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AA Kansas City Monarchs

Monarchs Sign Two Catchers

April 5, 2024 - American Association (AA)
Kansas City Monarchs News Release


KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Two new catchers have joined the Kansas City Monarchs' roster, including one with Triple-A experience.

Former Phillies prospect Herbert Iser and former Reds farmhand Hayden Jones have signed on with the reigning American Association champions for 2024.

The Monarchs now have 19 players signed for the upcoming year. See the team's full roster at MonarchsBaseball.com/Roster.

"Having a solid catcher is important for any ball club," Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. "Herbert and Hayden are dependable catchers with sound defensive skills. We're looking forward to welcoming them to Kansas City."

The Monarchs' home opener is May 16 from Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas. Tickets are on sale for every Monarchs home game at Tickets.MonarchsBaseball.com.

Born in Jamaica, Iser attended high school in Florida. He was a top prospect out of high school, ranked the No. 7 catcher in the country by Perfect Game his senior year.

Iser attended San Jacinto College to start his college career, playing in two NJCAA World Series. He homered in a championship-game loss in 2017 and was named to the All-Tournament team in 2018 after hitting .471 for the week.

The Orioles drafted Iser in the 24th round following that season but he opted to attend Dallas Baptist University. He hit .280 as a junior for the Division I program, posting an .837 OPS and hitting seven home runs in 52 games.

Philadelphia drafted Iser in the 23rd round in 2019. He signed with the Phillies and spent most of his debut season in Low-A. After sitting out 2020 due to the pandemic, he spent most of 2021 with High-A Jersey Shore.

Iser played with four different Phillies farm teams in 2022, spending most of his time in High-A and Double-A. He hit .271/.358/.383 in 60 games that season.

Iser has cracked Triple-A twice, playing one game each in 2021 and 2022.

Jones played college ball at Mississippi State and Illinois State. He recorded 13 extra-base hits in 38 games for the Redbirds in 2021, throwing out seven of 21 attempted base stealers.

After a stint with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the MLB Draft League, Jones signed a free-agent deal with the Reds in July 2021. He played the rest of that season with Cincinnati's Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Jones spent most of 2022 in Class A, but played four games with High-A Dayton. He was with Dayton for 2023, hitting .230/.240/.392 in 25 games.

Kansas City opens the 2024 season on the road on May 10 against the Sioux City Explorers.

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