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IL Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

SWB RailRiders Game Notes - March 31, 2023

March 31, 2023 - International League (IL)
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders News Release


Buffalo Bisons (0-0) vs Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (0-0)

RHP Casey Lawrence (No Record) vs RHP Randy Vásquez (No Record)

Game 1 | Home Game 1 | PNC Field | Moosic, PA | Friday, March 31, 2023 | First Pitch 6:35 PM

LAST SEASON INSIGHT - The 2022 RailRiders finished 83-67, good for 2nd place in the International League East. The team got off to a slow start with one of the worst records in Minor League Baseball after April and May. In June they started to turn things around lowering the team ERA to 3.78 and raising the cumulative batting average to .265 for the month. After going 18-6 in July, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre started to make a real playoff push in the second half. The team climbed from tenth place in the International League East to earn a share of first for one day in September, ultimately finishing the season in second behind the Durham Bulls, 3.5 games off the pace.

OPENING DAY HISTORY - RailRiders baseball in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre history dates back to 1989 when the team opened as the Red Barons. In 2007 they transitioned the name to the 'Yankees' and again in 2013 to the 'RailRiders' where it remains today. In 1989, the team began on the road where they lost 3-1 at Rochester and opened at home on April 26 with a 9-2 loss against Tidewater. 10,958 fans attended the game. The organization is 16-17 in their home openers and looks to even out that record this season. On Opening Day in general Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has not seen much success. The team is 12-21 in their overall season openers. In 2022 the RailRiders opened on the road with a 5-0 win at Syracuse. However, in their home opener they took the 3-1 loss versus Norfolk.

ROSTER BY THE NUMBERS - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders roster features a wide array of players. Fifteen players have Major League service time. Eleven have seen time in a RailRiders uniform prior. There are four lefty batters and four southpaws on the mound. Wilmer Difo and Mickey Gasper are the team's only switch hitters. California is the birthplace of five players, the most of any location. Venezuela boasts four players on the Triple-A roster.

ATOP THE YANKS FARM - The RailRiders will showcase top prospect Oswald Peraza (#3 per MLB prospect rankings in the Yankees system) alongside outfielder Elijah Dunham (#18). Randy Vasquez (#14) and Sean Boyle, (#29) will both be essential parts of the pitching staff. Peraza made his big-league debut at the end of last season and even aided the Yankees in their postseason race.

PROSPECT PERAZA - Oswald Peraza returns to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a successful Major League Debut, and then some. In 18 games he batted .306 with two doubles and a home run. The Yankees featured him at both second and shortstop. With SWB in 2022, extra base hits were his specialty. He doubled 16 times and homered 19. He stole 33 bases in 38 attempts while playing in 99 games. With Anthony Volpe taking over the SS position in New York, Peraza will begin 2023 with the RailRidiers. Having experience in multiple positions makes Peraza a valuable utility fielder. And with many options left and being a young prospect, Peraza is sure to have an impact wherever he plays.

RETURN TO THE MOUND - Two pitchers will make their way back to the mound. Matt Bowman and D.J. Snelten will join the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster. Bowman last pitched in 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds. It was his fourth season with Major League time. In the bigs he holds a 4.02 ERA in 181.1 innings. Bowman has totaled 149 strikeouts between Cincinnati and Saint Louis. Although originally signed by the New York Mets, the Yankees signed him before both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Snelten will don a jersey for the first time since 2018. He was drafted in the 9th round in 2013 by the San Francisco Giants. Snelten made his Major League debut on April 28, 2018 and went on to pitch just 4.1 innings in four appearances.

He was signed by the Yankees in August of 2022 after playing in multiple organizations including independent ball.

END TO END - Oswald Peraza is the youngest player on the initial roster at 22 years of age. Nick Ramirez, 33, will be the eldest. The tallest man is D.J. Snelten at 6-7, while the shortest players are Jesus Bastidas and Willie Calhoun at 5-8.

BEHIND THE PLATE - Rodolfo Duran, Mickey Gasper, and Jose Godoy open the season as new manager Shelley Duncan's options behind the plate. Godoy has big league time with both Minnesota and Pittsburgh. Duran and Gasper are set to make their Scranton/Wilkes-Barre debuts. Gasper is one of just five players on the roster drafted by the New York Yankees.

OUTFIELD DEPTH - The first roster of the season lists four outfielders: Willie Calhoun, Billy McKinney, Michael Hermosillo, and Elijah Dunham. McKinney is a former first-round pick and former RailRider. Calhoun and Hermosillo are new to the organization since being picked up in the offseason. Top prospect Dunham gets the promotion after just two seasons in minor league ball. He has seen time in all three outfield spots. Dunham batted .248 in Double-A last season in 110 games. He stole 37 bags and was only caught seven times.

SOUTHPAW SCRANTON - The RailRiders have four lefties on their Opening Day roster pitching staff. Matt Krook and Tanner Tully who can pitch both out of the gate or out of the 'pen. Nick Ramirez and D.J. Snelten are southpaw reliever options, both of whom were signed as free agents in the offseason. Ramirez had the lowest ERA of the bunch with a 2.93 in Triple-A Tacoma (Mariners) last season.

INFIELD POWER - Two infielders will make their Triple-A debut this season with the promotion to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season. Jesus Bastidas, 24, and Andres Chaparro, 23, are set to join the RailRiders this summer after impressive showings last year. Both prospects singed on the same day July 2, 2015 out of Venezuela. Bastidas smacked 18 homers for a .240 average after 111 games played in Double-A. He stole 11 bases. Chaparro, or Chappy as he likes to be called, split time between three levels in the farm system rehabbing after injury. He batted .289 in 64 games with Somerset and hammered 19 homers and 52 RBIs in that time span.

BROKEN RECORDS - Matt Krook set a new single-season record for the RailRiders recording 155 total strikeouts in 2022. He eclipsed a record set by Carlton Loewer in 1997 with 152 punchouts. Krook recorded ten wins in 138.2 innings, really finding his stride in mid-June and staying tough through September when he posted a 1.96 ERA for the month. During the season, Krook perfected a new pitch for his repertoire, the changeup, which he credits for his newfound success against righty batters. Greg Weissert also pitched his way into the record books. He became the third Scranton/Wilkes-Barre player and first RailRider to win the International League's top pitching honor. He was named as both the league's Pitcher of the Year as well as the top relief pitcher. Weissert appeared in 42 games for the RailRiders in 2022, going 2-1 with 18 saves and a 1.69 ERA while striking out 70 over 48 innings pitched. The Yankees signed the right-hander to a Major League deal on August 25 and he made his big-league debut that night. With New York he pitched 11.1 innings and recorded three wins before returning to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

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