AtL Lancaster Stormers

Barnstormers Finalize Spring Training Roster

Published on April 18, 2012 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Lancaster Stormers News Release


The Lancaster Barnstormers have finalized their 2012 spring training roster by bringing back three significant pieces of the 2011 first half champions- left-handed starting pitcher John Halama, catcher Emerson Frostad and corner infielder Terry Tiffee.

In addition, the Barnstormers have invited two young pitchers from the Lancaster area and a third catcher to their spring training camp which opened Monday at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Halama, 40, has been designated by manager Butch Hobson as his Opening Night starter on Thursday, April 26 at Southern Maryland. The lefty from Brooklyn, New York went 6-6 with a 5.33 ERA for the Barnstormers in 2011 after his return to the United States from Taiwan. He pitched the Barnstormers to the brink of the first half title with an eight-hit shutout against York on Friday, June 8, one of his league leading four complete games during the season. In the playoff series against York, Halama fired a complete game two-hitter to keep the Barnstormers alive in the series.

The Houston Astros, Halama's original organization, gave him his first Major League experience in 1998, but it was with Seattle that Halama made his mark, stringing together three straight seasons (1999-2001) with double digits in the wins column. He has also worked for Oakland, Tampa Bay, Boston, Washington and Baltimore at the big league level, amassing 56 wins along the way.

He had pitched with Long Island and Southern Maryland before coming to Lancaster. Overall, Halama has compiled a 28-21 record in 66 Atlantic League starts.

Frostad, 29, returns to Lancaster where he opened last season. The Calgary, Alberta area resident hit .280 with two homers and 11 RBI in 15 games, a span highlighted by his walkoff homer against Bridgeport on May 14. He signed with the Houston Astros on May 29 and spent the remainder of the season with Class AA Corpus Christi and Class AAA Oklahoma. Frostad was released by the Astros at the end of camp this spring. He also represented Canada in the Pan American Games last fall.

Prior to coming to Lancaster, Frostad spent seven seasons with the Texas Rangers organization, hitting a career best .320 with Bakersfield in 2006.

Tiffee, who turns 33 on Saturday, spent two stints in Lancaster last season. He began the year with the Barnstormers and was on a nine-game hitting tear when he was acquired by the New York Yankees and sent to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After batting .345 in 29 games for the Yankees' Class AAA squad, the Arkansas native came back to Lancaster for the stretch run. For the season, the switch hitter batted .293 in a Lancaster uniform while belting 13 homers and driving in 46. He hit safely in all five playoff games and cranked a three-run homer in the tenth inning of Game Five to narrow the deficit to one run.

Originally signed by Minnesota in 2000, Tiffee got to the big leagues in 2004 and had a pair of game winning hits for the Twins in his first four days in the majors. He spent a portion of three seasons with the Twins and also appeared briefly with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008.

Mark Jones, a product of Manheim Township High School and Will Krasne, who recently moved to Lancaster, are both attempting to earn spots on the Barnstormers pitching staff.

Jones, 21, was signed by the Houston Astros as their 22nd round pick in 2009. He has spent the last three seasons at the Rookie level in the Houston system.

Krasne, 24, was an all-Metro DC player in high school. He is a graduate of Stanford University, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians. Last season, the right-hander was 3-5 with a 4.01 ERA for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Cleveland's affiliate in the short season NY-P League.

The third non-roster invitee to spring training is catcher Chris Caves. Caves, 26, is a native of Mesa, Arizona. He played briefly for the Grand Prairie Air Hogs of the American Association in 2010.

"I really like this team," said Hobson. "We're definitely going to be very competitive. This team is going to be able to put the ball in play, and we should be able to utilize our speed. We have a solid starting staff, a solid bullpen, and we'll be very consistent defensively."

The Lancaster Barnstormers are entering their eighth season as a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Home games are played at Clipper Magazine Stadium in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Please call 717.509.HITS (4487) or visit LancasterBarnstormers.com for more information.

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