Burlington Bees 1B Josh Whitaker bats against the Kane County Cougars during the 2011 Midwest League playoffs.

Two Midwest League players, Burlington Bees first baseman Josh Whitaker and Fort Wayne TinCaps outfielder Rymer Liriano, were named to the Topps Class A All-Star Team.

I’ve previously written about Liriano several times as he garnered awards including the Midwest League’s Most Valuable Player and Prospect of the Year, so I will focus on Whitaker in this post.

Here is what MiLB.com wrote about Whitaker when the Topps team was announced:

Josh Whitaker (22), of Grovetown, Ga., finished second in the Midwest League with a .326 batting average and a .556 slugging percentage. The Burlington Bees first baseman was also among the top five in the league in on-base percentage (.402) and extra-base hits (54). The Oakland Athletics selected Whitaker in the 25th round in 2010 out of Kennesaw State (Ga.) University.

The Bees additionally noted in their press release that Whitaker’s batting average, slugging percentage, doubles (34) and extra-base hits totals all rank in the top 10 in single-season team history.

Earlier this week, MLB.com honored Whitaker for having the best minor-league season by a first baseman in the Oakland A’s organization this year.

In other Burlington Bees news, the team announced yesterday that Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor will be the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Burlington Bees/Friends of Community Field Winter Banquet to be held on Friday, Jan. 13, in the PZAZZ! Convention & Events Center.

Molitor played for the Bees in his only minor-league season, 1977. He hit .346 with a .457 on-base percentage, eight homers, 50 RBI, 47 walks and 14 stolen bases in 64 games. The Bees won the Midwest League championship that year.

Molitor appeared in three more minor-league games during two brief rehab stints later in his career, including a game for the Beloit Brewers in 1990. In that game he went 2-for-4 with a home run.

Click here for more information about the Bees winter banquet.