Brayland Skinner, Chris Barraza Headed to Florence as 2026 Frontier League All-Stars
PEARL, Miss. (July 6, 2026) - The Frontier League has announced that outfielder Brayland Skinner and reliever Chris Barraza have each been selected to represent the Mississippi Mud Monsters in the 2026 Frontier League All-Star Game.
Monster Notes
Two second-year Mud Monsters are headed to Florence for the Y'all-Star Game.
- Brayland Skinner and Chris Barraza are both first-time Frontier League All-Stars.
- Skinner is batting .343 with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 25 stolen bases.
- Skinner was recently named Frontier League Player of the Week for June 23-28.
- Barraza leads the Mud Monsters with 24 appearances and has 50 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.
- The 2026 Frontier League All-Star Game will be played July 15 at Thomas More Stadium in Florence, Kentucky.
Two First-Time Honorees
Skinner and Barraza are both in their second season with Mississippi.
Both are first-time honorees, and both are in their second season with the Mud Monsters.
Skinner made history as the first player to be signed to a contract with the organization. After turning in a 2025 season starting 89 games, swatting three homers, batting .294, driving in 44 RBIs and swiping 49 bases, the everyday leadoff man and center fielder has matched or is on pace to smash those marks in 2026.
Skinner's All-Star Season
The Southaven native has been one of the league's most dynamic players.
The Southaven, Mississippi native and 2021 national champion with the Mississippi State Bulldogs has already equaled his total home runs from last year with three in 50 games. He has driven in 35 runs and stolen 25 bases, all while batting to the sound of a .343 average that is currently twelfth in the league.
Skinner recently was named the Frontier League Player of the Week for the week of June 23 to June 28 after going 14-for-23 for a .609 batting average with a pinch-hit grand slam, a double, eight runs scored, seven runs batted in, eight stolen bases, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Not only has Skinner lit up the plate in 2026, he has also been a walking highlight reel defensively, making diving plays left and right while being the captain of the outfield in center field.
Setting the Tone
Skinner has brought speed, energy and pressure to the top of the order.
Prior to the season starting, Skinner remarked he was "gonna try to get 60 stolen bases" this year, and he is well within that range.
On setting the tone atop the Mud Monsters order, Skinner said, "It's big time fun just being out there with the guys and trying to get the energy and motivation up."
The next lineup he might head will be the best of the best in the Frontier League.
Barraza's All-Star Season
The Mud Monsters closer has piled up strikeouts at an elite rate.
Chris Barraza has been outstanding in 2026. The Tucson, Arizona product leads the Mud Monsters in games pitched, having appeared in 24 games on the year so far.
The right-hander kicked off his second campaign with Mississippi by striking out the side on only 14 pitches, 11 of them being strikes.
Since then, it has been more of the same. Barraza not only leads the Frontier League with a 16.27 strikeout per nine innings total, but that number is the best out of all levels of professional baseball.
Barraza has picked up a strikeout in all but two games pitched. Even more impressive, the Mud Monsters closer has K'd a pair or more in 12 games this season, meaning in half of all his appearances, he has struck out two or more batters.
With a season-high total of 50 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched, Barraza has been nothing short of incredible and now sits four shy of his 54 punchouts from 2025.
Fine-Tuned and Rewarded
The offseason work showed up quickly.
Prior to the season starting, the second-year Mud Monster said, "I really took this past offseason to find more consistency in my command. I feel like I fine-tuned that this offseason."
The adjustments have certainly paid off for Barraza as he sees his name honored as a first-time All-Star.
Both Skinner and Barraza have been major contributors to the 2026 squad as well as outstanding teammates, and now they see their hard work paying off as their names are among the best of the best in the Frontier League.
Y'all-Star Game
Thomas More Stadium, home of the Florence Y'alls in Florence, Kentucky, is the site of this year's All-Star festivities with the game set to be played on July 15.
Dubbed the "Y'all-Star Game," fans can watch Skinner and Barraza take the field live on Home Team Network.
About the Mississippi Mud Monsters
Baseball Lives Here. It Just Got a Little Weirder.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, competing in the Frontier League. Built in the mud and rooted in Mississippi, the Mud Monsters believe baseball should be unapologetically fun, a little weird, wildly welcoming, and deeply tied to the place it calls home. Real baseball. Real people. This is swamp-built, Mississippi-made baseball, where the vibes matter just as much as the final score.