VALLEYCATS BRING BACK PAIR OF FRONTLINE STARTERS
The Tri-City ValleyCats Wednesday the latest Building the Roster Update with Curtis Lumber. RHP Jhon Vargas and RHP Dan Beebe each signed a contract extension and they will return to the rotation. RHP Chas Cywin joins Tri-City for his third stint in the Frontier League. INF Connor Bagnieski was sent to the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL) for OF Demias Jimerson and C Abe Valdez. In another trade, INF Ryan Cash was acquired by the ValleyCats from the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) in exchange for a player to be named later.
Vargas arguably ended the 2023 season as the 'Cats top starter after coming over in a midseason trade with the Evansville Otters on July 18th for OF Josh Broughton. The Dominican right-hander anchored the rotation with a 3.64 ERA across 42 innings over eight starts. After the ValleyCats season came to a close, Vargas made three relief appearances for the York Revolution of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB). The 27-year old began his professional career in 2022 with Winnipeg Goldeyes of the AAPB. Prior to his start with the Goldeyes, the well-traveled starter went to high school in Puerto Rico, spent a year at Southwestern Community College (Iowa), and pitched three seasons at MidAmerica Nazarene University.
Beebe made his pro debut with Tri-City last season, and signed with the organization on June 9th. Since then, nobody has thrown more innings for the ValleyCats than the right-hander from Berlin, N.J. The 25-year-old also hurled seven-plus innings on three separate occasions, which was more than any other starter with the team. Across these three outings, Beebe had a miniscule 0.36 ERA over 25 frames and earned a win in each of these starts. Before his tenure with Tri-City, the six-foot-one starter played four seasons at Rutgers University-Camden. Afterward, he then spent two years as a graduate student at Palm Beach Atlantic University while being a top-of-the-rotation arm for their baseball team.
Cywin split time between Winnipeg and the Québec Capitales this year. The right-handed reliever is coming off his best season, and across two leagues, he compiled a 3.77 ERA over 62 innings. The Bethel, Conn. product graduated from Post University in 2022, and made his pro debut with the New Jersey Jackals the same year. He later joined the Long Island Ducks of the ALPB to finish out the 2022 campaign.
Jimerson has been a part of a couple of professional rosters, including the Raptors this offseason, and the Goldeyes before the 2023 campaign. He has also played overseas in Australia. Jimerson went to National Park College in 2022 where he batted .398 with 14 long balls and 35 stolen bases in 51 games; his performance netted him third-team All-American honors.
Valdez played at Southwestern Community College (California) from 2017-2018. He put together a terrific season for the Jaguars in 2018, leading the team with a .354 batting average with 16 walks to eight strikeouts in 40 games. The San Diego native graduated from Brigham Young University in 2021 after being part of the program for three years. Since then, he has played for a feeder team in the Mexican League.
Cash originally latched on with the RedHawks this offseason after playing for the Missoula Paddleheads of the PBL. The Plano, Texas native began his tenure in the PBL with the Glacier Range Riders in 2022, and started out with the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the AAPB in 2021. Through three professional seasons, the switch-hitter hit .302 with 32 stolen bases in 203 games. The son of Todd Cash, who had a two-year minor league baseball career in the San Francisco Giants organization, Ryan first went to Oklahoma State University before being a part of Oral Roberts University's program for his last two collegiate seasons.
Season 22 of ValleyCats baseball and entertainment continues as ticket plans and group outings are available to purchase. Each ticket plan includes multiple fireworks dates to enjoy. You can be a part of the excitement by logging on to tcvalleycats.com or by calling 518-629-CATS (2287).
