Dust Devils Introduce New Roster for 2015 Season
June 16, 2015 - Northwest League (NWL1)
Tri-City Dust Devils News Release
The Tri-City Dust Devils begin a new era in 2015 as an affiliate of the San Diego Padres and have announced their initial roster. With the change from an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies to the Padres there will be no returning players from last year's team. The roster features several 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft selections along with players that have been a part of the Padres' organization in prior years.
Austin Allen, a catcher out of Florida Tech selected in the fourth round, joins the Dust Devils as the highest overall pick in the history of the school. Allen was the 117th overall pick in the 2015 draft and was the batting champion in the Sunshine State Conference with a .421 average. MLB.com described Allen as one of the best Division II prospects in the country.
Other notable players joining the Dust Devils are Peter Van Gansen, Mason Smith, Ty France, Jerry Keel, Brett Kennedy and Justin Pacchiolo.
A shortstop, Van Gansen was the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-Big West selection. Van Gansen only made four errors in 240 chances and led the Big West Conference with 43 runs scored.
Smith was the 118th overall pick in the 4th round of the 2013 draft out of Rocky Mountain High School in Meridian, Idaho. Out of high school baseball players in 2013 Smith ranked as the 71st-best player in the draft by ESPN draft analyst Keith Law. Baseball America had him ranked #101 overall and the 51st-best high school prospect in the 2013 draft class.
Justin Pacchioli is best known for his speed, setting new Lehigh career (69) and single-season (31) stolen base records during the 2015 season and ranking 14th in the country in stolen bases per game (0.58). An outfielder, Pacchioli was the Patriot League batting average leader in both his sophomore and junior seasons and finished his college career with a .344 batting average that ranks fifth all-time in school history. He was the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year.
Ty France was drafted in the 34th round of this year's draft after his junior season at San Diego St. France was a three-year starter at third base for the Aztecs. He was a first-team all-Mountain West pick this year with a .381 average and 24 RBIs in MWC play. Other accolades include being a first-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and a D1Baseball.com 2015 Louisville Slugger third-team preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
Jerry Keel led Cal State - Northridge this year in innings pitched and finished second in strikeouts. Keel tossed two complete games this year, including a complete game shutout vs. Washington. Keel helped lead the Matadors to a 33-win campaign in 2015 and is first all-time in CSUN school history in innings pitched with 370 1/3. He is eighth in CSUN history with a 2.75 career ERA and gave up just 22 walks in 91 innings this year. Keel pitched 90 innings or more in all four years of college.
Brett Kennedy was the 327th overall pick in the 11th round out of Fordham in 2015. Kennedy is second on Fordham's career strikeouts list, ending with 218 through three seasons. He finished the year as Fordham's ace, leading the team in starts (15), wins (6), innings pitched (87), and strikeouts (97).
Additional pitchers that will be on the roster are Jose Castillo, Angel Mejia, Walker Lockett, Travis Radke, Corey Kimber, Alex Constanza, Taylor Cox, Aaron Cressley, Griffin Russell, Luis Hernandez, Christian Cecilio, Phil Maton, Elvin Liriano, Cecil Tanner, Trey Wingenter, Wilson Santos, Lou Distasio and Sam Holland.
The rest of the roster includes two additional catchers: Michael Miller and Ricardo Valenzuela; five infielders: Daniel Bravo, Luis Urias, Peter Van Gansen, Carlos Belen and Nick Vilter; and three additional outfielders: Rod Boykin, Jose Urena and Henry Charles.
The Dust Devils will open the season on the road at Boise on Thursday. The first game to be played at Gesa Stadium will be on Tuesday, June 23rd at 7:15 p.m. against the Vancouver Canadians. All fans in attendance will receive a 2015 Dust Devils schedule magnet courtesy of Pizza Hut, and there will be postgame fireworks presented by CO-Energy immediately following the game. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting the Dust Devils front office at (509) 544-8789, at the Gesa Stadium box office, online at www.dustdevilsbaseball.com, and at all TicketsWest outlets.
Northwest League Stories from June 16, 2015
- 2015 Hops Roster Announced - Hillsboro Hops
- Pennant Run Early Bird Registration Ends Tomorrow - Spokane Indians
- Dust Devils Introduce New Roster for 2015 Season - Tri-City Dust Devils
- Spokane Indians Announce 2015 Roster - Spokane Indians
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.
