WELCOME TO OPENING DAY!
The Frontier League opens our 30th season tonight, with games in Florence, New York, and Windy City! Check below for a preview of your favorite club.
East
New Jersey Jackals
The 2023 Frontier League season will bring about a wealth of changes for the New Jersey Jackals. First and foremost, they will begin their first season of play at historic Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, NJ. The 100 year old venue has undergone a $100m renovation and will transport fans and players alike to the golden era of the National Pastime. Additionally, P.J. Phillips will take over in the dugout, bringing an exciting brand of baseball to a city hungry for its first professional championship since the early 1900's. With fireworks scheduled for every Saturday home game, fans will get to enjoy both the explosions in the sky and explosions off the bat as the team from Silk City looks to slug its way to the top of the League.
New York Boulders
The New York Boulders look to continue their momentum from the end of 2022, when the club won their last 12 games to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2019. This winning streak set a Frontier League record for the most consecutive wins to end the regular season. Post-season All-Star outfielder David Vinsky leads the returning players. Chris Kwitzer spent the winter in Australia, winning the Australian Baseball League's Golden Glove work for his defensive skills. Andy Hammond, Alex Mack, and July Sosa return to lead the Boulders' starting rotation, with Zach Schneider, Dylan Smith, Ryan Munoz, and Ryder Yakel leading the bullpen. The newcomers for manager T.J. Stanton are led by outfielder Pat Kivlehan, a Nyack native who has Major League experience with Cincinnati, San Diego, and Arizona. New catcher Joe DeLuca brings six seasons of professional experience to the club, including playing for Team Panama in the Caribbean Series the past two winters.
Sussex County Miners
It's a new era of baseball for the Sussex County Miners in 2023, as new General Manager Vincent Sangemino and new Field Manager, former Major Leaguer Chris Widger, embark on their first seasons in Northwest New Jersey. Returning to the club is Gavin Stupienski after playing last season under Chris Widger in the Royals organization. Several other players are also returning, as Jawuan Harris, Justin Washington, Willie Escala, Oraj Anu and Will Zimmerman - who makes a move to the infield – all come back to wear the black and gold. Key new additions Jason Agresti, Jackson Valera, and Juan Santana will look to add a strong presence to the Miners offense this season. The pitching staff will see a big turnover, though Tyler Thornton, Eston Stull, Jimmy Boyce, and Ronnie Voacolo. return to add Skylands Stadium experience to what looks to be a very solid staff overall.
Empire State Greys
The Empire State Greys are looking to make a splash in the club's second season. After their inaugural season, the team decided to shake things up and bring in legendary Atlantic League manager Mark Mason to steer the bus. Along with Mark, the team is excited about the core of its lineup. Big power will be brought to the middle of the lineup with first baseman Josh Sears and Cristopher Cespedes. Outfielders, and former second-round picks, Quentin Holmes and Eric Jenkins will be bringing blazing speed and great bat-to-ball skills to the lineup as well. Recent Atlantic League stand-outs catcher Mike Gulino and shortstop JR DiSarcina will round out the lineup and be leaders up the middle defensively. The Greys will also be featuring a revamped pitching staff in 2023. Ryan Sandberg, Matt Peguero, Tanner Propst, and Alejandro Arteaga will be headlining the group.
Tri City ValleyCats
The Tri-City ValleyCats will play their first Opening Day at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium since joining the Frontier League in 2021. They bring back a slew of players from the 2022 campaign, including shortstop Cito Culver and 2023 Frontier League All-Stars INF Pavin Parks, and 1B/OF Zach Biermann. Aaron Altherr and Reymin Guduan are former big leaguers that have joined the team. Altherr will roam the outfield at "The Joe" after a six-year MLB career with the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets. Guduan, a four-year big league reliever for the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics, is expected to take over the closer role. According to third-year ValleyCats Field Manager and 12-year MLB player, Pete Incaviglia, Tri-City should be a more dynamic team this year — one that has improved its pitching staff, defense, and baserunning, while maintaining an explosive level of production on offense. The ValleyCats have added versatility to their roster with the addition of the powerful 2B/C Trey Hair, speedster 2B/CF Jaxon Hallmark, and the re-signing of World Baseball Classic Team Israel participant, C/OF Jakob Goldfarb. The 2023 season will begin for Tri-City on Friday, May 12 against the Trois-Rivieres Aigles. The ValleyCats' 21st season in New York's Capital Region is set to be a big one.
