PORT ANGELES — The makeup of the Port Angeles Lefties 2018 roster is still a work in progress with some of the previously announced Port Angeles players still wrapping up their high school or college careers and yet to arrive on the North Olympic Peninsula.
But many other West Coast League teams are more fully formed.
Here are team-by- team information capsules of the teams Port Angeles will face in its second season as a member of the West Coast League.
North Division
Victoria HarbourCats
• 2017 Record: 29-23 (3rd in WCL North, lost in WCL Championship Series)
• Head Coach: Brian McRae (2nd season)
• Position Players: Mississippi State’s Hunter Vansau (OF) was a 2017 All-WCL second teamer after hitting .359 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Rowdey Jordan (IF-Mississippi State) is hitting .305 with five homers and 27 RBIs for NCAA Regional-bound Bulldogs.
• Pitchers: Lefty reliever Josh Candau (UC Santa Barbara) posted a 3-1 record with a 0.92 ERA this spring. Baylor’s Tyler Thomas (LHP) was 3-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 48.1 innings for Big-12’s Bears. Two Cuban right-handers, Alejandro Ortega Lopez and Adriel Quesada Pena, throw in the high 80s, but won’t be allowed to play road games in the USA due to visa issues.
• Outlook: Talented and deep, the HarbourCats should again compete for a WCL crown.
Wenatchee AppleSox
• 2017 Record: 29-25 (2nd in WCL North)
• Head Coach: Kyle Krustangel (2nd season)
• Position Players: Jake Taylor (IF-Seattle University) was an honorable mention All-WCL pick in 2017. UCLA commit J.T. Schwartz (IF) will look to do what inaugural Lefty and future Bruins teammate Kevin Kendall did last season — produce right out of high school. Johnny Sage (OF) won the NWAC East Region MVP award for Yakima Valley this spring with a .406 batting average, five homers and 67 RBIs.
• Pitchers: Wenatchee has been a summer haven for Gonzaga players and right-hander Alek Jacob (6-5, 2.94 ERA in 88.2 innings) looks to continue that trend when the Bulldogs’ NCAA tournament run ends. AppleSox also return All-WCL honorable mention RHP Hunter Boyd from the College of Idaho.
• Outlook: A new owner (former Microsoft employee Jose Oglesby) purchased the team earlier this month, bringing some long-term stability to the AppleSox.
Bellingham Bells
• 2017 Record: 31-23 (1st in WCL North but didn’t advance to playoffs)
• Head Coach: Bob Miller (first season)
• Position Players: Return All-WCL second teamer IF Ernie Yake (Gonzaga) who is hitting .321 with 23 RBIs for NCAA Regional-bound Bulldogs. Pepperdine’s Brandt Belk (IF) was second on Waves with .318 batting average this spring.
• Pitchers: Edmonds Community College continues to be a pipeline for the Bells. Bellingham has Tritons’ RHP Elliott Carney (10-1, 1.35 ERA in 73 innings) and RHP Lucas Ford (1-0, 0.68 ERA in 13.1 innings) on staff.
• Outlook: Well-run organization connects with community and fields competitive teams year after year. This summer should be no different for Bells. Bellingham pitching coach/recruiting coordinator Jim Clem is a 2016 inductee in the Peninsula College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Yakima Valley Pippins
• 2017 Record: 28-26 (2nd in WCL South, lost in WCL Playoffs to Corvallis 2-1)
• Head Coach: Marcus McKimmy (fifth season)
• Position Players: Andrew Schleusner (C-MSU-Billings) hit .308 with three homers and 34 RBIs for Yellowjackets this spring. Brendan Brooks (IF-UC-Irvine) will enjoy an Anteater reunion when he faces his college teammates on the Lefties this summer. Brooks batted .313 with 20 RBI this season.
• Pitchers: Pippins return 2017 first-team All-WCL picks Connor White (RHP-Portland) and Taylor Dollard (RHP-Cal Poly SLO). Team also has a slew of UCLA arms including (RHP) Chase Ferrell and freshman-to-be Sean Mullen (RHP) and Easton Henke and Matt Driver from NAIA powerhouse Lewis and Clark State (Lewiston, Idaho).
• Outlook: Pitching and two solid catchers should keep Yakima Valley in the playoff chase all season as the Pippins adjust to a move to the WCL’s North Division.
