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SPRINGFIELD, MA - On the eve of their season debut, the 2017 Blue Sox are primed and ready to take the field - with a mix of both new and familiar faces from 2016.

"We're very happy with the way this roster shook out," explained Blue Sox general Manager Hunter Golden. "It's the result of a lot of hard work from myself, our owner Clark Eckhoff and Manager John Raiola. It's been a lot of conversations, a lot of discussion, a lot of back and forth, talking off ledges, talking in, talking out of and the like, but we like the mix of new, old, young and veteran talent we've got here."

It's work-flow that has led to 7 win improvements in the last two seasons, culminating in the Blue Sox advancing further in the playoffs than they ever had before in 2016.

"We squabble constructively like any good organization should, but everyone brings something to the table - and it's an open line from ownership, to the front office to the field," opined the Blue Sox GM. "Clark's been doing this for a long time and has accumulated a pretty deep rolodex that helps a lot to allow us not only network better, but cross check players, get to coaches we're trying to connect with and frankly - just pool more opinions. I'm a pretty big ID wonk. I like my data. I like constant communication. I like hearing 3, 4, sometimes more opinions on a guy before I take the plunge. And like any GM, I really like finding guys I don't think anyone else is looking at hard enough. But Coach Raiola - at the end of the day, is the guy who not only manages those pieces, but helps bring them all together into a meaningful whole. Not just in terms of team building and strategy - but making sure we get the most out of every piece of the roster we have. We're a really detail-oriented organization. We like pennies in the couch cushions. We're aware of the impact just one move can have on say... 13 other pieces. But that begins and ends with communication, patience and a little persistence and we've developed (and are still developing) a nice way of doing things that has produced better results each year."  

And to be sure - every roster is like a finely tuned vehicle - where many components need to work in consort in order to achieve results. 

"I'm not sure in our time here, we've had a roster where the pieces just all made sense and fit together so well in terms of being able to use responsible rotations through multiple positions and be able to adapt to a whole spread of situations," commented Golden. "We think we're built well for the long haul, but of course that's on paper - we'll see how it looks on the field." 

The Sox will trot out a potent lineup this season, headlined by 1st team All-American OF Niko Hulsizer (Morehead St.) who finished the regular season as the leading home run hitter in the country with 27 big flies, 1st in RBI's (82) and 1st in total bases (193). He'll be accompanied by a bevy of Sox returners from the successful 2016 campaign - including INF Braxton Morris (Morehead St), INF Kyle Mottice (Cincinnati) and OF Mark Grunberg (Towson).

"We like the core of what we've put together this season, especially the opportunity to bring in as many returners as we have," said Golden. "Braxton is obviously coming off a huge season back at Morehead and has put himself in prime position to get drafted. Kyle Mottice was our best hitter a year ago and a guy that you sort of learn to appreciate as you see him play every day. Between the two of them, they'll be able to give us a lot of versatility defensively and provide some leadership as well. We're also excited to see what Mark (Grunberg) can do, too. Last year we signed him early, but he broke his hand and was out of action all spring. When we got him later in the summer, he was clearly rusty and it took him a little while to settle in, although we saw sparks from him in the playoffs. His swing looks a lot better, he looks as good as we've ever seen him - and coming off another strong season - he's got all the incentive and opportunity in the world to be that .300 career college hitter he's been and has gotten back to being."

Even with the returning firepower, the Sox will turn to Hulsizer to help make the wheels spin.

"I mean there's not much you can really say about Niko's season that's not self-explanatory," said Golden. "We signed him really early and while we saw him as a major contributor to our roster this year, I don't think anyone saw him coming to that degree. But the thing is when you meet him, watch him practice and the purpose he puts behind all his 'time on the job' - you learn how he got so good so quickly. He's got tremendous physical gifts, but so do a lot of guys. The difference isn't just 'the work' either, it's the quality of the work. He's got legitimate, first round of the draft, future MLB standout written all over him - and we're hoping a good season here provides the springboard to that opportunity for him."
 

