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Corvallis Knights

Corvallis Knights E-News

January 9, 2017 - West Coast League (WCL)
Corvallis Knights News Release


Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and that you are looking forward to all that awaits in 2017!

Speaking of 2017, we have reconfigured our management team to better serve the best fans in the West Coast League in the upcoming season, and beyond.

Former team president Dan Segel is now the Chief Executive Officer of Knights Baseball Club, Inc. Bre Miller has been promoted to President/General Manager and Holly Jones to the Chief Operating Officer of the Corvallis Knights.

Miller had served as the General Manager since Aug., 2012. Jones had served as the Senior Vice-President of Operations since Jan., 2015.

For complete details on these moves, please click here.

Corvallis Knights unveil 2017 roster

We have finalized our roster for the upcoming season, our 11th in Corvallis. And are confident we've assembled a competitive team that will contend and hopefully repeat as WCL champs.

We have 10 players returning from our 2016 title team. You can learn more.

Season tickets are now available. Don't miss a single pitch or promotion! Reserve your seat for all 32 home dates and all three Fireworks Nights, set for June 24, July 3 and August 5, .

Our home schedule begins on Wednesday, June 7, with a 10 a.m. non-league game against the Portland Sea Dogs on our sixth annual Science, Engineering & Art Day at Goss Stadium.

Knights shine at ABCA convention

Alum Eddie Cornejo (2001) of UC Santa Barbara and Knights assistant coach Youngjin Yoon gave outstanding presentations at the ABCA convention held in Anaheim, California January 6-8. Read more about the Knights presence at this year's ABCA.

WCL championship t-shirts on sale!

To order, email Bre Miller at bre.miller@corvallisknights.com or call Bre at 541-752-5656. Get your champions t-shirt for only $20.

Ainsworth steps down after 10 years as trainer

Longtime Knights trainer Jeremy Ainsworth, a charter member of the Corvallis Knights field staff, has stepped down to concentrate fully on his new job as the athletic trainer for the Oregon State baseball team.

Jeremy has done an outstanding job for us since joining the franchise in 2007, our first year in Corvallis, and we can't thank him enough for his service. To read more about Jeremy's departure, please click here.

Four alums in top 100 for upcoming MLB drafts

Three alums are listed in Perfect Game's list of the top 100 college prospects for the next Major League Baseball draft, set for June 12-14, 2017.

They are Oregon State junior first baseman K. J. Harrison (2015), at No. 27; UC Santa Barbara junior shortstop Clay Fisher (2015), at No. 73, and UC Irvine junior left-handed pitcher Cameron Bishop (2015-16), at No. 84.

Harrison and Bishop were each drafted following their senior year of high school, Harrison by Cleveland in the 25th round and Bishop by Arizona in the 32nd round. Fisher was not drafted.

A fourth Knight was listed in Perfect Game's top 100 for the 2018 draft. Oregon State sophomore second baseman Nick Madrigal (2015) is No. 25; he was taken in the 17th round by Cleveland in the 2015 draft but elected to play for the Knights and Beavers instead.

Harrison and Fisher were also named pre-season Pac-12 and Big West Players of the Year, respectively, by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in CBN's college baseball preview issue.

Madrigal was a pre-season first-team all-America selection by Perfect Game. Harrison was a third-team pick. Perfect Game's all-America teams were released today.

Padres grab Trevor Frank in Rule 5 draft

Former Corvallis pitcher Trevor Frank (2012) of UC Riverside was selected by the San Diego Padres from the Cleveland Indians as the third pick in the triple-A phase of the Rule 5 major-league draft on Dec. 8.

As a result, he is now on San Diego's 40-man major-league roster and almost certainly will play at the triple-A (El Paso) or double-A (San Antonio) level in 2017 after spending the past two seasons with Lynchburg, Cleveland's high-A Carolina affiliate. Trevor was drafted in the eighth round by Cleveland in 2013 as the 231st overall selection.