Quebec Capitales
Manager Patrick Scalabrini has the Québec Capitales prepared to defend their Frontier League championship. Québec natives David Glaude, Jonathan Lacroix, and Marc-Antoine Lebreux plus fan favorite T.J. White will pace the lineup. Infielder Juremi Profar, who represented Curacao in the Caribbean Series and The Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, brings high-level experience to the roster. While Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Miguel Cienfuegos and All-Star reliever Nick Horvath both signed with MLB organizations, several other key contributors will return to the Capitales' pitching staff in Carlos Sano, Frank Moscatiello, Franklin Parra, plus late-season addition Marcos Encarnacion. Canadians Landon Leach and Tanner Jessen-Dalton highlight the newcomers. Pete Tago brings 12 years of professional experience, the past two at the Triple-A level, to the staff.
Aigles de Trois-Rivières
Les Aigles de Trois-Rivières are expecting a strong season with the return of a couple of key players from last year in Pelletier, Kelly, Brown and Gutierrez, as well as the arrival of Jesen Therrien and Rodrigo Orozco. A couple of rookies are also showing good potential at camp, so we expect good things this summer in Trois-Rivières.
Ottawa Titans
The wait lasted 598 days before professional baseball in Canada's Capital returned with a Titans decisive 10-6 road victory over the Joliet Slammers on May 13. With a season-high nine games on the road out of the way to begin the season, the team returned home for their much-anticipated home opener on May 24. Led by local standout Evan Grills' eight innings of scoreless baseball, the Titans put a bow on the opening day festivities with a 2-0 victory. Grills also posted a single-season high 15 strikeouts in the win. The Titans surged up the standings in the first half of the season, winning 23 of their first 30 games. Over that stretch, the club won a season-best nine straight. The Titans qualified for the postseason with a 4-1 victory over the Quebec Capitales on September 2, guaranteeing themselves a berth in the Wild Card round. On the road, the Titans slugged their way to a decisive 8-2 victory to advance to the Division Series. Despite Tyler Jandron's complete game shutout in game one at home, the Titans bowed out of the postseason in a winner-take-all third game to the eventual champions from la belle province. With close to 70% of the 2022 roster returning to the nation's capital, the Titans will look closely to newcomers Trevor Clifton, Erasmo Pinales, Jamey Smart, and Gabe Snyder to have their sights set higher in 2023. Fans will be used to seeing familiar faces Jackie Urabez, Jason Dicochea, Grant Larson, and Zac Westcott take center stage for manager Bobby Brown this summer.
West
Florence Y'alls
The Florence Y'alls had a down season in 2022, but this team is not far removed from being one of the upper-echelon organizations in the Frontier League. As recently as 2021, the Y'alls achieved the league's best record, and in 2019 Florence was playing for a Frontier League Championship. With key lineup returners such as Harrison DiNicola, Ray Zuberer III, Brennan Price and Craig Massey, the Y'alls figure to have the offense to get back in contention, especially considering they'll play more than half of their games at hitter-friendly Thomas More Stadium. Former MLB southpaw Mike Kickham and returning righty Edgar Martinez are set to lead the pitching staff, which is stocked with a mix of intriguing new, young arms and established fixtures from the past few seasons. This has all the makings of a team that could have a quick turnaround under first-year manager Chad Rhoades, who now in his third stint with the organization has a boatload of talent at his disposal to vault Florence back to the top of the Frontier League.
Schaumburg Boomers
After winning the championship in 2021 and reaching the championship series in 2022 expectations remain the same for Jamie Bennett's Schaumburg Boomers in 2023, competing to win another championship. The franchise has won four titles in just 10 years as a member of the league and return 14 players from the 2022 club. Among the returners is Chase Dawson, who set a league record for triples in 2022, and Shumpei Yoshikawa, who set the franchise record for strikeouts. The Boomers set a league record for strikeouts by a pitching staff last season with 921. Jake Joyce returns for his seventh season in the bullpen with the team and ranks among the league's career leaders in appearances. The pitching staff is where nine returners from last year reside.
