6/23/16

KINGSPORT METS ROSTER


KINGSPORT METS ROSTER
 
A ROSTER LISTING AND A VERY INFORMATIVE ARTICLE ABOUT THE TEAM, written by Steve Wilmoth of TriCitiesSports.com:

Rivera impressed with K-Mets’ collection of arms

STEVE WILMOTH TriCitiesSports.com 

KINGSPORT — One glance at the vitals of the 2016 Kingsport Mets pitching staff and one might surmise the roster belongs to a team in NBA Developmental League instead of the Appalachian League.

  “If we end up in a basketball game, we should be in really good shape,” said K-Mets General Manager Brian Paupeck. “We could go all 6-5 in the backcourt and 6-6 and 6-9 in the frontcourt.”

Thus far, manager Luis Rivera is more impressed with the pitches produced by those arms rather than the length of them. Three pitchers spent all or part of the 2015 season in Kingsport, and five were top 10 picks from the last two major league drafts.

“I think we have a good pitching staff with some good arms,” said Rivera. “We have pretty good pitching this year from college from the draft along with some experienced guys.”

Left-hander Thomas Szapucki is expected to be the opening night starter Thursday night against Elizabethton. The Palm Beach Garden, Florida, native was a fifth-round draft pick in 2015.

 “Szapucki can touch 97, sits in the mid-90s,” added Rivera. “His secondary pitches are really good, too. He needs to continue to learn controlling the game with his command.”

 Also on staff from the 2015 draft is Max Wotell, a third-round pick out of Marvin Ridge, North Carolina. Wotell fashioned a 2.53 ERA in nine appearances in the Gulf Coast League last season.

Three 2016 top 10 draft picks have been assigned to Kingsport, including sixth-rounder Chris Viall, eighth-round selection Placido Torres and ninth-round pick Colin Holderman.

 Viall is a 6-9 right-hander out of Stanford who worked both as a starter and reliever this past season for the Cardinal.

 “Chris also throws pretty hard, 93-96, up to 99,” noted Rivera. “He’s a strong guy. We’ll get him ready, and when he’s ready, he’ll pitch.”

 Torres is by far the most intriguing member of the roster, having pitched collegiately at nearby Tusculum College. The left-hander went 11-0 with an 0.70 ERA for the Pioneers and was selected as the NCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year. No NCAA pitcher at any of the three divisions struck out more hitters than Torres’ 162 whiffs.

 “Placido is a very good athlete, aggressive on the mound,” Rivera said. “He throws in the low 90s with a good curve and slider.”

 Holderman comes from Heartland Community College, where the 6-6 right-hander won eight of his 12 starts and posted a 1.57 ERA while striking out 92.

 Also in from the 2016 draft is 6-5 Trent Johnson, chosen in the 16th round from Sante Fe Community College and Maxwell Kluhns, selected in the 21st round out of Santa Clara University. Up from Gulf Coast are 6-5 right-hander Gregorix Estevez (2-4, 4.31) and 6-5 left-hander Kurtis Horne (1-0, 2.40). Horne also has the distinction of the longest trip to Kingsport, some 2,800 miles from his native Sooke, BC, Canada.

 Among the returnees to Kingsport are Adrian Almeida (2-1, 5.94) and Darwin Ramos (2-4, 4.47), Venezuelans signed as non-drafted free agents in 2012.

“Those guys are good pitchers, both still working on their command,” said Rivera. “I think it was a great idea to have them come back here and continue developing.”
In total, 17 of the initial 32 players on the K-Mets roster are pitchers. Of the remaining 15 position players, 11 were signed as undrafted free agents, including the entire six-player infield allotment. Infielder Santo Marte is the lone Kingsport infield holdover while Atlanta-native Raphael Ramirez in the only outfielder returning.

Also in the outfield will be 2016 draft picks Ian Strom, a 22nd-round selection from UMass-Lowell and Jeremy Wolfe, a 31st-round pick out of Trinity University. One of the top prospects on the team is 19-year-old outfielder Ricardo Cespedes, who is up from Gulf Coast.

Two of the three catchers were in Kingsport last season, Dionis Rodriguez and Jose Maria. They are joined by Charlotte, North Carolina, native Anthony Dimino, a 28th-round draft pick last year out of Belmont Abbey College.

