What to watch for as Northwoods League top star players set to shine in Wausau

WAUSAU – The top players from the first half of the Northwoods League season will showcase their abilities for two days in Wausau.

The standouts from the summer college baseball league will gather for the NWL All-Star Game, a two-day event that begins Monday and culminates with the game on Tuesday night at Athletic Park.  Wausau also hosted the league’s first All-Star Game in 1995.

It’s the second time in three years that the game has been held In central Wisconsin, as Wisconsin Rapids was the host site in 2015.

RELATED:Six Rafters, two Woodchucks named to NWL All-Star Game 

RELATED: Rafters, Chucks players  among South Division selection for Home Run Derby

Here is a look at the schedule for the two-day event as well as some of the key players from the North and South Divisions to keep an eye on this week. 

THE RUNDOWN

All-Star Game banquet: The event is Monday at the Stoney Creek Inn, 1100 Imperial Ave., Rothschild. Rick Schlesinger, the chief operating officer of the Milwaukee Brewers, is the keynote speaker. A social hour will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available for the event; for more information, contact the Wisconsin Woodchucks office at 715-845-5055.

Home Run Derby: The derby begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Athletic Park, 324 E. Wausau Ave, Wausau, and features 18 of this summer’s top power hitters from the Northwoods League. The event will feature a nine-inning competition between the North and South Division participants with the North players having the first at-bat each frame. Rochester’s Zach Zubia leads the North team with a NWL-high 14 home runs.

Wisconsin Rapids’ Christian Jones leads the South Division with 12 home runs and is one of three Rafters players in the event. Wisconsin’s Stevie Mangrum is a member of the South Division participants as well.

Tickets for the All-Star Game include entry for the Home Run Derby as well. A meet-and-greet session with the players will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Pepsi Community Park at Athletic Field.

All-Star Game: The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Athletic Park. The North Division jumped out to a 7-0 lead in last year’s matchup in Kenosha and held on for a 9-5 victory to snap the South Division’s two-game winning streak in the event.

The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters lead the South Division with a NWL-high six players selected for the game. The St. Cloud Rox and Mankato Moondogs both have five players on the All-Star roster to lead the North Division.

The hometown Wisconsin Woodchucks have two selections in outfielder Stevie Mangrum and pitcher Orsen Josephina.

Wisconsin Rapids’ Craig Noto will manage the South Division while St. Cloud’s Augie Rodriguez will lead the North Division.

Tickets for the game can be purchased online at wisconsin-woodchucks.northwoodsleague.tv or by contacting the Woodchucks office at 715-845-5055. Fans can also purchase tickets at the Athletic Park box office on Tuesday.

SIX PLAYERS TO WATCH

NORTH DIVISION

Zach Zubia, Rochester: The Honkers first baseman entered the weekend leading the NWL in both home runs (14) and RBI (42). The freshman from the University of Texas is 10th with a .331 batting average. 

Toby Hanson, Mankato: The Moon Dogs outfielder entered the weekend with a NWL-best .439 batting average. The junior from the University of Minnesota has batted .500 over the past week (15-for-30), and is tied with three other players with a league-high 14 doubles this summer overall.

Aaron Rozek, St. Cloud: The Rox left-handed pitcher has a NWL-high 50 strikeouts in 44 innings so far this summer. The Minnesota State-Mankato junior holds a 5-1 record for St. Cloud with a 3.27 earned run average. 

SOUTH DIVISION

Alex Howard, Battle Creek: The Bombers shortstop entered the weekend second in the NWL with a .374 batting average. Howard, a junior at Arkansas State, has had at least one hit in 14 of the past 16 games for Battle Creek and has scored 32 runs. 

Simon Rosenblum-Larson, Madison: The Mallards right-handed pitcher had a 1.20 earned run average over seven starts and eight appearances this summer. Rosenblum-Larson, a Madison West graduate and a sophomore at Harvard, has struck out 42 batters in 37 1/3 innings. 

Jack Eagan, Wisconsin Rapids: The Rafters left-hander entered the weekend with a 6-0 record and a 2.74 earned run average. The Wautoma native leads the NWL in wins and is part of a Rafters pitching staff which has a staff ERA of 3.36. 

NOTES

- Wisconsin's Stevie Mangrum and Battle Creek's JD Mundy are college teammates at Virginia Tech and they both were selected to represent the South Division in the All-Star Game. Virginia Tech is the lone school with more than one representative in the event.

- Lakeshore right-hander Parker Sanburn was selected for the South Division roster but signed with the Texas Rangers as a undrafted free agent Wednesday. He had 48 strikeouts in 24 innings this summer. 

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or twjohnson@gannett.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11