Here’s the standard disclaimer: first, this roster is preliminary. It can and will change before and during the season. Second, while I’ve tried to write up a little something about every player, info can be hard to get, so a lack of info does not infer a lack of talent. Take what you read below with a grain of salt; we’ll see how they really look when they get here.

On to the preview!

PITCHERS

Andrew Barnett – RHP, JR, Gardner-Webb. Barnett is a hard-throwing right-hander who brings the heat in the low 90′s. He’s been a workhorse starter for his collegiate team and should eat up some innings for the Oilers, unless they decide to give his arm a rest. Of course, that’s assuming he doesn’t sign with a pro club: Baseball America ranked him the #10 draft prospect in the Big South.

Colby Blueberg – RHP, SO, Nevada. This time last year, Blueberg was dealing a 92-mph fastball with a slider & curveball mix. He’s been battered around a bit coming out of the pen for Nevada this year, but he’s working with good velocity and three pitches, so with some added experience — such as the type he’ll get this summer — he could put it together nicely.

Michael Coates

Michael Coates – RHP, JR, Cal State Northridge. Coates is a returning player from 2012 and stands a solid 6’4″ and 210lbs. He has mixed his arsenal of pitches effectively to get strikeouts. He’s been used mostly as a reliever but he can go long relief or be used as a spot starter as well.

Matthew Fraudin – LHP, SO, Gardner-Webb. Fraudin is a big guy at 6’5″ 210lbs and uses his size to push a 90+ mph fastball. He nailed down a weekend starting job as a freshman; as a sophomore this year he has logged a GW-best 99.1 innings of work and struck out 94 in the process. He gives the Oilers an effective starting arm.

Logan McAnallen – LHP, SR, Michigan. As a senior, McAnallen is eligible for the draft and will likely sign if he gets the call. But if he decides to hold out or isn’t picked, he’ll bring an effective strikeout arm to the Oilers’ pen. He proved as much last year as a member of the 2012 Oilers.

Sam Moore – RHP, SO, UC Irvine. Moore has been used as a reliever in his collegiate career with the Anteaters; in 2013 he’s held opposing batters to a .238 average over 10.2 innings of work. He’s a stout fellow at 6’0″ and 200 lbs.

Logan McAnallen

AJ Quintero – RHP, JR, Cal State Monterey Bay. Quintero has been the fireman of his college club and logged a 2.59 ERA with 10 saves in 2013. For his efforts he was named to the DII All-West Region team.

Dylan Silva – LHP, FR, Florida State. In 2011 Perfect Game saw Silva and noted a 90-mph fastball, hard breaking ball and a change-up. They gave him a 10 out of 10 as a pro prospect. In college ball during his freshman year this season, he’s fashioned a 0.84 ERA and held opposing batters to a .111 average; the only downside is that he’s walked 10. It sounds to me like Dylan Silva is a raw prospect that could do great things if he can put all the pieces together.

GJ Strauss – RHP, JR, Florida Tech. Strauss has been used in long relief this college season and has struck out 21 batters in 22 innings of work. Perfect Game scouted him way back in 2009 and noted an 89-mph heater; odds are he’s bumped up the velocity since then. They graded him a 9.5 out of 10 prospect and ranked him in the top 500 in his graduating class.

Billy Strode – LHP, SO, Florida State. Strode has been a great reliever with the ability to burn up some innings. Based on his college stats, he’s a strike-out guy with good control and I’ve read that he’s a real fighter who can hang tough in a jam.

Brandon Warner – RHP, SO, Cal State Northridge. Warner has served as a reliever/spot starter and shown an ability to keep the ball around the zone, surrendering just a single walk on the collegiate year, in 34.1 innings pitched.

CATCHERS

 Adam Sonabend – B/T: R/R, JR, Eastern Michigan. Sonabend had two years of JuCo experience at Mesa Community College before transferring. Not much has got by him this college season; he has made only one error and three passed balls.

Mike Wieland – B/T: L/R, JR, Arkansas Pine Bluff. I couldn’t find a whole lot of info on the guy; his stats indicate that he can take a walk or even steal a base now and then, not just a station-to-station catcher. One thing I did come up with, though, was a little article on his cool high school project to round up used equipment to donate to local Little League families. I always pull for the good guys and he sounds like a good guy.

INFIELD

Jake Alvarez – B/T: R/R, JR, Fresno State. Alvarez is a second-year Oiler and handed the second base position nicely in 2012. His bat never got hot last year but his swing looks fundamentally correct to me and he showed average-plus speed. I expect his bat to break out with another shot at ABL pitching.

Dillon Dobson – B/T: L/R, FR, Appalachian State. Dobson plays just about anywhere on the field and has become a regular college starter as a freshman. This year he made only four errors for a .990 fielding percentage.

Brody Greer – B/T: R/R, JR, South Carolina Upstate. Greer is supposed to bring a solid infield arm and has been the starting shortstop for the Spartans since he was a freshman. He had a breakout year at the plate this season, so he should be ready for a new big challenge in summer ball.

