Trio of Tortugas honored among the best performers in the FSL in 2023
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Three Daytona Tortugas, Carlos Jorge, Hector Rodriguez, and Sal Stewart have been named to the 2023 Florida State League postseason All-Star team as selected by Minor League Baseball.
Jorge, 19, was selected as the All-Star utility player, slashing .295/.400/.483 in 86 games with 11 doubles, 9 triples, 9 homers, and 36 RBI. He also added 31 stolen bases and finished second among qualified Florida State League hitters in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, while leading the league in OPS (.883), tying for the league lead in triples, and tying for sixth in runs scored (70). Jorge’s season was highlighted by hitting for the cycle on July 21 vs. Jupiter, the first cycle in Tortugas history.
Rodriguez, 19, was picked as one of three outfielders on the Florida State League All-Star squad. Rodriguez slashed .293/.347/.510 with 16 homers and 56 RBI in 101 games, also adding 23 doubles, 9 triples, and 18 stolen bases. Rodriguez finished third in the FSL in batting average and fourth in home runs, while leading the league in slugging percentage, tying for the league lead in triples with Carlos Jorge, stroking the most extra-base hits (48), collecting the most total bases (209), and scoring the most runs (85), while also finishing second in OPS (.857) and hits (120), while finishing fifth in doubles. Rodriguez was selected as the Florida State League Player of the Month in May for his outstanding work.
Stewart, 19, was tabbed as the FSL’s top third baseman after slashing .269/.395/.424 with 19 doubles, 10 homers, and 60 RBI in 88 games. Stewart also added 10 stolen bases and a team-high 66 walks. Stewart finished third in the FSL in on-base percentage, fifth in OPS (.819), eighth in slugging and RBI, and ninth in walks. Stewart also was excellent in the field, committing just four errors.
The trio of Tortugas are the first FSL post-season All-Stars since OF Allan Cerda was honored in 2021. This is the first time Daytona has seen multiple players make the postseason All-Star squad since six Tortugas were honored following the 2018 season.
The rest of the squad consists of:
1B Torin Montgomery (Jupiter), 2B Termarr Johnson (Bradenton), SS Jared Serna (Tampa), C Omar Martinez (Tampa), OF Justin Crawford (Clearwater), OF Seth Stephenson (Lakeland), DH Ricardo Olivar (Ft. Myers), SP Max Rajcic (Palm Beach), SP Pete Hansen (Palm Beach), SP Hancel Rincon (Palm Beach), SP Brock Selvidge (Tampa), RP Wen Hui Pan (Clearwater), and Evan Taylor (Jupiter).
Clearwater outfielder Justin Crawford was named FSL Most Valuable Player and the top MLB prospect, while Palm Beach RHP Max Rajcic earned Pitcher of the Year honors. Lakeland manager Andrew Graham was Manager of the Year.
