Lefty has right stuff

July is all-star month for most baseball leagues. The Frontier League's all-star game is July 14 at Rent One Park in Marion, Ill. and voting for the East and West Division rosters will be conducted over the next few days.

Each FL team must have a representative in the game. At this point, you have to say the Wild Things will be assured of only two players in the game. Who will they be?

Chris Sidick is seventh in the league in hitting with a .326 batting average. He also has a .450 on-base percentage has 17 stolen bases. He's a solid contender for an all-star spot, though outfielders with good statistics always are plentiful.

Closer Eryk McConnell has seven saves (second-best in the East) and should be pushing 10 by the break. That's usually enough to get you in the game and closers are always considered.

One Washington player who should be considered, but will be easy to overlook because of his role, is setup reliever Kevin Hammons (pictured). The left-hander has a 2-2 record and 1.71 ERA. The league is batting only .182 against Hammons and left-handed hitters have become automatic outs when facing the former Florida Marlins draft pick. Lefty batters are 1-for-22 with 12 strikeouts.

Hammons was a 24th-round draft pick of the Marlins in 2007 out of Tusculum College in Tennessee. He spent one year, with mixed results, in the Marlins' system with the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A New York-Penn League. In 12 games, Hammons had a 3-0 record with a 3.63 ERA. He walked 16 batters in 22 1/3 innings.

Washington manager Darin Everson says Hammons looks nothing like the pitcher he saw with Jamestown. Everson should know because he was the Jammers' manager that season.

"He's way more athletic and a lot more confident than when I saw him in '07," Everson said. "He really commands the zone now."

"Back then," Hammons says, "when I was with Jamestown, I put too much pressure on myself to succeed and be good on the mound. I put to much emphasis on baseball."

After being released by the Marlins, Hammons had a five-game stint with the Frontier League's Gateway Grizzlies in 2008 that didn't go well (0-2, 8.10). Hammons said a family issue prevented him from pitching to his potential with Gateway, and he spent the entire 2009 season out of baseball.

After Everson was hired as the Wild Things' manager last offseason, Hammons was invited to the team's invitation-only tryout in April and signed. He's making the most of his opportunity with Washington and might end up in the all-star game or get a second chance in affiliated ball.

"Everyone wants to get to affiliated ball, but if that doesn't happen then I hope we can take this team as far as it can go," Hammons said.