He was honorable-mention all-West Coast League in 2012 and was rated as the WCL's No. 14 pro prospect by Perfect Game after the season. He was 2-2, 1.52 in eight total games for us, with 28 strikeouts in 41.1 innings, highlighted by a 2-hit, one-run gem at Cowlitz in the opening game of the WCL divisional playoff series.

Former intern Zoe Raiter recognized by University of Oregon

Former intern Zoe Raiter, a member of our outstanding 2016 staff, was recently profiled by the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business as an emerging leader. Please click here for more on that story.

Knights are seeking Food & Beverage Director

The Corvallis Knights are in search of a seasoned Food & Beverage Director to lead our concessions and hospitality operations. To learn more, click here.

Tampa Bay and Colorado invite Dalton Kelly and Chris Rabago to spring training, respectively

Alum Dalton Kelly (2014) has been invited to spring training by the Tampa Bay Rays, who obtained him earlier this year in a trade with Seattle.

Dalton played at Clinton (A Midwest) in 2016 and hit .293 (141-481) in 130 games, with seven homers and 58 RBIs. He was a 38th-round draft pick in 2015, out of UC Santa Barbara. He was first-team all-WCL as a utility player and was the league's No. 5 prospect by Baseball America and Perfect Game.

Former Knights infielder/catcher Chris Rabago (2012-2013) of UC Irvine was also invited to big league camp, with the Rockies.

Dean Green headed to Japan

Alum Dean Green (2008) was released by the Detroit Tigers on Nov. 2 and his contract was sold to the Yakult Swallows of the Japan Central League. He was Detroit's 11th-round selection in the 2011 MLB draft out of Barry University in Florida. He spent six years in their minor-league system and finally reached triple-A Toledo in 2016.

He batted .306/.371/.479 with 76 home runs and 401 RBIs in his career, and never had an OPS for a season lower than .800. He had 23 homers and 108 RBIs and a slash line of .296/.356/.500 while splitting time with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves and the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in 2016.

Dean joins Brent Morel (2006-07), Matt Hague (2005) and Bobby Scales (1997) as alums who have/will play in Japan.

Alumni watch:

Infielder Matt Hague (2005) has signed a minor-league deal with the Minnesota Twins after playing in Japan in 2016 with the Hanshin Tigers. He was an International League all-star in 2015 and has MLB experience with Pittsburgh and Toronto. Alum Gus Craig (2013) was released by the Seattle Mariners in December. The former Columbia University star, from Eugene, played for two seasons at the Rookie and Class A level. Pitcher D.J. Johnson (2008-09) has signed with Colorado as a free agent after spending 2016 in the Los Angeles Angels' organization. A right-hander from Mt. Hood CC, D.J. went 4-4, 4.02 in 47 games with double-A Arkansas (Texas League), with six saves and 67 strikeouts in 69.1 innings in 2016. Utility Alex Burg (2008) has re-signed with the Texas Rangers. He hit a combined .215 (58-270) in 79 total games with Frisco (AA Texas League) and Round Rock (AAA Pacific Coast League), with seven homers and 38 RBIs. He was the MVP of our 2008 WCL championship team.Pitcher Marc Rzepczynski(2006) has signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Seattle Mariners. One of the top lefty relief specialists in the majors, he played with Washington and Oakland in 2016. The Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League have exercised their 2017 contract option on infielder Seth Heck (2013). Seth hit .249 (72-289) in 78 games, with a homer and 26 RBIs. He played at Tacoma CC and at Mississippi State.The Frontier League's Joliet Slammers have exercised their 2017 contract option on infielder Carter Bell (2009). Carter hit .312 (108-346) in 91 games, with 13 homers and 73 RBIs. He played at Oregon State.The Frontier League's Schaumburg Boomers have exercised their 2017 contract option on pitcher Scott Schultz (2011). He was 4-7, 5.48 in 19 games, with 79 strikeouts in 106.2 innings. He also played at OSU.The Frontier League's Washington Wild Things released infielder Grant Fink (2011). He hit .197 (42-213) in 63 games, with nine homers and 24 RBIs. He played at Missouri Western.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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