Joliet Slammers
The Joliet Slammers take to the 2023 season looking to build on last season's successes. Returning at the helm are coaching staff Daniel Schlereth, Matt Shepardson, and Wes Anderson, joined by newcomers Hitting Coach Paul Collins and Special Assistant for Baseball Operations Eric Minshall. Joliet's pitching builds on last year's strengths, returning many fan favorites and adding some exciting new faces. The offense will bring back the core of the Slammers' defensive wizardry, and look to put on an exciting show for fans. Duly Health and Care Field will showcase upgrades in fan services, including an all-new food and beverage program with dozens of new products available on game day. Daily specials and ticket deals are available, including the ever-popular $2 Tuesdays. Learn more and grab your tickets today at www.JolietSlammers.com
Gateway Grizzlies
The Gateway Grizzlies are looking to continue an upward trend in 2023 after manager Steve Brook skippered the club to its best record since the 2014 season, finishing a handful of games shy of a playoff spot in 2022. The offense returns mainstays Clint Freeman, Andrew Penner, and Abdiel Diaz while also adding St. Louis native and ex-Phillies prospect D.J. Stewart, two-time First Team All-Big 12 second baseman and former Brewers prospect Gabe Holt, and former Windy City speedster Jairus Richards to the lineup. The pitching staff has added former MLB right-hander Josh Lucas and ex-Tri-City ace Joey Gonzalez to anchor a rotation that also includes returners Carson LaRue and Lucas Veinbergs, while flamethrower Sam Gardner returns to lead what projects to be a strong bullpen.
Windy City Thunderbolts
The Windy City ThunderBolts are offering a new look on the field in 2023 with a brand new coaching staff, highlighted by field manager Richie Sexson, a two-time Major League all-star. The roster features a mix of old and new as lineup mainstays Dan Robinson and Peyton Isaacson return for their third year each along with Jake Boone and power bat Bren Spillane. Willie Carter, Carson Matthews and Junior Martina enter the lineup after stints in affiliated ball. The pitching staff is highlighted by last season's ace Kenny Mathews returning to the hill. Henry Omana will join him at the front of the rotation after winning a league title with Quebec last year and Cole Bellair comes back to Crestwood after two seasons in the Twins' system. A deep staff that also features Frontier League veterans Justin Miller and Taylor Sugg will try to help the Bolts snap their playoff drought in 2023.
Lake Erie Crushers
The Lake Erie Crushers are looking to take the next step in 2023 after missing out on the playoffs during the final weekend of the 2022 season. New Manager Jared Lemieux, formerly of the New Jersey Jackals, takes the helm and will bring back middle infielders Kenen Irizarry and Kemuel Thomas Rivero to team with Frontier League all-time hits leader, Player/Coach Santiago Chirino to anchor the infield. Returner Jack Harris will join newcomer Todd Issacs Jr. in the outfield. The Crushers 2023 Pitching staff should be strong once again, with Starters Matt Mulhearn and Angelo Baez at the top of the rotation and Alexis Rivero, Sam Curtis and JD Hammer in the back end of the bullpen.
Evansville Otters
The Evansville Otters have their eyes set on postseason success in 2023. The Otters' pitching staff has the potential to frustrate Frontier League hitters all season as Austin Gossmann, Justin Watland, Parker Brahms and Tim Holdgrafer all return to the rotation. The franchise's all-time strikeout leader Tyler Vail also returns to the Otters pitching staff this season. Defensively, the Otters are highlighted by George Callil and Ethan Skender in the infield and Jeffrey Baez in the outfield. The offense is the sole question mark headed into the 2023 season as Evansville had to replace five of the usual bats in the lineup. Look for catcher Dakota Phillips to help lead the offense in the early stages of the season.
Washington Wild Things
The Washington Wild Things are set for their 21st season in the Frontier League and are coming off a successful 2022 campaign. The club was 62-34 in 2022 and won the West Division, capturing its eighth division title in franchise history and third since 2018. Reigning Manager of the Year Tom Vaeth returns for his third season with the organization, while 2022 Frontier League All Stars Ian Walters, Anthony Brocato, Wagner Lagrange, Scotty Dubrule, Andrew Czech and Lukas Young return to the fold for the skipper. The reigning rookie of the year Kobe Foster is back to anchor the starting rotation while newcomers hope to make a big impact on the results of the 2023 season for the Wild Things.
