Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: April 24 at West Virginia (Game 19)
April 24, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Please note the following New York Mets minor league transactions:
- RHP Jaison Vilera transferred to Brooklyn
- RHP Allan Winans transferred to Columbia from Kingsport
Columbia Fireflies (7-11) @ West Virginia Power (11-6)
RHP Christian James (0-2, 5.40) vs. Damon Casetta-Stubbs (0-0, 0.00)
Wed., April 24, 2019 - Appalachian Power Park (Charleston, WV) - First Pitch 7:05 p.m. - Game 19
LISTEN: FirefliesLiveStream.com / ColumbiaFireflies.com / TuneIn App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
LAST TIME OUT: Two Fireflies went deep on Tuesday in a 10-3 loss to West Virginia. Zach Rheams and Wagner Lagrange both smashed their first dingers of the year at Appalachian Power Park. Lagrange finished with a pair of hits. In his second game as a Firefly, Shervyen Newton doubled and walked twice.
STREAKIN': Rheams drilled a two-run homer in the seventh on Tuesday. The home run extended his hit streak to five games. Rheams blasted eight homers with the Fireflies in 45 games last season. That was on the heels of a successful college season at Texas Tech where the lefty slashed 17 homers. The Texan is hitting .286 for Columbia through 11 games this year.
"HE'S NOT AFRAID": Ronny Mauricio's .318 batting average is 10th-best in the league and his 21 total hits are tied for seventh in the South Atlantic League. Manager Pedro Lopez said to The State newspaper this week that the 18-year-old Mauricio is "not afraid" at the plate.
ROLLIN': Outfielder Wagner Lagrange tallied two more hits on Tuesday in West Virginia. He's becoming a hitter you can't take out of the lineup. Lagrange's .317 batting average is now second-best on the team. Lagrange has tallied five multi-hit games over his last seven (11-for-24, .458). The 23-year-old is a career .301 hitter in 237 minor league games.
AT STAKE: Columbia aims to snap the four-game losing skid with a victory over West Virginia on Thursday.
FOLLOW THE LAW: Keith Law, senior baseball writer at ESPN, ranked Columbia's roster as the 7th-most "Loaded Roster" in all of Minor League Baseball. Law recognized the fact Columbia's roster includes the Mets' third, fourth and fifth-rated prospects (infielders Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos and Shervyen Newton, respectively), New York's past two second-round draft choices (RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, Vientos) and the system's ninth-rated prospect, left-hander Thomas Szapucki (drafted in the fifth round in 2015). The roster also features 26th (Baseball America) and 27th-rated prospects Chris Viall and Christian James. The prospect rankings are according to MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
YOUTHFUL ENERGY: Columbia's 2019 roster features three teenagers: SS Ronny Mauricio (18), RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson (18) and 3B Mark Vientos (19). All are considered top-10 rated Mets prospects. The Fireflies roster currently includes nine players aged 21 or younger. Columbia's opening day roster was the youngest (average age 21.6) ever. Take a look below for more information on the prospects in Columbia in 2019.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 24, 2019
- Ball Bounces Wrong Way for Jackets, Hickory Wins on Walk-Off Home Run - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Swept by Drive in Twin Bill - Hagerstown Suns
- Casetta-Stubbs Flings Five No-Hit Innings in 2-1 Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- RiverDogs Drop Pitchers' Duel as Skid Hits Three - Charleston RiverDogs
- Homerun Heroics Lead 'Dads to Walk-Off Victory - Hickory Crawdads
- Drive Sweep Doubleheader at Hagerstown Wednesday - Greenville Drive
- Fireflies Ninth-Inning Rally Comes up Just Short in Finale - Columbia Fireflies
- Rome Wins Series Finale 1-0 with 8th Inning Rally vs. Lakewood - Rome Emperors
- Fireflies Roster Move and Game Notes: April 24 at West Virginia (Game 19) - Columbia Fireflies
- Charleston Wheelers Game Notes (April 24) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Legends Drop Game Three in Front of Sell out Crowd - Lexington Legends
- Claws Fall Late, Lose at Rome 1-0 on Wednesday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Drive Mourn the Passing of Ed Jenson - Greenville Drive
- Inman Hurls 5.1 No-Hit Innings in 10-3 Blowout Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
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