BATON ROUGE – A pair of former LSU stars were named starters for the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
DJ LeMahieu and Alex Bregman were both selected as starters on the American League team in the MLB All-Star Game held on July 9 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The selections of the former Tigers marks the fifth consecutive year in which a former LSU player has been chose for the annual midsummer classic.
LeMahieu, in his first season with the New York Yankees, leads the AL with a .336 batting average and will start at second base. Bregman, who leads the Houston Astros in homers (22) and RBI (52), will serve as the AL’s starting third baseman.
LeMahieu will make his third All-Star Game appearance, his first as a Yankee. He was a National League All-Star in 2015 and 2017 as a member of the Colorado Rockies. LeMahieu has won three Gold Gloves and one MLB batting title during his nine-year big-league career.
Bregman is representing the Astros in the All-Star Game for the second straight season – he hit the game-winning homer in last season’s game and was named the game’s MVP.
LeMahieu, a native of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., played at LSU in 2008 and 2009 and signed with the Chicago Cubs after he was selected in the second round of the ’09 MLB Draft.
In his two seasons at LSU, LeMahieu hit .344 during his college career with 24 doubles, five triples, 11 homers and 87 RBI. He was named to the 2009 College World Series All-Tournament team, batting .444 during the Tigers’ drive to the national championship.
Bregman, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., played at LSU from 2013 through 2015 and helped lead the Tigers to two College World Series appearances. Bregman was taken with the No. 2 overall selection by the Astros in the 2015 MLB Draft, Bregman was a two-time first-team all-American at LSU.
Bregman started all 196 games of his LSU career at shortstop, batting .337 (265-for-786) with 56 doubles, 10 triples, 21 homers, 148 RBI, 153 runs and 66 stolen bases.
He was a finalist for the 2015 Golden Spikes Award, and he was named the 2013 National Freshman of the Year.