It was a weekend to remember for Bowling Green Hot Rods Xavier Isaac and Tre’ Morgan, who participated during the All-Star Game festivities in Arlington, Texas earlier this month.

Isaac was selected to play in the annual Futures Game, which showcases some of the top prospects in Major League Baseball. Morgan was selected to be part of the inaugural Future Skills Showcase, one of eight participants that competed in a series of hitting challenges.

Both events took place on July 13, the opening act for the All-Star festivities for the host Texas Rangers that culminated in the annual Major League All-Star game on July 16.

Isaac and Morgan were both honored to be chosen for the respective events.

“It was like an out-of-body experience when I was out there – not trying to be nervous I guess, but trying to enjoy the moment,” Isaac said. “I felt like I was on top of cloud nine. It didn’t feel real. I was just playing baseball. I just had fun playing with guys I hadn’t seen in a while. Seeing them out there, it was fun.”

Morgan also described his experience as a lot of fun, even more laid back than he expected.

“It felt like, you know how you watch the home run derby on TV and they’ve got the guys on the sides, on the chairs with teammates and friends?” Morgan said. “It felt like (batting practice). There was no pressure. A whole lot of jokes. I wish I could have done a little better, but it was still awesome.”

Isaac played the full game for the American League All-Stars, going 0-for-4 in the AL’s 6-1 loss to the National League. While the results weren’t what he hoped for, he was able to keep it in perspective.

“I knew going up there that I was playing against guys that are my caliber, All-Star arms,” Isaac said. “It’s not like I needed to go up there and go 4-for-4. I wanted to just go up there and put a good at-bat together, trying to be on time for the fastball. It was just not my day. I faced Rhett Lowder, Thomas White – good, name guys. It was good at-bats against them.”

Morgan finished sixth overall in the Skills Showcase, which featured three rounds. In the first round hitters were given eight swings, or bunts, to hit targets – with points based on hitting targets that were set up on the field.

In the second round hitters had eight swings to “call their shot,” picking whether they would hit the ball to right, center or left. If they hit that area they would move on to one of the other areas not selected. The third round was a traditional home run derby.

Morgan said he had a plan going in, but things quickly changed.

“The plan fell through in the first round,” Morgan said. “When I walked up there and I saw the first four guys bunting every ball, I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t really work on my bunting.’ I left a lot of points on the table in the first round because I knew the home run round wasn’t going to be my round. I tried to stack my points up until then.

“ … I know how to bunt. I just couldn’t stop it on the bull’s-eye thing. That was very hard. I was laying down some beautiful bunts. They were just going too far.”

He likened the whole experience to a schoolyard challenge with everyone just enjoying the moment.

“It was like you are looking at the board, watching the guy in front of you go, counting his swings and then the lady comes up to you and tells you, ‘You are on deck,’ ” Morgan said. “That’s when it is like, ‘Uh, oh.” When you are going through your swings, it was about feeling as relaxed as possible. There was obviously no pressure. When you are done, whether you do good or bad, your boys are there smiling, laughing. It was a great time.”

Isaac also felt the camaraderie, especially with former teammate Chandler Simpson. Simpson started the season with the Hot Rods before being called up to Double A Montgomery in May.

“That’s my boy,” Isaac said. “That’s been my guy since (the Florida Complex League). This is I think the only time that me and Chandler have played away from each other, so it’s kind of weird. I missed him. Just being in the clubhouse with him with all the guys was just so fun.”

Morgan didn’t quite get the same reunion with a former teammate during his time at LSU, pitcher Paul Skenes, but said it was cool to see his former teammate start the MLB All-Star game three days after he participated in the Skills Challenge. He said he is not surprised that Skenes has been playing so well since joining the Pittsburgh Pirates less than a year after being drafted No. 1 overall.

“When I first saw that on Twitter I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Morgan said. “When I first saw he got selected, I texted him congratulations. Then a day or so later I saw he was starting and I sent another text that was like, ‘Dude you are the man. You’re killing it.’ It’s just a testament to the hard work he puts in. That is one the hardest-working dudes I have ever seen in my life. He rubbed off a little bit on me. In my first couple of years in college I was kind of taking it for granted and he stepped into the locker room with that military attitude and he was like, ‘No, this is not how it is going to go.’ He really boosted that team at LSU. He really led us to the national championship.”

Both players said they enjoyed the chance to get away from the daily ground of a full season of baseball and get an early start on the four-day all-star break for all minor league teams.

“It was great to wake up and not have to check the schedule,” Morgan said. “It was honestly weird when I woke up and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t have anything to do today.’ My birthday was during the All-Star break also, so it was cool to have that time off – be able to celebrate and relax from baseball for a while. We do this for months every day on end, so being able to have those three to four days of just relaxing was perfect.”

Isaac said participating in the Futures Game was a great learning experience that he thinks will benefit him going forward.

“What I learned at the Futures Game is that everybody is human,” Isaac said. “Everybody has bad outings. Everybody strikes out. It’s not, everybody is going to go there and do good. It’s fine. What else did I learn? Just playing in an MLB stadium was really sick. Having the crowd, the guys out there, the game plays a little bit faster.”

Morgan, still in his first full season of professional baseball, said participating was a nice refresh – a chance to appreciate his journey that he is hopeful is just beginning.

“What I learned from that experience is just to cherish the moments,” Morgan said. “That was hands down one of the coolest places that baseball has taken me and I have been all over the world playing baseball. Stepping into that stadium and looking at all the big screens and big lights and all the people in the stands, that really ground me. That was like, yeah this is the goal.”{&end}