CORREA, APPEL, MCCULLERS RANKED TOP PROSPECTS

Quad Cities is only Minor League Baseball team with two of ESPN.com top 10 prospects

DAVENPORT, Iowa (JULY 22, 2013) - Quad Cities River Bandits players and Houston Astros first-round draft picks Carlos Correa, Mark Appel and Lance McCullers are each among the top 50 overall prospects in baseball, according to midseason rankings by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and ESPN.com. With Correa and Appel, Quad Cities is the only team in Minor League Baseball with two of the top 10 prospects, according to ESPN.com.

Below are the midseason rankings for each player:

Correa, 18, was the youngest player in both the Midwest League All-Star Game June 18 and the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game July 14, after he won the first-ever fan vote for the final roster spot on the World Team. The Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, native was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft and was the first River Bandits position player representative at the Futures Game. He was the River Bandits Player of the Month for May and June and the Western Division starting shortstop at the Midwest League All-Star Game. Through Sunday, Correa is third in the Midwest League and fourth in the Astros minor league system with a .320 batting average.

Appel, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft June 6 after finishing his four-year career at Stanford University with a program-record 372 strikeouts. The Houston native has made four professional starts, including the last two with Quad Cities, which has won both of his starts. When Appel joined the roster July 10, the River Bandits made history as the first Minor League Baseball team to ever have consecutive No. 1 overall draft picks on the same roster. Appel and Correa played in the same game for the first time Friday.

McCullers, 19, was the Western Division starting pitcher for the Midwest League All-Star Game after posting a 2.08 ERA in the first half. The Tampa, Fla., native was the Quad Cities Pitcher of the Month in May, when he had a 1.88 ERA in seven outings. Through Sunday, McCullers is 4-5 with a 3.01 ERA, which ranks eighth in the Midwest League and 10^th in the Astros minor league system. The Astros' 2012 supplemental first round pick is also fifth among Astros minor leaguers and third in the Midwest League with 95 strikeouts.

Four former River Bandits also appeared among the midseason rankings:

UP NEXT: Modern Woodmen Park is a nominee for the "Best Minor League Ballpark" in the 2013 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, and fans can vote once per day at 10Best.com until the winner is announced Aug. 14. The River Bandits return to Modern Woodmen Park Tuesday, July 30. Single-game tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office at Modern Woodmen Park, by phone at  563-324-3000 and online at www.riverbandits.com. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $50. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 112 feet over the playing field, is planned for next spring, along with a carousel and other new games and attractions. This season, the team just unveiled a new 300-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, a Mediacom Frog Hopper, and a number of new bounce houses . The team also boasts a new major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, and fans can see the first team in Minor League Baseball history with back-to-back No. 1 overall draft picks - 2012 top pick Carlos Correa and 2013 top pick Mark Appel, as well as 2012 first-round draft choice Lance McCullers. With new rides, new attractions, new improvements, a new affiliate and future major league stars, the second half of this season is one every fan will not want to miss!