Noah Holmes – B/T: L/R, JR, Appalachian State. For the class of 2010 he was named a Perfect Game high follow. He’s noted as a defensively superb first baseman and although I am loathe to even mention aluminum bat home runs, his five are a team best, indicating that perhaps he can hit for power (at least relative to the rest of his team).

Michael Hoo – B/T: R/R, JR, Cal Poly. Hoo has two seasons of summer ball under his belt in the Far West League and the West Coast League. He spent a lot of time out with injury and missed all of 2012, and he’s come around a bit slowly in 2013, so the summer will be a good chance to get out there and make up for lost time for him.

Kyle Hunt – B/T: S/R, SO, Nevada. Hunt is a Perfect Game High Follow who broke into the Nevada lineup as a freshman. His college stats indicate that he’s still a little rough around the edges but we’ll see what a summer in Alaska can do for him.

OUTFIELD

Turner Clouse – B/T: L/L, FR, USC. As a freshman, Clouse has started on a part-time basis and has served as a bat off the bench in college ball. Those his play there has been limited, he does not have an error to his name this season.

Andre Mercurio – B/T: L/L, SO, San Jose State. For the Spartans, Mercurio has been a prototypical leadoff-hitting center fielder: hard to strike out, high average, a threat to steal. He’s only made one error in the field this spring. He was a Perfect Game High Follow out of high school and could be a big contributor to the Oilers this year.

Connor Sullivan – B/T: S/R, FR, USC. Sullivan as a versatile player; not only is he listed as an outfielder/infielder on USC website, he’s a quarterback on the USC football team. He’s been used quite sparingly during his freshman college year, but in the 10 times he’s reached base, he’s stolen twice. Could these be hints that he has a strong arm and speed?

Taylor Tempel – B/T: R/L, SO, Fresno State. Temepel is noted for being a speedy outfielder with a solid glove. Supposedly he’s got good foot speed and in 2013, with greater playing time, he was able to up his stolen base total to a perfect 9 SB on 9 attempts for Fresno State.

RESERVE ROSTER

Spencer Mochal – B/T: R/R, HS, Grace Christian (CO). Mochal is a high school pitcher/infielder out of Colorado. High school players are rare in the ABL, so I asked Oilers GM James Clark directly if he could give me any more info. Mochal  has family in the Kenai area and has signed on with the team for the summer to serve as a bullpen catcher and serve in exhibition games. From what I found on Google, Mochal has had an excellent high school career and could very well have a bright future ahead of him in baseball.

THE VERDICT

This team is a bit of a tougher nut to crack for me. Even with a lot of the legwork already done, thanks to the fact that we got to know some of these players as they were introduced in the Peninsula Clarion through the winter, it took me a while to get any info on many of them.

I’ve always thought of the Oilers as a good pitching team, though they were sort of middle-of-the-road in that category last year. In any event, I think that this pitching staff looks very solid and will be able to keep opponents’ scores low. The batters, I just don’t know. Lots of freshman and guys from lesser-known schools. It’s hard to go off college batting stats because of the discrepancy between aluminum and wood. Of course, that’s the benefit of being able to watch ABL ball: we’ll find out exactly how well they handle the lumber when it’s really made of lumber. But until then, we’ll just have to guess.

I’m breaking this down into two sections. First, what I intend to do between now and the beginning of the season. Second, what my approach is for the season and beyond.

The Big Pre-Season 2013 To-Do List:

• Roster previews. I’ve done the Bucs & Chinooks, and the Oilers is 75% done (or more). That leaves the Pilots, Miners and Goldpanners, in whichever order the mood strikes me and depending on whether the rosters are available when it does. These are a bit more elaborate than in years past so it takes me a bit longer, but I think it’s worth it. My ETA is June 9 but it it goes into the first week of the season it won’t be a disaster. Give me some feedback on these if you have a thought on their quality!
• Draft previews. The draft starts on Thursday, June 6 so my ETA is June 5 for all team previews and a combined draft list. I’d also like to do a draft prospect ranking post if time permits. I’ve kind of fooled around with this but no substantial progress. However, assuming I don’t run out of time, I anticipate an increase in quality on these posts as well. I’ve been doing this blog long enough now that I should have seen most of the players in question, and have scouting notes, photos, and/or video on a lot of them.
• Pro Alumni Database update. That thing is seriously out of date! I have been poking around and basically picking players at random to check up on and update as needed. I like this method as it yields some of the short alumni update posts I’ve done on the spring. People seem to like those and it takes about 30 minutes of work for me to get fresh content out daily. Unfortunately that’s not very systematic, so I need to do a “clean sweep” through the list at my earliest convenience. I don’t have an ETA, just…whenever.
• Catcher pop time ranking. This is a leftover from 2012 that I just haven’t made time to do. I’d like to do it before the draft as it’s a prospect-ish post.

