SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Intimidators Open Season Today in Lakewood

Published on April 4, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


Thursday, April 4, 2013 (6:35 p.m.) FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood, N.J.)

Chicago White Sox Kannapolis Intimidators (0-0)

Philadelphia Phillies at Lakewood BlueClaws (0-0)

Game #1

RHP Myles Jaye (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Jordan Guth (0-0, 0.00)

Today's Preview: The Kannapolis Intimidators, Class A Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, open the 2013 season on the road with a four-game series against the Lakewood BlueClaws. This marks the Intimidators' only trip of the season to FirstEnergy Park and one of two series against Lakewood on the schedule. Kannapolis took the season series last year, 7-5, however the BlueClaws hold the all-time edge, 69-65, dating back to 2001.

Intimidating Starter: Myles Jaye, 21, takes the ball for Kannapolis to open his second year in Class A. The right-hander started 17 games for the Intimidators in 2012, going 4-7 with a 6.04 ERA before ending his season early with an injury. The BlueJays originally drafted Jaye in the 17th round in June 2010, and they sent him to the White Sox Jan. 1, 2012, along with fellow minor leaguer Daniel Webb for big league pitcher Jason Frasor.

BlueClaw on the Bump: Jordan Guth, who turns 22 on Sunday, opens his first full year of professional baseball after being drafted by the Phillies in the ninth round of the June 2012 draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Gunt posted a 3.27 ERA over 28 relief outings for the Panthers in 2012 before going 2-2 with a 5.82 ERA in 11 games (seven starts) for Short-Season Williamsport in the NYPL. He posted a 1.26 WHIP in his professional debut.

Last Opener in Lakewood: Kannapolis opened the 2011 season on the road in Lakewood, falling 2-0 on Opening Day before wrapping up a rain- soaked series two-days later by sweeping a doubleheader with a 2-0, 16- inning win in Game 1.

Opening Day: Kannapolis has dropped its last three season-openers, starting the season with a win most recently in 2009 with a 1-0 triumph over Asheville.

Soggy Season Openers... The last time rain did not disrupt a season- opening series for Kannapolis was in 2007 at the Columbus Catfish. In 2008, two games at Greenville were postponed; in 2009, rain postponed a game vs. Asheville; rain wiped out opening day in 2010 vs. Rome; in 2011 at Lakewood, the Intimidators saw two games postponed and one cancelled due to rain and wet grounds at FirstEnergy Park. Last season, Opening Day was washed out against Hickory at CMC-NorthEast Stadium, forcing a double-header later in the series.

Tommy Boy: Manager Tommy Thompson returns to Kannapolis after leading the Class A-Advanced Winston-Salem Dash to the best record in full- season minor league baseball, 87-51, last year. Thompson earned Carolina League Manager of the Year honors. As manager of the Intimidators in 2011, he guided the team to within a game of the South Atlantic League post-season.

Top 30 Trio: Three of the White Sox top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America, are opening their 2013 seasons in Kannapolis. RHP Brandon Brennan checks in at No. 23 while LHP Jefferson Olacio rounds out of the list at No. 30. The lone Intimidators position player in the Sox top 30 is infielder Micah Johnson, No. 25, who was selected in the ninth round of last summer's draft by Chicago.

All-Star Returns: Sally League All-Star 3B Rangel Ravelo returns to Kannapolis in 2013. He was among the leagues top hitters in the first half (.299) of 2012, including a .344 average over 23 games in April. Ravelo played just 12 games in the second half of the season before leaving the team for personal reasons. This year the former sixth round pick moves across the diamond to first base.

Battering the BlueClaws: Intimidators catcher Michael Marjama put together a pair of 3-hit game in his lone series against Lakewood in 2012. He went 9-23 (.391) in six games against the BlueClaws compared to .274 against other teams.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from April 4, 2013


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.

OurSports Central