First Rounder Anthony Kay Makes First Pro Start at Spirit Communications Park
Published on April 8, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies (2-1) vs. Augusta GreenJackets (1-2)
LHP Anthony Kay ('17: DNP) vs. RHP Jose Marte ('17: 2-5, 5.33 - Salem-Keizer)
Sunday, April 8, 2018 - Spirit Communications Park - First Pitch 2:05 p.m. - Game 4
LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1400 AM / ColumbiaFireflies.com / iHeartRadio App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
FIRST PRO START: The 31st overall selection of the 2016 MLB Draft Anthony Kay makes his first professional start in the New York Mets system today at Spirit Communications Park. Kay - an All-American at the University of Connecticut - did not pitch as a Mets farmhand following his 2016 college season and missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October of 2016
ABOUT LAST GAME: Raphael Gladu ripped three singles and Quinn Brodey drove in a run for a third straight night, but the Fireflies fell to the GreenJackets on Saturday, 6-2. Columbia can still win the season-opening series with a victory on Sunday.
Columbia's 2018 roster is filled with plenty of skilled Mets farmhands. Here's the breakdown:
METS PROSPECTS (according to MLB.com & Baseball America)
14. LHP Anthony Kay 22. Quinn Brodey
METS STERLING AWARD WINNERS
Nicolas Debora, RHP (2017 Brooklyn Cyclones, 2015 DSL Mets)
Rigoberto Terrazas, INF (2017 Kingsport Mets)
TOP 10-ROUND METS DRAFT PICKS:
Anthony Kay (UConn, 2016 - 1st round), Quinn Brodey (Stanford, 2017 - 3rd), Blake Tiberi (Louisville, 2016 - 3rd), Tony Dibrell (Kennesaw State, 2017 - 4th), Matt Winaker (Stanford, 2017 - 5th), Chris Viall (Stanford, 2016 - 6th), Marcel Renteria (New Mexico State, 2017 - 6th), Conner O'Neil (Cal. State Northridge, 2017 - 7th), Trey Cobb (Oklahoma State, 2017 - 8th), Cannon Chadwick (Arkansas, 2017 - 9th)
2017 SEASON RECAP
The 2017 season proved to be a banner year for the Columbia Fireflies at Spirit Communications Park. For a second straight season, Fireflies fans proved once again why they're the most valuable in all of Minor League Baseball. Spirit Communications Park hosted a new franchise-record 315,034 fans in 2017 - good for 4,773 per game.
The crowd of 8,412 that arrived for opening day on April 6 was immediately treated to quite the spectacle when former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow belted a two-run home run in his first professional at-bat. The left-fielder appeared in 64 games for the Fireflies before his promotion to the advanced-A St. Lucie Mets in June.
It was the first glimmer during a year that featured countless shining moments. Spirit Communications Park was home to the 58th-annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 20, a game in which 2017 Fireflies first baseman Dash Winningham was named Most Valuable Player. In all, six Fireflies were named to the All-Star Game in their home park: right-handed pitchers Merandy Gonzalez, Jordan Humphreys, Max Kuhns and Adonis Uceta and infielders Michael Paez and Winningham.
The culmination of one of the most highly-anticipated afternoons in the city of Columbia's history occurred at the park on August 21. A single-game record 9,629 fans attended Spirit Communications Park for 'Total Eclipse of the Park,' to watch the Fireflies battle the Rome Braves during a total solar eclipse.
The Fireflies experienced the success on the field as well during a first-half playoff race. At one point in June, Columbia won a franchise-record nine consecutive games (including a five-game sweep of the Charleston RiverDogs from June 9-12). The stretch helped the club finish the first half with a 40-28 mark, the best in the franchise's short two-year history.
Columbia's pitching staff was untouchable at times in 2017. The right-handed duo of Gonzalez and Humphreys tormented South Atlantic League batters. At one point in the season, the starters were the only pair of teammates in professional baseball - major and minor league - each with eight wins. Humphreys' sterling 2017 outing occurred on April 24 when the Floridian struck out a franchise-record 12 batters in just 6.2 innings. In September, Humphreys garnered the NYM Sterling Award, an honor given to the most outstanding player at every Mets minor league level.
Gonzalez, on the other hand (who has since been traded to the Miami Marlins organization), was just as filthy in 2017. The righty chased a league record his first five outings of the season: he hurled 28.2 consecutive scoreless innings (April 9-May 3), which ended up falling 11 scoreless innings shy of the SAL record (39.2).
The highlights were not just captured on the mound. A Spirit Communications Park fan favorite, Dash Winningham, had one of the richest days at the plate on May 29. His career day morphed into a franchise-record day against the Augusta GreenJackets when the first baseman became the first Firefly to whack two home runs in a game (a feat he accomplished again on June 8). He also drove in six runs and tallied 10 total bases, also single-game records.
An injury-plagued Fireflies team finished the 2017 season 68-70 overall.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 8, 2018
- I''s Sweep Sunday Double Header, Take 3 of 4 from Lakewood to Begin Season - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Drive Swept by Power in Sunday's Doubleheader - Greenville Drive
- Power Smack Five Homers in Doubleheader Sweep of Greenville - Charleston Dirty Birds
- RiverDogs Pick up First Win in Twin Bill Split with Lexington - Charleston RiverDogs
- Legends Split Double Header with RiverDogs in Series Finale - Lexington Legends
- 'Birds Bash Tourists Again for Sweep - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Kay Solid, Tiberi Stays Hot in Sunday Clash with Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Suns Defeat Braves Behind Soto's Big Day - Hagerstown Suns
- Big Innings Cost Tourists as 'Birds Complete Sweep - Asheville Tourists
- BlueClaws Drop Sunday Pair in Kannapolis - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Cool Temps Don't Stop Red Hot Bats: GreenJackets Win Again - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Salvage Final Game of Series 6-2 Over the Braves - Rome Emperors
- First Rounder Anthony Kay Makes First Pro Start at Spirit Communications Park - Columbia Fireflies
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (April 8) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- GreenJackets Take Home First Victory - Augusta GreenJackets
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