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:
Still on the outlook for Desmond Lindsay - is he headed back to GCL? Still injured? Time will tell,
Has a hamstring injury and will be joining Brooklyn in early July.
Thanks, John, for the update on Lindsay
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. :-(
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