And on to the season…

• I intend to make my first game of the year the Bucs/Pilots doubleheader on June 9. It’s the first game of the season and I get to see two teams twice. This is a fairly firm date for me so expect to see me there if you want to come say hi. Other games I have circled on my calendar: Panners at Miners on June 13, Seals at Bucs on the 16th, Oilers at Miners some time during their 19-21st series, and Chinooks at Miners on the 22nd. These dates are less firm, but I can see every ABL team, plus the Seals, at least once within the first two weeks and hopefully not stress my wife out too much in the process.
• I’ve acquired almost $1000 in new equipment that is more or less directly related to this blog, including a Stalker radar gun and a Samsung tablet. (No, it wasn’t all my own money — I’m so broke that my previous Stalker radar was literally a stalker radar, as in creeping up behind people and peeking over their shoulders — but my parents and in-laws are awesome and showered me with gifts for my college graduation. THANKS MOMS AND DADS!!!) So, I think I have all the gadgets required to provide a wealth of accurate information. Now I just need to work on my scouting eye and writing abilities…
• On that note, I’m toying with the idea of sneaking out to the Alaska high school state tournament. My #1 goal would be to learn to use all this newfangled technology. My secondary goal would be to get some info out there on any talented high school players from around Alaska. I’ve been asked if I would ever want to expand and cover local HS/Legion ball, but I’ve balked at the idea. Just too much to cover by myself. I can’t go as far as committing to any level of coverage on a consistent basis. But as a warm-up for the ABL season that maybe has the side-effect of giving some local kids a bit of exposure, I might be able to handle that. I’ll have to see how my weekend is looking.
• I’m giving some thought to my general strategy for this blog, moving ahead. In the past I have thought of things as an annual cycle. May-July I’m in info-gathering mode. I preview the season and the draft, then get out there and cover it. I get notes, photos, raw video, data, etc. Then August-April is time for synthesis. Compile scouting reports, edited videos, rankings, lists, etc. Rinse, repeat. In past years, this hasn’t come off as cleanly as I would like. Mostly because August-April has also been the time when I’ve been in school, studying Engineering, which means having no time for hobbies. I have all this information stored away on a hard drive and I just haven’t been able to sift through it all, and it’s almost to the point that what happened in 2012 has to take a back seat to what’s going to happen in 2013. However, as I stated above, I graduated! And, I’ll be completely honest, if I can get it I’m looking for a job that will actually afford me some leisure time. So I’m sticking to the same plan by and large. We’ll see if it works out better and adjust accordingly. But I’m hoping that this off-season I can spend some time putting together some really high-quality pieces of writing rather than just putting this blog into mothballs as I have in winters past.
• As far as individual players go, I want to be increase both my breadth and depth. In the past my coverage has been spotty. I’ve gone in-depth about some players and had next to nothing about others. Worse, some of the ones I’ve written little about have been top prospects. So, I’m going to make a sustained effort to change this in two ways. First, I’m going to try and write something about everyone. I figure everyone that has made it this far in baseball deserves a shout-out, and I know lots of parents, girlfriends and buddies read this blog during the summer to hear how their boys are doing. I want to be more observant and give everyone credit where credit is due. That being said, I don’t need to write up a thorough scouting report on the guy whose destiny is obviously not a career in baseball. If I’m going to down the rabbit hole dissecting a guy’s tools and stats, I’d rather do it for a guy who’s going to be around the game for a while. That means I need to do a better job of developing my follow list and sticking to it. Of course, until the season starts I’m going off my research via the “Google Scouting Bureau”, so if anyone else has a heads-up on who to follow, please let me know!

As always, the comments box is open. This is my hobby, so obviously I do what I enjoy, but I’m totally open to any suggestions or comments on how to make this blog useful. Let me know!

2011 Miner Ryan Dull

Ryan Dull, right-handed pitcher formerly of the 2011 Mat-Su Miners, has put the Midwest League on lockdown to start the 2013 minor league season.

Dull has logged a 1.56 ERA over 17.1 innings of relief. He’s struck out 26 of the batters he’s faced while walking a paltry two. Opposing batters are hitting a pathetic .153 average against him.

Since being drafted in the 32nd round by Oakland last year, Dull has made steady progress from the short-season leagues up to Single-A ball. On his professional career, he’s gone 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA and has a 13.49 strikeout/walk ratio. If Dull continues to do well and earn respect as a prospect, the next stop for him could be the Stockton Ports of the Class-A Advanced California League.

With the Miners in 2011, dull fashioned a 2.75 ERA with 18 strikeouts and 6 walks on 19.2 innings of work. His performance was good enough to earn him an All-Star appearance.

Zagurski has had several cups of coffee with big-league clubs; he came up with the Philles in 2007, 2010, and 2011 and with Arizona in 2012. The results have not been especially fantastic. He’s the owner of a 6.13 ERA in the big leagues. He had an opening to win a spot in the Pittsburgh pen this spring training, but was sent back to the minors before opening day.

So far, though, he has had an excellent season at AAA Indianapolis of the International League. He’s generated a 2.29 ERA over 19.2 innings of relief, striking out an eye-popping 34 batters and walking just 8. In previous stints he’s had trouble with his walks, but his ratio at AAA has been excellent. You have to believe he’s an injury or a trade away from another shot to stick in the big leagues.

