Pitching staff takes Flight

Tim Flight

The Wild Things announced this week the addition of two former NCAA Division II pitchers, left-hander Tim Flight and right-hander Casey Cannon, who will compete for rosters spots during spring training in May.

Flight comes to Washington after two seasons in the New York Yankees’ organization. As a junior in 2012 at Southern New Hampshire University, Flight was a finalist for the Tino Martiznez Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA Division II. He had a 9-1 record and 1.31 ERA that year with 140 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings. After the season, he was drafted in the 17th round by the Yankees.

In two seasons in New York’s system, Flight had a 3-7 record and 4.54 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings with Staten Island of the short-season New York-Penn League and the Yankees’ affiliate in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

“We’ve been talking to Tim Flight for some time, and we are excited that he decided to join the Wild Things organization,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said. “Tim comes highly recommended by several scouts from the East Coast.”

Flight will try to win a spot in the Wild Things’ starting rotation.

Cannon is a rookie out of LeMoyne University in Syracuse, N.Y., where he had a 3-5 record and 3.89 ERA in 11 starts for the Dolphins in 2013, his senior year. Cannon’s best season came in as a junior, when he was 9-0 with one save and a 1.42 ERA in 14 outings. He gave up only 48 hits that season in 92 1/3 innings.

Cannon recently pitched in the California Winter League, where one of the managers was Zeller.
“Casey comes to us from a very strong baseball school and had a record-setting junior year,” Zeller said. “I saw him pitch in the California Winter League and was very impressed with his command of the strike zone.”

The Wild Things open the 13th season in the Frontier League May 20, when they host the Greys.