Giavotella Named to Topps Triple-A All-Star Team
Giavotella Named to Topps Triple-A All-Star Team
Storm Chasers’ second baseman adds to season of accolades
OMAHA, Neb. — Former Omaha Storm Chasers second baseman Johnny Giavotella has been named to the prestigious Topps Triple-A All-Star Team, Minor League Baseball announced Tuesday. The team, made up of just nine total players, features five Pacific Coast League stars and four International League stars.
Giavotella, 24, hit .338 in 110 games for the Storm Chasers this season, collecting 153 hits including 34 doubles, nine home runs, 72 runs batted in and 67 runs scored. The 2011 Pacific Coast League All-Star starter was one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the months of June and July, batting .391 (90-for-130) with 31 extra-base hits during the two-month stretch. He was honored as the PCL’s Player of the Month for June and was also named to the postseason All-Pacific Coast League team.
Following his promotion to the Kansas City Royals on August 5, Giavotella hit .247 (44-for-178) with two home runs, nine doubles, four triples and 21 RBI in 46 games. He collected his first MLB hit against the Detroit Tigers’ Rick Porcello, singled a day later against Detroit ace Justin Verlander and belted his first-career homer off of the Tigers’ Max Scherzer.
The Louisiana native was selected out of the University of New Orleans in the second round (49th overall) of the 2008 draft. He hit .299 for Class-A Burlington that summer, .258 in 2009 for High-A Wilmington and .322 for the 2010 Texas League Champion Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Giavotella is joined on the Topps Triple-A All-Stars by Bryan LaHair (Iowa/Chicago Cubs), Gil Velazquez (Salt Lake/Los Angeles Angels), Russ Canzler (Durham/Tampa Bay Rays), Devin Mesoraco (Louisville/Cincinnati Reds), Collin Cowgill (Reno/Arizona Diamondbacks), Alejandro de Aza (Charlotte/Chicago White Sox), Julio Teheran (Gwinnett/Atlanta Braves) and former Omaha Royal Jai Miller (Sacramento/Oakland Athletics).