Baseball in Fort Wayne

Two TinCaps/Wizards alumni were selected Monday to play in the Futures Game, which annually showcases the top prospects in all of Minor League Baseball. Right-hander, Mat Latos and outfielder Luis Durango are headed to Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the game which pits the top prospects from the United States against Team World, the best from across the rest of the globe

Latos played for the TinCaps earlier this season and breezed through the Midwest League. In four appearances with Fort Wayne this year, Latos went 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA, striking out 27 with just three walks in 25.1 innings. He has continued his dominance with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, where he is 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts and was also selected to play in the league’s All-Star Game. He sparked the Missions to a first-half division championship as they won 12 of 15 to charge into first place at the end of the half. Latos, a Florida native, will play for Team USA.

Durango, 23, is also a Texas League All-Star with San Antonio, batting .299 with 26 stolen bases and 46 runs scored in 68 games. Mostly deployed as a leadoff man, Durango played for Fort Wayne last year and hit .305 with a home run and 14 stolen bases in 93 games. Durango will play for Team World representing his homeland of Panama. He also played for Team Panama in this spring’s World Baseball Classic and went 3-for-5 at the plate.

“This is a testament to the type of talent we’ve had here in Fort Wayne over the last few years,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “We thought Mat and Luis were on their way to becoming stars at the game’s highest level, and playing in the Futures Game only validates that thought.”

 Fort Wayne native, Jarrod Paker, will pitch for Team USA in the Futures Game. The 20-year old right-handed Parker is 4-3 with a 3.04 ERA in 10 starts with the Mobile Bay Bears this season. He’s third on the club with 49 strikeouts in 47.1 innings.

Named as the number one prospect in the D-backs’ organization by Baseball America in the offseason, Parker was 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA in four starts at Visalia before his call-up to Mobile. 

The 11th Annual XM All-Star Futures Game will be shown live on MLB.TV, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Sunday, July 12 at 1 p.m.