 Position player wise, we have some good young players that are ready,” said Rivera. “We don’t have a lot of power hitters, but have some guys with some good approaches who put the ball in play and a do a lot of the little things.”

The K-Mets begin the 2016 season Thursday night against the Elizabethton Twins at 7 p.m. It’s the first game of a six-game home stand to start the season. Following three with the Twins, the Pulaski Yankees come to town for a three-game set beginning Sunday.

      

ROSTER (from K Mets website):

Managers & Coaches

#
Name
Pos
Bat
Thw
Ht
Wt
DOB
Status
56
Ender Chavez
Hitting Coach
L
L
5' 11"
155
03-09-1981
Active
40
Royce Ring
Pitching Coach
L
L
6' 0"
220
12-21-1980
Active
9
Luis Rivera
Manager
R
R
6' 1"
190
01-25-1984
Active

Pitchers

#
Name
Pos
Bat
Thw
Ht
Wt
DOB
Status
MLB 40-man
28
P
L
L
6' 0"
150
02-25-1995
Active
No
P
R
R
6' 1"
173
09-20-1994
Suspended
No
45
P
R
R
6' 5"
200
04-12-1994
Active
No
17
P
R
R
6' 3"
175
09-10-1992
Active
No
18
P
R
R
6' 1"
160
01-26-1996
Active
No
15
P
R
R
6' 5"
200
10-08-1995
Active
No
36
P
L
L
6' 5"
190
08-05-1996
Active
No
4
P
R
R
6' 1"
190
06-11-1996
Active
No
21
P
R
R
6' 5"
185
08-12-1996
Active
No
16
P
R
R
6' 3"
210
08-11-1994
Active
No
25
P
L
L
6' 2"
180
08-25-1996
Active
No
34
P
R
R
6' 2"
195
11-23-1995
Active
No
6
P
L
L
6' 2"
175
01-21-1997
Active
No
19
P
R
L
6' 2"
190
06-12-1996
Active
No
27
P
L
L
5' 11"
160
05-17-1993
Active
No
33
P
R
R
6' 1"
195
05-10-1994
Active
No
35
P
R
R
6' 9"
230
09-28-1995
Active
No
30
P
R
L
6' 3"
180
09-13-1996
Active
No

Catchers

#
Name
Pos
Bat
Thw
Ht
Wt
DOB
Status
MLB 40-man
8
C
L
R
5' 11"
180
08-05-1993
Active
No
24
C
R
R
5' 9"
195
11-30-1994
Active
No
11
C
R
R
6' 0"
185
02-15-1995
Active
No

Infielders

#
Name
Pos
Bat
Thw
Ht
Wt
DOB
Status
MLB 40-man
7
SS
R
R
6' 0"
165
11-23-1993
Active
No
29
2B
R
R
5' 9"
180
01-01-1996
Active
No
12
3B
R
R
6' 0"
170
01-14-1997
Active
No
13
SS
R
R
6' 0"
152
05-19-1997
Active
No
1
2B
R
R
5' 9"
170
09-30-1993
Active
No
23
3B
R
R
5' 9"
160
03-21-1996
Active
No

Outfielders

#
Name
Pos
Bat
Thw
Ht
Wt
DOB
Status
MLB 40-man
5
OF
R
R
6' 1"
200
04-24-1993
Active
No
32
OF
L
L
6' 1"
160
08-24-1997
Active
No
OF
R
R
6' 1"
185
12-14-1992
Restricted
No
44
OF
R
R
6' 3"
170
10-21-1996
Active
No
2
CF
L
L
5' 11"
175
12-15-1995
Active
No
20
OF
R
L
6' 2"
200
12-12-1994
Active
No
3
OF
L
R
6' 3"
220
11-02-1993
Active
No

4 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Still on the outlook for Desmond Lindsay - is he headed back to GCL? Still injured? Time will tell,

Unknown said...

Has a hamstring injury and will be joining Brooklyn in early July.

Tom Brennan said...

Thanks, John, for the update on Lindsay

Hobie said...

Snap cruised thru 6 innings last night 0R, 2H and 13 K and Placid had 3K's in 1 IP. Only 3 hits for KP though, emulating their big brothers. :-(