Check out this video with Zagurski reminiscing about his time in the Alaska Baseball League:

As of May 19, 2013, Goldschmidt ranks second on the MLB home run leaderboard with 12 bombs. The first baseman is carrying a .333 average and has an OPS of 1.049, good for third place in MLB.

Goldschmidt is in his third major-league season and has gotten better every year. He was an eight-round draft pick in 2009, and though I thought he was good enough to make the majors and had serious power potential, I thought he was fringe as an every day player. I was obviously wrong, and the D-Backs have invested in him for the long-term with a backloaded $32 million contract.

As Goldschmidt’s star rises, it’s just a reminder of some of the excellent talent that the Alaska Baseball League is sending to the professional ranks. In a few weeks we’ll be watching even more future stars take to the fields of the north!

I spent longer on this than I’d hoped (that real life thing is a pain). A big reason for that is my attempt to be more comprehensive in 2013 than I have in the past. In prior years, when previewing teams, I simply skipped over players that had sparse or sketchy info. I felt that doing so didn’t always give these guys the credit they deserve. A lot of the guys who come up to AK are relatively unknown when they arrive, but end up being great ball players and/or pro prospects. So this year, I’m just going to lay out whatever I can find during my research so that I at least get everyone’s name out there.

Of course, I make the same cautionary notes as always. First, this roster can and will change before and during the season. Second, the amount of information I find on a player does not necessarily correlate with his talent or ceiling.

With that out of the way, here are your 2013 Anchorage Bucs:

Pitchers

Andrew Boes – Sophomore right-hander out of Texas State. Boes was seen by Perfect Game in 2011, when his fastball was bumping 90 and settling in the high 80′s, in addition to a slider and a change-up hovering just south of 80. They ranked him a Top 1000 prospect that year. In 14 college appearances this season — 13 in relief — he’s struggled a bit, but it sounds like he’s got at least some of the tools, so a summer in Alaska should do him good.

Calvin Copping – Right-handed freshman out of Cal State Northridge and one half of the twin brother pitching duo for the Bucs this season (see below). Calvin has been used as a starter by the Matadors and is averaging between six and seven innings a start, so he should eat up some innings for the Bucs (unless they want to conserve his arm).

Corey Copping – Righty Oklahoma freshman and twin brother of Calvin Copping above. Corey has been used much more lightly than his brother during the college sesason, but has made a start and some good relief appearances.

Garrett Cortright – Canisius junior and right-hander. He’s been the #1 starter for his college squad two years running and has fashioned a 10-2 record with a 1.98 ERA so far in 2013. He’s one of the biggest kids on the team at 6’5″ 215lb.

Scott Grist

Scott Grist – Second-year Buc and right-handed junior out of Texas State. The way Grist pitched in 2012, why not bring him back? Last year he put  up a 4-0 record with a 1.91 ERA, so he’s got a proven record of success here.

Brennan Henry – Northeastern Junior College left-handed sophomore. Henry was selected in the 25th round by Philadelphia in 2012 (and as a junior college player, he’s eligible this year). He also logged some time with Rochester of the NY Collegiate league last summer. I guess that makes him a definite prospect, though the interwebs have little to say about his plus tools. I’m anxious to see what the Phillies saw in him, so he’s a follow for me.

David Herd – Right-handed sophomore out of Cal Baptist. Not a lot of info out there on him. He’s not the biggest guy — in fact, the smallest of the pitching staff — but he’s been quite successful in college ball. He nailed down a job as a starter his freshman season and has posted a winning record and sub-3.50 career ERA. This year he’s struck out 64 and walked just 12. It’ll be fun to see what the keys to his success are and if they carry over to this league.

Matt Hollenbeck - Lefty Georgetown sophomore. Perfect Game liked him a lot three years ago when he was a skinny 165-lb youngster. He’s filled out to 6’1″ 205lbs and I’m guessing he can top the 86 mph he was bumping as a kid in 2010. He has summer-ball experience; last year he was ranked the #12 prospect in the Atlantic Summer Collegiate League by PG. Update: Matt Hollenbeck no longer appears on the Bucs’ roster as of May 13, 2013.

Garrett Mundell – Right-handed Fresno State sophomore. At 6’6″, 230 lbs he’s the biggest guy on the Bucs’ pitching staff, and actually the entire roster, at the moment. Perfect Game ranked him a Top 1000 prospect in 2011 for his graduating class, but didn’t have much to say about him.

Trevor Renfro – Freshman right-hander from Texas State. According to the Bobcats’ website, he’s got a high-80′s heater that can touch 90, plus a change and curve. He’s struggled a bit in his first collegiate season but it sounds like some of the tools are there to build on.

Jacob Rhame

Jacob Rhame – Grayson JC Sophomore (previously of Oklahoma, committed to Texas State) and second-year Bucs righty. Rhame was the #419 prospect in his graduating class according to Perfect Game and has since shown a heater that pushes 94. When I saw him last season he mixed his speeds well and had good command. The games I saw him in, he went after batters and didn’t get rattled.  I’m excited to see him come back for another go.

