Isom back in Frontier League

Former Wild Things and Traverse City manager Jeff Isom is back in the Frontier League. Isom was hired Wednesday as manager of the Lake Erie Crushers, succeeding John Massarelli.

Isom was the Wild Things' original manager. He was retained after the team was purchased and moved from Canton, Ohio, to Washington and spent the 2002 and '03 seasons with the Wild Things. Washington won one East Division title under Isom and made the playoffs in each of his two seasons.

Isom left Washington for Joliet of the Northern League in 2004, then returned to the Frontier League as Traverse City's manager in 2006. Then Isom went to the Milwaukee Brewers' system for six years. He managed several teams, including Brevard County in the high-Class A Florida State League and the West Virginia Power in the Class A South Atlantic League.

When Isom left Washington, he was replaced by Massarelli. Now, the roles are reversed.

"Isom will be a great addition to the Crushers organization, both on the field and in the community," said Crushers managing partner Steven Edelson.

Massarelli out as Crushers' manager

According to the Chronicle-Telegram, former Wild Things manager John Massarelli has been fired by the Lake Erie Crushers.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/12/14/john-massarelli-gets-boot-as-crushers-manager/

Zeller joins coaching staff

The Wild Things have added a former Frontier League Manager of the Year to their coaching staff.

Washington announced Wednesday the hiring of Bart Zeller as their bench coach for the 2013 season.

A 71-year-old Chicago native, Zeller has spent six years in the Frontier League, including the last two as manager of the Joliet Slammers. In 2011, Zeller managed the Slammers to a 56-40 record and the Frontier League championship in their inaugural season and was named the league’s Manager of the Year.

Zeller was fired after Joliet posted a 37-58 record last season. The Slammers were recently sold but will remain in the league.

Prior to managing Joliet, Zeller was the hitting and third-base coach for Southern Illinois for four years, during which the Miners won two West Division titles and advanced to the Frontier League playoffs twice.

After attending the University of Arizona for his freshman year, Zeller transferred to Eastern Illinois, where he earned all-conference honors in both football and baseball. He was a third team NAIA All-American in baseball.

As a catcher, Zeller played professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system, advancing to the major leagues in 1970. He played in only one inning of one game in the major leagues, catching the ninth inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies May 21, 1970. He never had a plate appearance. He was released as a player by the Cardinals June 8, 1970, but stayed on as a coach for the remainder of the season.

Zeller brings extensive minor-league coaching experience to Washington. In addition to coaching in the Cardinals’ system, he was bench and hitting coach for Sioux Falls of the Northern League in 2005 and American Association in 2006.

Jim Tatum and Lenny Randle will not be returning to manager Chris Bando’s coaching staff. Their contracts were not renewed.

Two more signed for spring

The Wild Things continue to assemble their roster for spring training. On Tuesday, they announced the signing of two position players, outfielder Matt Fleischman and shortstop Mike August. Fleischman has one year of pro experience and August is a rookie.

Fleischman played in 17 games last summer for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He batted .238 in 42 at-bats. Fleischman played at Villanova University, where he had a .312 career batting average and 13 home runs. As a senior, Fleischman was named All-Big East.

August played junior college baseball and then one season at Millersville University, where he finish fifth in the PSAC in batting (.379) and second in both runs (50) and hits (75) and fourth in RBI (44). He also stole 14 bases in 15 attempts. He was named to the All-PSAC East and All-Atlantic Region first teams.

Holiday shopping

The Wild Things have been unusually busy this holiday season, adding some veteran players to their roster for the 2013 season.

We know about the trade that sent starting pitcher Casey Barnes and first baseman Michael Bando to River City, but what about the flurry of other moves? Washington has traded for catcher Pat Trettel, signed corner infielder Coty Patte and second baseman C.J. Beatty, and today announced the signing of outfielder Mario Yepez.

So, who are these guys? And what do their signings tell us?

First, it's apparent the Wild Things have been shopping for some power hitting, and I suspect that a power-hitting third baseman or right fielder is still on their wish list.

Trettel, a North Allegheny High School and Seton Hill University product, had spent parts of two seasons in independent leagues, including 45 games last year in the Frontier League with Normal. After posting huge numbers for Seton Hill, Trettel was signed by Lincoln of the American Association and hit 11 home runs in only 38 games with the Saltdogs. He was named one of the top 10 prospects in independent baseball by Baseball America.

Traded to Normal last year, Trettel's production slipped as he batted only .245 with five home runs in 45 games for the CornBelters.

Trettel was sent back to the American Association and played 23 games with Kansas City. He hit three home runs but batted only .188. He was sent to Wichita and then to Washington in the offseason.

Trettel should make the opening day roster, but I'm guessing it's as a platoon catcher who spends more time at DH. Trettel has thrown out only 22 of 135 basestealers (16.3 percent) in his pro career and that number must improve for him to be an everyday catcher.

Patte is a rookie out of Mars Hills, a Division II school in South Carolina that also produced Wild Things pitcher Justin Hall. He put up good power numbers, leading Mars Hill in home runs each of the last two seasons.

Beatty is a veteran guy with more than 1,110 career at-bats between the St. Louis Cardinals' system and two independent leagues. He has some power for a middle infielder -- three times hitting at least eight home runs in a season. His high was 17 homers in the hitter-friendly North American Baseball league two years ago. One thing I like about Beatty is he draws walks, averaging better than one per every 10 at-bats for his career, though his strikeout rate is high for a middle infielder.

Yepez comes to the Wild Things after spending six seasons in the Seattle Mariners' system. He had a good year in low-Class A in 2011, hitting .332 with 17 doubles. Last year, however, he was used as organizational filler, playing six games at Triple-A, five at Double-A and 44 in Class A, where the batted only .219. He does have a career .279 average in more than 1,400 pro at-bats.

Washington also made a procedural move, picking up the club options on 21 players off last year's roster.