Beach Bums Select Two at Frontier League Draft
Published on April 25, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release
FLORENCE, KY - The Frontier League hosted their annual open tryout over the past two days, and the Traverse City Beach Bums made a splash with their two picks in the post-tryout draft.
Originally, the Beach Bums didn't have a first round draft pick, thanks to an earlier transaction, but manager Dan Rohn saw a pitcher he liked and pulled the trigger on a trade with the Gateway Grizzlies to get the top pick. With that pick, he selected righty Michael Knighton. The Jesper, AL native has spent the last four seasons in the Chicago Cubs' system, reaching as high as single-A with the South Bend Cubs. Drafted by the Cubs in the 17th round of the 2014 MLB draft from Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, AL, Michael's best season was in 2016 with the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League. In 18 appearances, he was 2-0 with a 1.72 earned run average and four saves. Overall, in his four campaigns with the Cubs, he was 7-5 with 3.61 ERA, striking out 77 while walking 24 in 97 innings pitched.
In the second round of the draft, left-handed pitcher Will Coursen-Carr was selected by the Beach Bums with the 14th pick. Coursen-Carr, a graduate of Indiana University, finished his collegiate career with an 8-3 record and a 2.71 ERA. As a freshman, Will went 5-0 with a Big-Ten Conference leading 1.93 ERA. He picked up an impressive 127 pitch complete game win in the Big Ten Tournament title game, securing a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Additionally, he added a win at the NCAA Regional, plus a win and a save in the NCAA Super Regional over Florida State to secure the Hoosiers' spot in the College World Series. In 2012, as a senior at South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Will was named the Indiana Player of the Year by both Gatorade and the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association, while also being named Indiana's "Mr. Baseball" and a Louisville Slugger All-American.
These additions and the entire 2018 spring training roster will be on display at the 13th annual Beach Bums Fan Fest on Saturday, May 5th at Wuerfel Park. The gates open at 11am, batting practice is at noon, and the Yellow/Navy game starts at 1pm. Come get your first look at the 2018 Traverse City Beach Bums and, after the game, the players will be out on the concourse to greet the fans, chat, and sign autographs. The best part is that admission is FREE!
The Traverse City Beach Bums have announced their weekly promotions for the 2018 season. These include Wednesday Doubleheaders, Silver Slugger Thrifty Thursdays, Fantastic Firework Fridays, Salute to Soldiers Saturdays, and Family FUNday Sundays. For more information on our promotions and for tickets, call the Beach Bums offices at (231) 943-0100 or visit TCBeachBums.com.
Frontier League Stories from April 25, 2018
- Beach Bums Select Two at Frontier League Draft - Traverse City Beach Bums
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