LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shea Langeliers is headed to the Hall of Fame, even before his big league debut.
A 24-year-old catching prospect, Langeliers was voted MVP of the All-Star Futures Game on Saturday after homering and throwing out a runner trying to steal third base in the American League’s 6-4 victory.
His Victus Pro Reserved DT29 maple bat, size 34-32, is headed to Cooperstown.
“It’s crazy, I came into today just excited to be here,” Langeliers said.
New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez and Minnesota’s Matt Wallner hit two-run homers in the third inning off San Francisco’s Kyle Harrison, who took the loss.
Dominguez, at 19 the youngest AL prospect at the game, tied the score 3-3 with his 415-foot drive on a slider at the letters. Wallner homered three batters later on hanging sinke r for a 5-3 lead, a 115.3 mph drive hit harder than any home run by the major league Twins this year.
‘In an ideal world, that’s what I would have done,” Wallner said.
Langeliers, the oldest player on either team, added a solo homer in the fourth on a hanging changeup from Atlanta’s Jared Shuster. Langeliers caught Shuster last year at Double-A Mississippi, before Oakland acquired Langeliers in the March trade that sent first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta.
“I know how good he is,” Langeliers said. “He made my job really easy catching last year. It was cool being on the other side of it.”
He threw out Corbin Carroll, the No. 3 overall prospect, trying to steal third.
What was more satisfying?
“Throwing the runner out, for sure,” Langeliers said.
The Futures Game attracts top prospects. Julio Rodríguez played in last year’s game and is the youngest All-Star this year at 21, also picked for Monday night’s Home Run Derby.
Jack Leiter,…