Kenny Smith – Gonzaga junior right-hander. Smith has summer-ball experience, pitching the Humboldt Crabs to a second-straight Far West League championship and notching a 6-1 record with a 1.29 ERA along the way.

Andrew Sopko – Right-handed Gonzaga freshman. The young hurler out of “The Zoo” (Missoula, Montana) was drafted as a high-school senior last year by the Padres in the 14th round. MLB.com has a scouting video on him, and Perfect Game had him touching 89 with the heater in 2011.

Austin Stone – Baylor right-handed sophomore. Perfect Game had a look at him back in 2010 and had him bumping 89, making him their 500th-ranked prospect for that class. On the 2013 collegiate season he’s brought his ERA down to 2.98 and started 9 of his 14 total appearances.

Tyler Wells – Nevada sophomore and lefty. Wells is a solid left-handed starting pitcher option for the Bucs who has cemented his role as a weekend SP for Nevada as an underclassman.

Catchers

Josh Graham – Oregon righty freshman. The Minnesota Twins drafted him in the 22nd round out of high school last year, but he went on to college and had an all-star season with Klamath Falls of the West Coast League. Although he’s pretty firmly entrenched as a catcher by now, he’s done well as a pitcher — well enough for MLB.com to highlight his 91-mph fastball with a pitcher scouting video. I’m guessing that arm might be good for throwing out runners as well.

Michael Strentz – Sophomore right-hander out of Louisiana Lafayette. Another Ragin’ Cajun! Best school nickname in all of college ball except for maybe the Dirtbags. There’s not much out there. I pulled up his College Splits stats and he has a park-adjusted OPS for 2013 of 1.023 and even a few steals. At 6’1″ 170lbs he must be a good athletic backstop, not a station-to-station guy, who has made good contact in college ball at least.

Taylor Ward – Fresno State right-batting freshman. Listed as a catcher, but some think he’d be a better outfielder due in part to his above-average speed (I hate to see a pair of good legs wasted in backstop duty). The Rays chose him in Round 31 in last year’s draft.

Infielders

Jordan Brink

Jordan Brink – Left-batting Fresno State sophomore and second-year Buc. In 2012 he had an All-Star season, hit .316, and was named the #20 prospect in the league by PG. They ranked him a Top 1000 prospect for the class of 2011. I thought he looked really tenacious out there last year. What more can you ask for? His strikeouts were a bit high, especially compared to his walks. With a little more discipline/selection he could tear it up. I didn’t get as good a look at him in 2012 as I wish I had, so I’m making it a point to follow him better.

Chase Compton – Returning from 2012 Bucs and a Louisiana Lafayette Junior batting lefty. Compton, like Brink, is a guy I wish I’d followed closer and who I will DEFINITELY keep high on the follow list in 2013. He also had an All-Star season, he was named the ABL Player of the Year, and he hit .377 with 7 home runs in 37 games. The guy pretty much did it all last year; the only thing to speculate about is how on earth he could try to top that type of monster year this summer.

Tyler Coolbaugh – Switch-hitter out of Oklahoma, where he’s a Freshman. He’s the son of former big-leaguer Scott Coolbaugh. There’s not a lot of info out there on him, other than he seems to be an up-the-middle type guy. We’ll just have to see what he’s got when he gets here.

Collin Ferguson

Collin Ferguson – Left-handed batter and second-year Buc out of St. Mary’s U. He hit .319 with 6 homers last year and even pitched 7 innings. Since then he’s seemingly shifted to a batter/infielder role for good, and has been the most consistent part of his collegiate team with a team-best 54 played and 52 starts.

Mac Gridley – An Anchorage local, he’s a sophomore right-handed batter out of Lower Columbia College. He was a “follow” for Perfect Game’s class of 2011, and they ranked him a 7/10.

Hunter Haley – Sophomore from the University of Oklahoma. Listed as a left-handed batter on the Bucs roster, but noted as a switch hitter by Perfect Game. In their 2011 showcase they gave him a grade of 9.5 out of 10. He ran the 60-yard in 6.56s which is a solid “7″ on the 2-8 scout scale. His brother was a second-round pick and current farmhand for the Cleveland Indians, so he comes from good baseball stock.

Lawton Langford – Laft-handed batter and junior from Baylor. He was an all-conference second baseman last year and has shown no signs of letting up as an upperclassman. One thing I love to see on this guy’s college stat sheet that I think is definitely transferable to summer ball is more  walks (28) than strikeouts (26).

Ryan Leonards – Right-batting Junior out of Louisiana Lafayette. Last year he showed good plate patience, average or better speed, capable defense on the infield and good batspeed. Last year he hit .275 with four homers and earned a spot in the ABL All-Star Game.

Outfielders

Tyler Baumgartner – Oregon Junior, batting left. He’s known as a big bat and has logged most of his time at the DI level in the Designated Hitter role, but he’s versatile and can hang on the infield and outfield. Baumgartner played summer ball for the Kitsap Blue Jackets of the West Coast League last year.

