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	Adrian Almeida		P	L	L	6' 0"	150	02-25-1995	Active	No
	Eucebio Arias		P	R	R	6' 1"	173	09-20-1994	Suspended	No
45	Gregorix Estevez		P	R	R	6' 5"	200	04-12-1994	Active	No
17	Edwin German		P	R	R	6' 3"	175	09-10-1992	Active	No
18	Ronald Guedez		P	R	R	6' 1"	160	01-26-1996	Active	No
15	Colin Holderman		P	R	R	6' 5"	200	10-08-1995	Active	No
36	Kurtis Horne		P	L	L	6' 5"	190	08-05-1996	Active	No
4	Jordan Humphreys		P	R	R	6' 1"	190	06-11-1996	Active	No
21	Trent Johnson		P	R	R	6' 5"	185	08-12-1996	Active	No
16	Max Kuhns		P	R	R	6' 3"	210	08-11-1994	Active	No
25	Jose Carlos Medina		P	L	L	6' 2"	180	08-25-1996	Active	No
34	Darwin Ramos		P	R	R	6' 2"	195	11-23-1995	Active	No
6	Jake Simon		P	L	L	6' 2"	175	01-21-1997	Active	No
19	Thomas Szapucki		P	R	L	6' 2"	190	06-12-1996	Active	No
27	Placido Torres		P	L	L	5' 11"	160	05-17-1993	Active	No
33	Adonis Uceta		P	R	R	6' 1"	195	05-10-1994	Active	No
35	Chris Viall		P	R	R	6' 9"	230	09-28-1995	Active	No
30	Max Wotell		P	R	L	6' 3"	180	09-13-1996	Active	No

Catchers

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

Infielders

#	Name	Pos	Bat	Thw	Ht	Wt	DOB	Status	MLB 40-man
7	Cecilio Aybar	SS	R	R	6' 0"	165	11-23-1993	Active	No
29	Franklin Correa	2B	R	R	5' 9"	180	01-01-1996	Active	No
12	Yeffry De Aza	3B	R	R	6' 0"	170	01-14-1997	Active	No
13	Angel Manzanarez	SS	R	R	6' 0"	152	05-19-1997	Active	No
1	Santo Marte	2B	R	R	5' 9"	170	09-30-1993	Active	No
23	Walter Rasquin	3B	R	R	5' 9"	160	03-21-1996	Active	No

Outfielders

#	Name	Pos	Bat	Thw	Ht	Wt	DOB	Status	MLB 40-man
5	Will Barring	OF	R	R	6' 1"	200	04-24-1993	Active	No
32	Ricardo Cespedes	OF	L	L	6' 1"	160	08-24-1997	Active	No
	Bradley Marquez	OF	R	R	6' 1"	185	12-14-1992	Restricted	No
44	Jose Miguel Medina	OF	R	R	6' 3"	170	10-21-1996	Active	No
2	Raphael Ramirez	CF	L	L	5' 11"	175	12-15-1995	Active	No
20	Ian Strom	OF	R	L	6' 2"	200	12-12-1994	Active	No
3	Jeremy Wolf	OF	L	R	6' 3"	220	11-02-1993	Active	No