HarbourCats Sign Three, Wright Returns for 2015
September 29, 2014 - West Coast League (WCL)
Victoria HabourCats News Release
VICTORIA, B.C. - The Victoria HarbourCats are very happy to announce that a key part of the 2014 pitching staff will be back for the team's third season in the West Coast League, and that Sacramento State has placed two top players with the HarbourCats for 2015.
Mikey Wright, a 6-4/195 right-handed pitcher who had a breakout summer with nine starts for the HarbourCats, will be returning to Victoria. Wright, an honorable mention for the West Coast League all-star teams at the end of the season, was 4-5 with a 2.96 ERA - giving up just 43 hits in 54.2 innings, striking out 39 and walking 18, for a WHIP of 1.13 and opponent's batting average of .213.
"Mikey was a strike-thrower for us and a stabilizer on our pitching staff all season in 2014, and we're excited to see his progress this fall and spring at San Jose State and then how our new coaching staff, Head Coach Graig Merritt and Pitching Coach Alec Adame, can work with him further," said General Manager Jim Swanson.
"Mikey was a stopper, a guy who could give the bullpen a much-needed rest at the right time, and he loved his experience with the HarbourCats and in Victoria in 2014. It's great news to have him coming back and donning his familiar No. 13."
Wright is now the seventh player returning from the 2014 team that finished second in the West Division with a 25-29 record, joining Gabe Clark, Griffin Andreychuk, Alex Rogers, Alex FaGalde, Carson Schneider and Preston Ryan (see full roster listing below).
"We are proud of the number of players who want to return to this program and we think that says something great about not just the HarbourCats, but Victoria and the support we get from fans and sponsors," said Swanson.
Also signed for 2015 are two position players, bringing the roster total to 13. Veteran catcher Dane Fujinaka and infielder PJ Floyd are both from the Sacramento State program that provided star outfielder Nathan Lukes in 2014. Floyd is being looked to as the starting shortstop for the defending WAC champions in the spring of 2015, while Fujinaka will be spending his third year as the Sacramento State starting catcher.
Fujinaka is a Hawaiian who plays much bigger than his listed size of 5-8/160 - very much like Kelly Norris-Jones, the local product who was on the 2014 roster. From Aiea, on the main island just north of Pearl Harbor, he is entering his junior year - he started 59 games as a red-shirt freshman, and played in 60 games as a sophomore, hitting .283 with a .375 on-base percentage, and proved his team-first approach with 13 sacrifice bunts. Fujinaka hit .258 with three doubles for the Chillicothe Mudcats in the M.I.N.K. (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas) summer league in 2014.
Floyd is entering his freshman season after a stellar career at Whitney High School in Rocklin, California. Interesting notes on Floyd are that his father Pat played and coached in the Alaska League with the Anchorage Bucs, and Floyd's mom Kim played high school and college volleyball with Mikey Wright's mom, Cathy (Tokay High Schol and Delta College).
Floyd hit .424 with 12 doubles, three triples and two home runs in his senior year of at Whitney, after hitting .455 the year before. He is 6-2/185, was born in Anchorage, and spent two years on the Boston Red Sox scout team along with playing travel baseball for the West Coast Baseball Academy.
"I fully expect Dane to quickly become a fan favourite for his energy both behind the plate and with the bat in his hands," said Swanson. "Dane's experience will really help our team, and our pitching staff, and he's outstanding at blocking the ball, slowing down running games and calling the game. Floyd is an impressive athlete, a taller infielder with great footwork who can handle short, second or third. We're so glad to continue our relationship with both Sacramento State and San Jose State, both schools have sent us top athletes and their placements will help us in our goal of being a top-end team in the West Coast League."
2015 ROSTER (13 players signed and announced as of Sept. 29, 2014)
C (2) - Zach Bonneau, Washington; Dane Fujinaka, Sacramento State
IF (4) - Gabe Clark, Oregon State; Griffin Andreychuk, Seattle U; Michael Gretler, Oregon State; PJ Floyd, Sacramento State
LHP (3) - Henry Baker, Washington; Josh Mitchell, Pittsburgh; Carson Schneider, New Mexico
RHP (4) - Preston Ryan, New Mexico; Alex Rogers, Trinidad State; Alex FaGalde, Cuesta; Mikey Wright, San Jose State
• Discuss this story on the West Coast League message board...
West Coast League Stories from September 29, 2014
- HarbourCats Sign Three, Wright Returns for 2015 - Victoria HabourCats
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.
