First roster moves made

The Washington Wild Things made their first offseason roster moves Thursday, releasing four players and signing two rookies.
 

Washington released pitcher Eric Blackwell (3-4, 7.92 ERA in 19 games), shortstop Michael Mooney (.226) and outfielders Robbie Garvey (.216, 18 stolen bases) and Jeriel Waller (.237). Mooney and Waller suffered season-ending injuries and Garvey left the team in mid-August and was placed on the suspended list.
 

The Wild Things signed outfielder Stewart Ijames (pictured) and catcher David Fanshawe.
 

Ijames, from Owensboro, Ky., was a second team All-Big East selection last spring at Louisville and finished his career second on the Cardinals’ all-time hits list (212). Ijames also ranked in the top-6 all-time in hits (256) and home runs (45). As a senior, Ijames batted .259 with 12 home runs.
 

Fanshawe, from Miami, finished his collegiate career in 2011 with Cumberland (Tenn.) and was signed by Schaumburg of the Frontier League last winter but was released in early May.

5 Wild Things among top 20 indy prospects

Two Wild Things players have been ranked among the top 10 prospects -- and five are in the top 20 -- in independent baseball by Baseball America.

Switch-hitting shortstop A.J. Nunziato (pictured) is ranked the No. 4 prospect, and left-handed relief pitcher Alfonso Yevoli is ranked No. 5.

Outfielder Andrew Heck is ranked the No. 12 prospect catcher-first baseman Rick Devereaux is No. 16 and right-handed pitcher Chris Smith is No. 17.

The Frontier League produced four of the top 10 with Lake Erie relief pitcher Jonathan Kountis the highest-rated player at the No. 3 spot.

A rookie out of NCAA Division II Lander University, Nunziato batted only .238, but he hit six home runs and had 32 RBI. Nunziato proved to be a reliable fielder as committed only three errors in 51 games after joining the Wild Things in early July.

Here is what baseball America said about Nunziato:

It's much tougher to get signed out of independent ball as a position player than as a pitcher, in part because scouts are generally skeptical about the athleticism and defensive ability of independent league players. But Nunziato is a shortstop who should be able to stick in the middle infield if he makes the jump to affiliated ball.

A four-year starter at Division II Lander (S.C.), Nunziato is a switch-hitter who shows pop from both sides. He showed solid-average range while showcasing an average arm that is extremely accurate, and he had a .985 fielding percentage in the Frontier League.

Nunziato hit .391 as a college sophomore despite a back injury that forced him to take a redshirt year in 2009 as he recovered from surgery to fix a herniated disc. He has shown no ill effects as a pro. He is an average runner who needs to improve his pitch.

Yevoli, a hard-throwing lefty, had a 1-2 record and 2.62 ERA in 28 games. He struck out 34 in 34 1/3 innings. Yevoli, a rookie out of NAIA Tennessee Wesleyan, got steadily better as the season progressed. He allowed a run in only one of his last 17 appearances. During that late-season stretch, Yevoli struck out 24 batters and walked only two.

Here is what Baseball Amerrica said about Yevoli:

Yevoli pitched for three years at High Point, then transferred as a senior to Tennessee Wesleyan, helping the Bulldogs win the NAIA title this year. The move didn't improve his draft stock, however, so after his name didn't get called he signed on with the Wild Things.

Yevoli has quality stuff, sitting at 92-94 mph consistently and piling up a strikeout an inning with Washington. He generates good angle and his fastball has late life, although that sometimes affects his command. His slider is a hard breaking pitch, but he also struggles to throw it for strikes at times.

2013 schedule released

There was some good news and bad news for the Wild Things when the Frontier League released its 2013 schedule Monday.

 

First, the good news. Washington will play more than half of its 96-game schedule at home, thanks to the league fielding a travel team. The Wild Things will play 54 home games and only 42 away from Consol Energy Park.

The bad news? More than a quarter of those road games will come in the season’s first three weeks.
Washington will play 12 of its first 15 games on the road, including the season opening series May 19-21 at Schaumburg. After a three-game series at Rockford, the Wild Things will play their home opener May 26 against the defending league champion Southern Illinois Miners.

The Wild Things will play only the Memorial Day weekend series at home before embarking on a six-game road trip to Joliet and Windy City.

If you think the Wild Things' early schedule is difficult, try Windy City's. The ThunderBolts open the season with 10 consecutive road games. Windy City does make that up in June when it has a 15-game homestand. That's right, 15 consecutive home games.

The league will again have 14 teams and keep the same alignment of two seven-team divisions. Lake Erie, Traverse City, Florence, Evansville, Southern Illinois and the travel team, which will be known as the Greys, will join Washington in the East Division. The Greys replace the Road Warriors. The new team will use the same logo as the Zanesville Greys, who were founding members of the Frontier League and its first champions.

One change for the 2013 season is start times for Sunday home games has tentatively been pushed up to 5:05 p.m. Home games on Monday through Saturday night will still have a 7:05 p.m. start.

 

The complete schedule:

 

http://washingtonwildthings.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/News/2013%20Schedule-10.15.2012.pdf

Ferguson back in ball ... as an owner

Former Wild Things pitching coach Tim Ferguson is back in independent baseball, and this time he's an owner.

Ferguson has purchased the former Yuma Panthers, who last played in the North American Baseball League in 2011. The Yuma franchise was dark this summer and will play in 2013 as part of the new American West Baseball League, which will have teams on the West Coast in places such as Long Beach and Fullerton.

The website provides some background on Ferguson, who was the Wild Things' pitching last season until resigning prior to a July 5 game against Rockford, but doesn't mention his tenure in Washington.