DonAndre Clark – Switch-hitting St. Mary’s Sophomore. Looking at his SMC stats, a few things stand out: speed (21 steals), walks (20, second only to our friend Brenden Kalfus), and errors (just 1). Sounds like a prototypical lead-off guy who gets on base, one way or the other, and uses his speed to hurt you on the paths or in the outfielder.

Andy Crowley – Lefty Cal Baptist Sophomore. He has been a huge bat in college ball, earning conference Freshman of the Year honors last year after an outrageous offensive season. He hasn’t been quite as ridiculous as a sophomore but solid nonetheless. So will it carry over to wood bat ball?

Anthony Gonsolin – St. Mary’s rightie Freshman. The Bucs have him listed as an outfielder but he has pitched at the collegiate level as well. In 23 appearances for the Gaels (14 starts) he hasn’t made an error. Not much else out there on him, so we’ll see him when he gets here.

Justin Higley – Left-handed Sacramento State junior. A big guy at 6’4″ 200lb. He’s got some summer ball under his belt; after an all-conference year for the Hornets last season he went on to play for Thunder Bay in the Northwoods League. He hit a pair of homers there in 97 at-bats, so the power he’s shown in college may not be just aluminum-bat power.

The Verdict

Overall, I think this is a very solid team. The talent level in the ABL as a whole over the last couple of years has been on the upswing and the Bucs played a big part in bringing some top players and prospects up in 2012. They’ve retained a talented core of second-year guys who will help anchor this team. They really could use another left-handed arm on their pitching staff, but the L/R/S split in their lineup should give them a lot of versatility. I think they’ll be an offensive powerhouse this season, just looking at some of the batters they have. It looks to me like there are several prospects of major significance as well.

Ranked #13 on the list is 2011/2012 Anchorage Bucs’ RHP Braden Shipley:

The University of Nevada ace makes you take notice with a quick, loose arm and a plus fastball — one that has touched 98 mph. But he’s more than just fastball velocity. He throws both a curve ball and a changeup, and while they’re not as consistent as his fastball, both should be at least Major League average in the future.

Shipley is generally around the plate with all three pitches and isn’t afraid to go right after hitters.

He might not be a part of the elite group of college arms in the class, but he isn’t far behind, and a very strong junior year had him moving up Draft boards everywhere.

2011 Anchorage Glacier Pilots outfielder Aaron Judge is not far behind him, ranked #24:

As one would imagine, Judge has considerable raw power from the right side of the plate, winning a college home run derby over the summer. That pop has not shown up consistently in games for Fresno State much, though he did flex his muscles for five homers on the Cape last summer.

Judge has patience at the plate, runs pretty well and has a strong arm, all the tools for a future right fielder. How he performed during his junior season with the bat was going to determine where he lands on Draft boards.

That performance was a bit up-and-down but a team that saw him on a good day — and put stock in his strong Cape performance –might be willing to gamble he’ll hit enough to tap into that power at the next level.

These two players are obviously locks for the 2013 draft, but there will undoubtedly be many more Alaska Baseball League players among them. Keep an eye out for more draft previews over the next couple weeks and find out which other former Alaska players could go pro this summer.

This year I am going to attempt to write something about every player on the roster at the time of my review. In the past I have completely omitted players that I found limited or sketchy info on, with the caveat that lack of a preview does not translate to lack of talent. I felt that this really didn’t do some of these guys a lot of justice. So this year I’m going to tell as much of a story as I can, but the same conditions apply: just because there’s not much there under his heading below, it doesn’t mean there’s not much there in his bat/arm/glove. We Alaskans have the privilege of seeing most of these guys before the rest of the world gets wind of their talent, which also means that we don’t always know what we’ve got until they get here.

Of course the same old forewarning about these rosters being preliminary and subject to change before (and after) opening day still applies.

Enough talk, here’s the team:

Pitchers

Max Bruckner – Freshman rightie out of Iona College. Perfect Game saw him in 2012 and says he was bumping 84 mph then. He’s struggled in college this year, going 2 and 8 with an 8.35 ERA (as of writing). That being said, he’s a freshman so he’s got room to potentially grow and improve. He did start 11 of his 13 college appearances so he should be a reliable arm and benefit from the experience here.

Caleb Dirks

Bryce Clifton – Clifton is a bit of an enigma. He’s one of the above-mentioned players who’s not well documented as of yet. That’s OK, we’ll get some ink on him this summer. What I do know is that he’s a sophomore southpaw out of Lander College who’s made nine appearances — all in relief. He’s had a few rough outings in college this year but has had some good long-relief appearances as well.

Caleb Dirks – A returning all-star player from 2012, Dirks is a sophomore RHP out of Cal Baptist. As a freshman last year he was dealing a high-80′s heater, maybe touching 90 mph, with a good strikeout curve when he came to Alaska. I thought he showed good potential then and it’ll be interesting to see if he can throw harder or go deeper in games now that he’s matured some.

Chance Gusbeth – Right-hander out of Cal State Bakersfield. I pulled up his 2010 Perfect Game profile and they had him pushing 84 mph with a sharp curve as a 5’10″, 165-pounder. That was then; now he’s listed as 6’0″, 185 lbs as a college freshman. The Chinooks have him listed as a P/IF while the Runners have used him mainly as an infielder, so it’ll be interesting to see where he spends most of his time in Alaska and in the future. Regardless, I think we have a developing player here with a lot of potential, so it will be interesting to see how he does.

