FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A record ten former Sharks are living out their dreams of playing professional baseball, led by the first former Nova Southeastern University student-athlete to be selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, J.D. Martinez.
 
J.D. Martinez – Detroit Tigers

Since the June update, Martinez has turned on the jets, hitting .338 and slugging .762 since June 7th, with 17 home runs and 37 runs batted in, ranking first in MLB in that time in both categories. On June 21, Martinez had his first career multi-homer game, crushing three balls out of Yankee Stadium, making him only the seventh player in baseball history to hit three home runs in one game on the road against the New York Yankees. For his efforts, he was named to the American League All-Star team on July 6th, the same day he was named AL Player of the Week for the second time in his career. On the season, Martinez is batting .283 with a .544 slugging (fifth in the AL), 65 runs scored (fifth), 202 total bases (fourth), 27 home runs (third), 62 runs batted (tied for sixth), 43 extra-base hits (tied for sixth) and 13.7 at bats per home run (fifth). He became just the fourth player in Detroit Tigers history to hit 25 or more home runs by the All-Star break. He has also displayed defensive prowess, leading all AL right fielders in assists and ranking second fielding percentage.
 
Mike Fiers – Milwaukee Brewers
 
In ten starts since June, Fiers is 4-3 with a 3.43 ERA, .228 opponent batting average and 53 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched, delivering six quality starts. His 20 starts this season rank fourth in the National League, while his 9.32 strikeouts per nine innings are ninth. Fiers' 3.94 ERA on the season is the lowest among Brewers pitchers with ten or more starts, and he leads the team with 116 strikeouts.
 
Miles Mikolas – Yomiuri Giants
 
With a 7-3 record and 2.10 ERA in 14 starts, Mikolas has been one the best starting pitchers in the Japan Central League this season, and a big part of why his Yomiuri Giants have allowed the fewest runs in the league. He leads all starters (10-start minimum) in the entire league with a 1.01 WHIP. His ERA is second among Yomuiri starters and third in the JCL, while his 4.00 SO/BB rate (72:18) ranks first and second, respectively. Mikolas has been even better over the past two months of the season. In his last ten starts, nine of which were quality starts, spanning 72.3 innings (7.2 innings per start), Mikolas has an ERA of 1.24, throwing two complete game shutouts in that time, and holding his opponents scoreless in four other outings. He has held opposing batters to a .202 average, while striking out 57 (21% of all batters faced), and walking just 11. Mikolas will be a major factor in the Japan Central League's playoff race down the stretch, where the Giants are just two games back of the division lead.
 
Carlos Asuaje – Portland SeaDogs
 
Asuaje was rewarded for his strong play at the AA level this season by representing the SeaDogs in the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 15th. He is currently third in the Eastern League in walks and tied for fourth in triples, also leading his team in games played, at bats, runs scored, walks and triples. In a 4-3 walk-off Portland victory, Asuaje was 2-3 with two walks and a triple; down 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th, he drove in the game-tying run with an RBI double, then scored the game-winner. So far in the month of July, Asuaje is hitting .316 with a .374 on-base percentage, and .342 and .415, respectively, with a .438 slugging and nine walks to 12 strikeouts over the last three weeks.
 
Ryan Castellanos – Connecticut Tigers
 
Castellanos started his minor league career with 16 scoreless innings across three levels. In his debut on June 26 for the GCL Tigers, Detroit's affiliate in the rookie level Gulf Coast League, he threw four innings of one-hit ball against the GCL Phillies, while striking out three to earn his first career win. He followed that up with seven strikeouts in four innings against the GCL Pirates. After a promotion to the High-A Florida State League Lakeland Flying Tigers, Castellanos tossed four perfect innings in two starts, including the first save of his career in the 13th inning of a 4-3 Lakeland victory over the Clearwater Threshers. In his first minor league start for the Tigers of the New York-Penn League, he allowed one run on five hits over five innings of work. So far this season, Castellanos has scattered nine hits in 17 innings pitched, while striking twelve batters and walking none.
 
Alexander Fernandez – Batavia Muckdogs
 
Fernandez started his minor league career at the rookie level for the GCL Marlins with a five-game hitting streak, including a big 3-for-5 game on July 2 in which he doubled twice, homered, and scored three runs. He was promoted to the Florida State League's Jupiter Hammerheads for one game, on July 13, in which he started at third base, singled and drew a walk. He is currently in the New York-Penn League, where he has a nine-game hitting streak, .340 batting average, a .392 on-base percentage and .532 slugging percentage in twelve games for the Muckdogs. He has two home runs, three doubles, six runs scored, and seven runs batted in.
 
Justin Garcia – Greeneville Astros
 
Garcia has been adjusting to minor league baseball for the Astros of the Appalachian League. Half of his hits have gone for extra bases, thanks to his best game so far, on July 9th, when he went 3-for-5 with 3 doubles, driving in two runs and scoring twice against the Johnson City Cardinals. He hit his first minor league home run on July 27th in game one of a doubleheader, a 434-foot shot not unlike the mammoth homers he hit into the Miami Dolphins training facility from the NSU Baseball Complex.
 
Roberto Baroniel – Normal Cornbelters
 
Giving up just one earned run in three of his first four starts to begin his pro career in the Frontier League, Baroniel is 1-1, with a 2.65 ERA in 20.1 innings. His ERA is the lowest on his team among starting pitchers with at least two starts. Baroniel has also struck 18 batters, and has held opposing batters to a .203 batting average. In his first win for the Cornbelters, Bubba allowed one earned run on just one hit, with five strikeouts in five innings.
 
Zac Westcott – Lincoln Saltdogs
 
Through ten relief appearances, Westcott has a 3.31 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, with 20 strikeouts to just four walks, and has also held opposing hitters to a .230 batting average in 19 innings of work in the American Association. He earned the first two wins of his career in consecutive appearances, tossing five hitless innings between the two games. Over his last six games, Westcott has allowed two earned runs on seven hits in twelve innings and picked up a third win, for a 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, .152 opponent batting average, .394 opponent on-base-plus-slugging, and has struck out 30% of the batters he has faced.
 
Roche Woodard – Roswell Invaders
 
After signing with Roswell earlier this month, Woodard has started his professional career by tearing up the Pecos League. He had four multi-hit games in the first five games of his career, going 12-for-21 (.571) with four runs batted in and six stolen bases. Woodard ended a 12-game hitting streak on Sunday, during which he has hit .327 and slugged .500, but still has an active 14-game on-base streak and a .391 on-base percentage over that time. His .373 batting average on the season is second on his team and he's tied for fourth in stolen bases (12), despite playing in a third of the games played as the players above him.