SAL Hudson Valley Renegades

HVR Game Notes - April 5, 2024

April 5, 2024 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hudson Valley Renegades News Release


Hudson Valley Renegades (0-0) at Bowling Green Hot Rods (0-0)

RHP Sebastian Keane (First Start) vs RHP Trevor Martin (First Start)

| Game 1 | Road Game 1 | Friday, April 5, 2024 | Bowling Green Ballpark | Bowling Green, Ky. | First Pitch 7:35 p.m. EDT |

THIRTY, FLIRTY & THRIVING: The Hudson Valley Renegades are celebrating their 30th anniversary season throughout 2024. Now in their fourth season as a full-season club and affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades will pay tribute to the greatest players and moments in franchise history throughout the season. Since the team's inaugural 1994 season, 130 Renegades have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, with catcher Kevin Brown being the club's first alumni to reach MLB on Sept. 12, 1996. Hudson Valley has been affiliated with three MLB clubs, the Texas Rangers (1994-96), Tampa Bay Rays (96-19) and Yankees (20-Present). They won the New York-Penn League Nader Cup Championship three times: 1999, 2012, and 2017. Other notable former Renegades include 2008 AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria, 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton, and Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt.

OVER A DECADE OF SUCCESS: With a 70-62 (.530) record in 2023, the Hudson Valley Renegades recorded their 11th consecutive season with an above .500 record (since 2012). During that span, the team has won two league championships (2012 and 2017), seven playoff appearances (12, 14, 16-19, 23), and five league championship series appearances (12, 16-18, 23). Among teams in affiliated baseball with at least 500 games played, the Renegades have the second-best winning percentage (.575) in MiLB. Sadly, three of the five-winningest teams since 2012 are no longer affiliated (Savannah, State College, and Trenton).

KEANE ON SEBASTIAN: Sebastian Keane will be the Opening Day starter for Hudson Valley's 30th anniversary season. The 23-year-old made an impressive professional debut in 2023, splitting time between the FCL Yankees and Single-A Tampa. In 20 combined appearances, Keane recorded a 2.56 ERA in 31.2 IP. The right-hander allowed just 9 ER all season, striking out 43 batters and allowing just one home run. Keane was particularly outstanding in the FCL, allowing just 5 ER in 26.1 IP (1.71 ERA), and striking out 35 batters. For his efforts, Keane was named a FCL Postseason All-Star. A three-year college player at Northeastern, Keane struck out 247 batters in 302.1 IP.

OPENING NIGHT: The 30th anniversary season of Hudson Valley Renegades baseball begins tonight in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The occasion marks the sixth time in the last seven seasons that the Renegades have been scheduled to start the season away from home. From 2017-22, Hudson Valley started the season on the road in five straight years before beginning the 2023 season at Heritage Financial Park against the Greensboro Grasshoppers. The Renegades are 8-3 in their last 11 Opening Night games (since 2012), with all three losses coming in consecutive years from 2019-22. From 2005-19, the Renegades faced the Aberdeen IronBirds in an incredible 15 straight Opening Night games, and were slated to begin the season on the road at Aberdeen in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the Minor League season.

WELCOME BACK: The 2024 Renegades Opening Day roster features 18 returning players from the 2023 regular season or playoffs. Among the 18 returners, 11 pitchers and seven position players return from 2023. Highlighting the returners is Yankees #20 prospect Jared Serna.

OUR NEW KENTUCKY HOME: The season-opening series with the Bowling Green Hot Rods is the first-ever series for the Renegades in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With this trip, the Renegades will have played regular season games in 14 different states and one Canadian province in their 30-year history. Hudson Valley has competed in games in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, and Ontario, Canada.

NEW IN TOWN: The Renegades welcome three 2023 Yankees draft picks to the Opening Day squad: Kyle Carr, Roc Riggio, and Kiko Romero. All three selections were taken in the seventh round or earlier. Carr was the Yankees 3rd round pick in 2023, and is currently ranked as the 10th-best prospect in New York's system according to MLB Pipeline. Riggio, another 21-year-old, was taken in the fourth round out of Oklahoma State. Romero thrived in his hometown of Tucson at the University of Arizona in 2023, and was selected by the Yankees in the seventh round. Romero set the Arizona single-season RBI record, ranking sixth in the nation in RBI.

IN OUR RAYS ERA: Hudson Valley starts the season taking on Bowling Green, the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, the former parent club of the Renegades. From 1996-2020, the Renegades were the New York-Penn League affiliate of the Rays, winning three NYPL Championships (99, 12, 17) and compiling a 927-876 (.514) overall record. Notable Renegades players from the Rays affiliation include 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton, 2008 AL Rookie of the Year Evan Longoria and 2011 AL Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson.

ELECTRIC CITY EXPERIENCE: The Renegades have two players on their Opening Day roster who finished the 2023 season with the Yankees Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, in outfielders Kyle Battle and Nelson Medina. The pair played a combined 15 games with SWB in September.

HUDSON VALLEY TO THE SHOW: Already in 2024, the Renegades have seen three former players make their MLB debuts. Mitch Spence (2021) made his MLB debut with the Oakland Athletics, Matt Sauer (2021-23) debuted with the Kansas City Royals, and Oliver Dunn (2021) broke in with the Milwaukee Brewers all over MLB Opening Weekend. The Renegades have now had 130 former players reach the major leagues, including 17 from the Yankees era and 15 from the star-studded 2021 team.

STRONG ARM TACTICS: The 2023 Hudson Valley Renegades pitching staff led the South Atlantic League in ERA at 3.62, which was also the third-best mark in Minor League Baseball. The club als finished and second in K/9 (11.06) this year. The Down East Wood Ducks (TEX, A) led the way with a 3.39 ERA. The Somerset Patriots (NYY, AA) finished second, sporting a 3.61 ERA. This comes after the 'Gades finished the 2022 season with a team ERA of 3.62, good for fourth-best in MiLB.

FINISHING STRONG: Over his last 14 games of the 2023 regular season, Jesús Rodríguez went 19-for-53 (.358) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 9 RBIs, and seven runs scored. Rodríguez has also recorded a hit in 12 of the last 15 games and reached base safely in the last 12 contests of the regular season. Since streaks wrap around from season-to-season, that means Rodríguez begins 2024 looking to extend his 12-game on-base streak. The Renegades team record was set last season by Ben Cowles, who reached safely in 41 consecutive games from 7/4-9/2.

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH: The Hudson Valley Renegades and the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association have partnered to present Bhutan Night on August 20 at Heritage Financial Park. The team is currently fundraising to bring over several Bhutanese baseball players for baseball and cultural enrichment tour of the Hudson Valley and New York. More details on the night can be found at www.hvrenegades.com/bhutan.

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