Mike Jeffreys

Mike Jeffreys – Geneva College right-hander and a returning player from 2012. I liked Jeffreys a lot when I saw him last year for his plus curve and what looks like a good pitcher’s mentality. Some other people liked him too: Fangraphs did some math and determined he was the best starting pitcher in the league according to their Sabermagic analysis. If my “scouting eye” (such as it is) likes him and Fangraphs likes him, he should be a good front-end starter for the Chinooks and a fun guy to follow as he comes back for his Junior summer.

Asa Johnson – 6’2″, 200 lb junior rightie out of St. Bonaventure. Johnson has had some summer ball experience, with a 3.76 ERA in mixed use as a starter/reliever with Rochester in the New York Collegiate league (the team is affiliated with CER via the Athletes in Action organization).

Andrew Klausmeier – A junior transfer to The Master’s College, Klausmeier is a right-handed reliever/spot starter. He’s rumored to throw hard and have a four-pitch arsenal. In 2010 he played in the esteemed Northwoods League, so he’s got some summer ball under his belt already.

Kenny Knudsen – Sophomore RHP out of Sugar Hill, Georgia. Knudsen has apparently be used in a closing role for NAIA Bryan College in 2013 after a solid set-up campaign in 2012. His Bryan profile page cites his fastball and curve as keys to his success.

Zach McCulley – Big left-hander out of Cornell. Perfect Game was high on this kid when they caught up with him in 2011. He was hitting the mid-80′s then and they noted a good slider and change-up as well as a slow curve. Just to look at the guy on the internet, I’m not going to project a big velocity bump but a four-pitch, two-plus-pitch lefty doesn’t have to bring the heat to be a prospect or succeed in Alaska. I’m thinking he could anchor the rotation for CER.

James Scott – Right-handed junior out of the Master’s College. His freshman year he was a closer, and as a sophomore he established himself as a starting pitcher in 2012. Now, in 2013, he’s gone 6-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 77.2 innings of work. According to his college profile, he’s a reliable three-pitch guy. Just enough information to tease me. Could be a formidable SP.

Devin Stanton – Junior lefty from Georgia Tech. Stanton is making up for lost time as shoulder surgery knocked him out on opening day of the 2012 college season and his recovery stretched well into 2013. His Tech profile cites a “dominating” breaking ball and when PG saw him as a youngster back in ’09 he was hitting the mid-80′s, so I would expect more out of him as he has matured considerably. It’ll be interesting to see if he can shake the rust off. If so, he’ll be a big arm.

Catchers

Daniel Arthur – Freshman righty of juco Murray State. He looked really good when Perfect Game saw him in 2012, with sub-2.0s moves to second base, good defense, and a line-drive bat with power potential. I’m excited to see if his showing in AK lives up to that, because if so, he sounds like he’ll have a good summer.

Zach Harbison – Right-handed junior out of Cornerstone. If the hype on the Cornerstone baseball page is to be believed, Harbison is a solid defensive backstop with “gap to gap power”.

Daniel Salters – A freshman out of juco Eastern Oklahoma State, batting left and throwing right. Not much is known about Salters other than the fact that he’s fashioned a 1.014 OPS on the 2013 collegiate year.

Infielders

Nicholas Covello – A redshirt freshman out of Cornerstone. His CER roster line lists him as a right-handed batter but his Cornerstone profile says he can switch hit. He’s listed as a SS/2B on his college bio and on Perfect Game, so he should bring some experience playing up the middle.

Cody Harris – Junior righty from the Master’s College. Harris was a PG High Follow in 2010 and is noted as a very capable defensive player with good discipline at the dish. His college bio lists him as a 3B/P; the Chinooks also note his two-way abilities.

Tyler Krahn – Freshman left-handed batter from Cornerstone. Krahn is listed as an infielder on the Chinooks’ roster, but is labelled a catcher/outfielder on the Cornerstone website. Perhaps he’ll add some defensive depth to the team with his versatility. As a freshman he doesn’t have summer ball experience per se, but he did participate in the wood bat fall ball British Columbia Premier League in 2011.

Griffith Roark – Lefty junior-college transfer to Western Kentucky for his junior season. Roark has played around the infield some in his day and was a big bat at JuCo Cowley College. He’s struggled offensively since transferring up but has done well with the glove, so he should be a solid defensive player for the Chinooks who’s hungry for some at-bats against good pitching.

Ryan Shackelford – Master’s College junior batting right-handed. He’s another versatile infielder/outfielder who (according to his college bio) has good hands and power to all fields. He missed time due to surgery, so he’ll be hungry.

Drew Turbin

Drew Turbin – Junior left-handed batter out of the noteworthy junior college program at Yavapai, who is transferring up to Dallas Baptist, and returning to the ABL after a solid 2012 season. His campaign last year included a .307 average. My notes on Turbin last year reflect average-plus speed, and good rangey defense that can play in the outfield as well. He looked aggressive at the plate but with some better pitch selection/plate patience he could have an even better offensive season.

