Trash Pandas infielder chosen for Southern League postseason All-Star team
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The Southern League’s final All-Star Team was announced this week, and one of our local players here in the Rocket City is among the top players in the league.
Infielder Denzer Guzmán was selected by Minor League Baseball for the prestigious roster, the sixth player in Trash Pandas history to earn postseason All-Star honors.
Denzer Guzmán selected to postseason All-Star team
Guzmán, 21, is a native of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. He is only the second Trash Pandas shortstop to make the postseason All-Star team, joining Kyren Paris (2023).
The highlight of Guzmán’s season came in July, when he was named Southern League Player of the Month after a scorching stretch in which he:
- Led the league and ranked fifth in all of Double-A with a 1.020 OPS, 47 total bases and 13 extra-base hits
- Ranked among league leaders with a .333 batting average, .580 slugging percentage, .440 on-base percentage and nine doubles for the month.
- Made history against Chattanooga by recording the second five-hit game in Trash Pandas history, going 5-for-5 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs.
His July performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A Salt Lake on August 2.
At the time of his promotion, Guzmán was:
- Ranked second in the Southern League in doubles (23)
- Tied for first in extra-base hits (35)
- Sixth in RBIs (53)
- Tied for fourth in total bases (139)
- Tied for seventh in home runs (11)
- Seventh in slugging percentage (.424)
- Tied for 10th in OPS (.754)
Guzmán batted .247 with 17 home runs, 30 doubles, one triple, 74 RBIs and 65 runs scored in 129 games between Rocket City and Salt Lake before being selected to the Angels’ Major League roster on September 13.
He collected his first MLB hit that night, and just three days later, hit his first career home run in Milwaukee.
A notable Trash Pandas achievement
Originally signed as an international free agent by the Angels on January 15, 2021, Guzmán continues to rise as one of the system’s top young position players, ranked No. 9 overall and No. 3 among hitters in the Angels organization by MLB Pipeline.
Guzmán joins an exclusive group of Trash Pandas to earn postseason All-Star recognition:
- Mitch Nay (2021, 3B)
- Eric Torres (2022, Reliever of the Year)
- Kyren Paris (2023, SS)
- Gustavo Campero (2024, OF)
- Caden Dana (2024, RHP)
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