SAL1 Greensboro Grasshoppers

Hoppers Chomping at the Bit for 2016 Season

Published on April 6, 2016 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greensboro Grasshoppers News Release


From their Canadian first baseman to their Bahamian shortstop to their Hawaiian pitching coach and all the other players and coaches, the Greensboro Grasshoppers are ready for 2016.

If you want to see a group that's collectively chomping at the bit to get things started, just hang around a baseball team a few days before its season opener. For the Hoppers, that will come Thursday at 7 p.m. at NewBridge Bank Park. The team held its first workout in the stadium Monday afternoon, but everyone would have been happy to be playing that night.

"I feel pretty excited," said Justin Jacome, who will pitch the opener against West Virginia. "I feel prepared, especially coming from my first spring training. I'm ready to go."

Josh Naylor, the Marlins' No. 1 draft pick from 2015, echoed a similar sentiment.

"Absolutely," he replied when asked if he's eager for the season to begin. "I'm ready physically and mentally and I'm ready to win a championship."

Naylor, just 18 years old, is from Missassauga, Ontario, Canada, about 35 miles from Toronto. After signing last summer, he played 25 games in the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .327 with a homer and 16 RBIs. He's jumping two levels, bypassing short-season Batavia, but has an air of confidence about the upcoming 140-game season.

"It's baseball and I love baseball," he said, "so I'm ready for the 140 games and hopefully a long playoff run. I want to get on the diamond and help my team win."

Shortstop Anfernee Seymour (he's named after former NBA player Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway) is still relatively new to the game. Born in Nassau, where there is only a limited baseball program, he didn't play until he moved to Delray Beach, Fla., for his freshman year in high school. But he did play softball growing up, so the similarities attracted him to baseball.

Seymour, 20, was a center fielder in high school. The Marlins, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2014, moved him to shortstop and converted him to a switch hitter to take advantage of his speed. Last season he hit .273 in Batavia and stole 20 bases in 26 attempts.

"Sometimes they let me run on my own," he said, "but I'm still learning to read pitchers."

Pitching coach Brendan Sagara, born and raised in Hawaii, is anxious to see how the starting rotation performs. Jacome will be followed by Cody Poteet, Gabriel Castellanos, Kevin Guzman and Chuck Weaver. Jacome and Castellanos are left-handers.

"We're hoping these guys get the ball rolling for the young guys in the field," Sagara said.

Jacome and Poteet will be the staff anchors. Jacome pitched at Cal-Santa Barbara and Poteet at UCLA. They were drafted in the fifth and fourth rounds, respectively.

"They're real polished," Sagara said. "Our scouts went out looking for higher-end college guys in the draft. Those two plus (second-rounder) Brett Lilek, who hopefully will be here shortly (he's not on the roster yet), all have good stuff and know how to compete. We have a lot of hopes for all three of those guys."

This will be the second season managing for Kevin Randel, who is as ready to get started as his players.

"I'm always anxious," he said. "You get all that buildup from the off-season, you get to spring training and go through the first couple days and you're ready to leave. But you go through it, put in good work and at the end of the spring it's that much more rewarding to break (camp) with the club and get on the road."

Randel didn't spend much time dwelling on last season's 51-88 record. He said he has learned from his mistakes the same way players do.

"It's a new year and you go from there," he said. "You have this image in your head of what the team should do and what it should be like. Then you play the game and it doesn't come out the way you picture it in your head. You just have to have a little patience, keep teaching and develop them. That's all you can do."

On Monday, Randel said he hadn't decided on an opening day lineup.

"I know Naylor is playing first and hitting third and that's about it," he said with a laugh. "And Jacome is on the mound. I'll probably make about 10 lineups and pick one out of a hat."

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 6, 2016


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