Steven Ventimilia – Sophomore middle-infielder batting lefty. Ventimilia was a freshman full-time starter with Hawaii in 2012 and a Top 1000 prospect by PG in 2011. He brings speed to the Chinooks as he led the WAC in steals as a freshman. That summer Ventimilia played summer ball for the Wenatchee AppleSox of the West Coast League and batted .307 with 19 steals. He’s had abit of a sophomore slump with Hawaii this year so I’m sure he’ll be looking to make the most of his summer.

Outfielders

Griffin Gum

Griffin Gum – Another returning player from 2012 and a right-handed redshirt freshman out of Alabama Birmingham. Gum showed good speed last year but swung a little bit too freely, and that hurt his ability to make contact. I like his aggressiveness and athleticism, which could translate into a better offensive season if he can take better at-bats.

Matt Kimmel – Righty junior from Azusa Pacific. At the collegiate level, Kimmel has been a leader on his team in speed, hitting for average, power and defense. Not much else is available on him besides his college bio & stats, so the question remains about what he’s capable of in summer ball, but the potential sounds exciting.

Jacob Murray – Murray University left-handed junior. Like Kimmel, details about Murray are sparse other than his college bio & stats, but he’s done well with the bat and on the base paths. The signs look good, but we’ll have to see for ourselves how he looks in person.

Collin Radack – Right-handed junior out of Hendrix College. Radack has been completely underwhelmed by Division III pitching in his collegiate career and it will be interesting to see if he can replicate his results with a wooden stick against a better crop of pitchers. That question was partially answered when he was ranked as a draft prospect during his all-star year with the Xenia Scouts (another AIA affiliate) of the Great Lakes League in 2012. He flirted with hitting .400 out there, so I imagine that’s about as close to a proven bat as we can ask for. The only danger is getting signed away as a pro draft pick.

The Verdict

I really like the looks of this pitching staff. I don’t see any world-renowned power arms, but they have a proven one-two punch in Jeffreys and McCulley and plenty of other capable arms. In the field and behind the dish, this group seems like a capable bunch of fielders. I think the question mark to me is how the offense will pan out. I don’t see a lot of proven big bats. Again, we’re getting a “first look” at some of these guys, so I used the word “proven” deliberately. And I see a lot of guys who have been good contact hitters but I don’t know about power and speed, and of course, how well those contact swings will transfer to wood. That being said, with a solid pitching staff and defense, I predict that they’ll be able to keep the scoring to a minimum and perhaps manufacture enough runs to grind out a winning season. I think this team has a shot to do well in 2013.

Got an opinion? Let’s talk baseball! Let me know what you think about this team. Use the comments box below to share your thoughts on these recruits for the 2013 Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks.

Robert Barr, filmmaker, Anchorage native, and Pilots fan.

Robert Barr, a filmmaker who “grew up at Mulcahy Stadium”, has decided to chase his dream of telling the story of the Anchorage Glacier Pilots on screens big and small. And he’d like you to be a part of his project.

In 2001, Barr followed the Pilots on what would become their most recent National Baseball Congress championship season. As it turned out, it was also an opportunity to preserve the personal stories and perspective of two Alaska baseball legends — Jack O’Toole and Lefty Van Brunt — before their passing. Barr gave us a glimpse into their minds in his well-received 2004 film, “Lefty and Jack” (which is available at the Glacier Pilots stores and on GlacierPilots.com).

Now the time has come for Barr to complete the rest of his work, a task which he describes as “huge, complex and fascinating.” For years he’s labored on this project and cut the miles of film down to (at least) three more distinct projects: “A Different Breed of Guys”, a two-hour feature film on the 2001 championship Glacier Pilots; a historical documentary which honors the team from it’s 1969 inception to the present day; and a web-based “reality” series which will tell the story of the 2001 team leading up to the release of the feature film.

But it can’t be done without YOU!

To give the Pilots and Alaska baseball the treatment they deserve, Barr is striving to raise $17,500 through his Kickstarter fund. This will pay for things such as music rights, additional editing, and entrance to film festivals which will promote the game that we love. But you don’t have to be totally altruistic to help: he’s offering several incentives to entice you to donate. All donors who pledge $5 or more will be listed in the film credits PLUS gifts such as team merchandise, complementary copies of the film and even season tickets (depending on how much you pledge!). With some of the incentives, you really can’t go wrong; for example, if you donate $250 you get two season passes — a $160 value — plus all kinds of other cool merchandise on top of that. The donation almost pays for itself!

But Kickstarter is a time-limited, all-or-nothing deal. The project doesn’t get funded unless the pledges add up to the goal in the allotted time. That means that with only 15 days remaining (as of writing) there’s a long way to go. The bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth, and it’s up to you to step up to the plate. So don’t delay. Do it now! And if you want to see this project come to life, be sure to tell your friends, family, neighbors, and random strangers to get on board.

More information on the project:

Official project website

Kickstarter page (donate here)

I made my pledge, have you?