Kelowna Falcons
• 2017 Record: 28-26 (fourth in WCL North but won second half title. Lost to Victoria 2-0 in playoffs)
• Head Coach: Bryan Donahue (third season)
• Position Players: Falcons went with a quantity approach in roster-building, bringing on four players from Sacramento State, three from UC-Riverside, three from Linn-Benton Community College, three more from Texas Rio Grande Valley and a pair of UC-San Diego Tritons.
• Pitchers: Juan Carreon (UT-RGV) is a lefty reliever who showed promise this spring. LHP Niall Windeler of University of British Columbia is back for his second season in the Okanagan Valley.
• Outlook: Former WCL home of Seattle Mariners’ ace James Paxton. Falcons were sneaky good last season, ask the Lefties about their struggles with Kelowna.
South Division
Corvallis Knights
• 2017 Record: 34-20 (1st in WCL South) 2016 and 2017 WCL Champions.
• Head Coach: Brooke Knight (11th season)
• Position Players: OF Beau Brundage hit .385 and drove in 34 RBI for Portland. Oregon State catcher Zak Taylor sticking around Corvallis this summer after hitting .266 for Beavers.
• Pitchers: Stanford freshmen Brendan Beck (RHP) and Jacob Palisch (LHP) set to join team upon completion of Cardinal’s season. San Diego-commit Jake Miller (RHP) is highly touted.
• Outlook: Knight has led the Knights to the WCL playoffs every season he has been in charge of team. Look for the tradition to continue with another deep Corvallis team in 2018.
Bend Elks
• 2017 Record: 26-28 (fourth in WCL South)
• Head Coach: Alan Embree (eighth season)
• Position Players: IF Trevor Snyder is continuing his stellar season with Morehead State in the NCAA Tournament. Snyder is hitting .337 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs for Eagles. Should pack punch when he arrives in Bend. Creighton catcher Michael Emodi is a Johnny Bench Award-semifinalist.
• Pitchers: 6-foot-7 lefty Grant Larson of Chico State should intimidate the opposition this summer.
• Outlook: Snyder and the Elks position players should enjoy hitting in the high-desert air of Bend. But can pitchers handle the altitude?
Portland Pickles
• 2017 Record: Did not compete in WCL in 2017.
• Head Coach: Justin Barchus (third season-coached Gresham in 2016-17)
• Position Players: An Ivy Leaguer (Columbia OF Julian Bury), a catcher from Northwestern (Nick Paciorek) and a host of Pac-12 talents hope to be really big “dills” for the Pickles this summer.
• Pitchers: USC hurlers John Beller (LHP, 3-1, 2.72 ERA) and Augie Sylk (LHP) are two big-school pitchers on a roster that also includes players from Cal, Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga and Nevada.
• Outlook: Pickles pitching coach Zach Miller was Lefties’ first-ever manager in 2017. Big-market team looks to make a dent in WCL South Division in first season in league.
Walla Walla Sweets
• 2017 Record: 25-29 (fifth in WCL North).
• Head Coach: Frank Mutz (fourth season)
• Position Players: Harvard OF Jake Suddleson returns for second season with Sweets. He hit .295 with six home runs, 12 doubles and 39 RBIs in 2017. Washington State OF Danny Sinatro also is back after hitting .297 in 2017. Sinatro is the son of former MLB player and Mariners pitching coach Matt Sinatro. Gonzaga IF Nick Nyquist was a 2017 All-WCL first teamer and a WCL All-Star in 2016 and 2017 with Walla Walla.
• Pitchers: Big-time talent from around Pac-12 (Washington State lefty Bryce Moyle, Cal RHP Sean Sullivan) and Mountain West Conference (Nevada’s Tanner Cunha (LHP) and Ty Hueckman (RHP).
• Outlook: City so nice they named it twice should bounce back from a lower-division finish in 2017, especially with all the returning talent.
Cowlitz Black Bears
• 2017 Record: 27-27 (3rd in WCL South)
• Head Coach: Grady Tweit (fourth season)
• Position Players: Utah OF Isaac Devereaux has played on the Canadian Junior team and in the 2015 U18 World Cup in Japan. Highly-touted defensively, Devereaux swings a mean bat as well. Kelso native and Lower Columbia College product Kyle Sandstrom (OF) returns for second season.
• Pitchers: LHP Lucas Knowles (Washington) was coached by Port Townsend native Marcus Logue at South Kitsap High School. Santa Clara LHP Alex Tisminezky posted a low 1.46 ERA this spring.
• Outlook: Lower Columbia College basically serves as a feeder program for Cowlitz as Black Bears play at Red Devils’ Story Field. LCC of course, is coached by Port Angeles native Eric Lane.
