Jestin Jones, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m. CT, and fireworks to follow the final out.
Jason Guerette is the Grizzlies' Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations and the "Voice of the Grizzlies." 2023 will be his second season with the organization, handling lead broadcasting duties on the Grizzlies Media Network as well as being in charge of all team press releases and game-day media materials.
2023 will also be Jason's ninth season in the Frontier League after spending 2014-21 in the same role with the Southern Illinois Miners. Overall, he has broadcasted close to 800 games in the league, including playoffs. During the baseball offseason, he serves as a play-by-play broadcaster for Manhattan College and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with games being seen on ESPN+ among other platforms.
In addition to broadcasting, Jason works as a public address announcer for Seton Hall University women's basketball as well as Columbia University men's and women's basketball. He also spent nine years working "behind the scenes" as a freelance board operator and highlight editor at Westwood One for their coverage of the NFL, NCAA football, and NCAA basketball.
Jason graduated from Seton Hall in 2012 with B.A. in Communication Studies and a minor in Broadcasting & Visual Media.