Also joining the Sox this season will be Pittsburgh 3B Nick Banman - who belted 8 HR's in the nation's toughest conference. C Hunter Fain (Morehead St), C Nate Soria (Xavier) and 1B Chas Hadden all earned Freshmen All American Status in their maiden seasons in college baseball. Soria was named the Big East Rookie of the year in 2015 and named 1st team All Conference in 2016. Hadden led all freshman hitters nationally with a .370 batting average in 2016.

"I don't think it's a secret to anyone that we're a track record over talent organization in many people's eyes," said Golden. "But the old saying is 'if a player is good, then why isn't he good?' And we like guys who've been around the block, proven that they can succeed in challenging situations and where their talent manifests not only immediately, but repeatedly. Banman, Fain, Soria, and Hadden are all guys who've made tremendous impacts nearly everywhere they've been - whether that's in school, summer ball or what have you. Three of these four are former freshmen all americans at the division-1 level and out of the 1,000+ freshmen that enter DI baseball each year, these are three of the 30 kids that get that honor. More importantly, they proved they could do it again a year later. They're not just good players they're established players who we feel will make a tremendous impact on what we're trying to accomplish."

In addition, the Blue Sox made a few late-season acquisitions that will not only add depth to their lineup, but provide some valuable contributors as well. Marist INF Andrew Rouse led the Red Foxes in hitting - and to the NCAA Tournament this year. 

"Rouse is probably such a stereotype of what we look for in a player it's almost impossible to draw it up better," said Golden. "He's a major contributor at a smaller, but successful program where he's a team leader that we found late in the year because we were willing to be patient with his development. He's a solid SS but a real game changer at 3B. He caught a bit in high school, has played in the same summer league for years, and players who we've had who play against him rave about him - not just as a player - but as a kid, too. It's hard for us to paint a better picture, so when Andrew popped up on our radar screen, it was an easy add."

Mac Wilson, a spry 5'9 INF from North Florida University, brings a wide range of tools to the table as well. 

"Mac's just a scrappy kid who can play defense, has a solid approach at the plate, hit from either side and will play in multiple positions," described Golden. "We value versatility - especially once the injuries start piling up later in the year. Mac's comfortable at a lot of different positions and as the year goes on, we expect his role on the team to continue to expand."

Last, but certainly not least is OF Joe Mercadante (LIU Brooklyn) - who - along with Endy Morales - will be one of the two local stars on the team. The multi-talented, 5'11 OF from Feeding Hills will help anchor the team defensively and hit in multiple spots in the lineup. 

"Joe's another one of those 'the more you see of him, the more you appreciate him' type players," said Golden. "We've obviously seen lots of him being local and all, but his talent is very real. He has a monster arm from the outfield, and can dial it up past 90mph. He walks a fair amount, can steal bases, can hit gap to gap.. he can just do a lot. At some point, something he does is going to make a big difference."

In addition, the Sox bring back a strong group of pitching talent, with hometown star RHP Endy Morales (West Virginia), RHP Tyler Smith (Canisius), LHP Tony Romanelli (Marist) headlining another strong Sox bullpen. The strength of the 2016 team was its bullpen, with the top four relievers not allowing a single unearned run among them until the final game of the playoffs where they fell victim to a Sanford Mainers walk off home run. 

"If you look at our success last year, none of it happens without our bullpen being as strong as it was," commented Golden. "Being able to bring back a core group of key contributors there was a priority for us this offseason. Not only are they all terrific talents, but they'll be able to provide leadership, guidance and experience to their teammates."

Joining them in the 'pen will be RHP Andrew Schultz (Tennessee) and his 95mph+ fastball, Towson closer Dave Marriggi and lefty side arm Kennesaw State commit Max Ryan. The Central Michigan battery of LHP Jake Raether and RHP Zach Kohn will also play a crucial role in the Sox ability to maintain leads late.

"When you look at the individual parts and then put them all together, this has a chance to be a pretty good bullpen," commented Golden. "Schultz is obviously the biggest arm of the bunch, but Dave Marriggi is basically the third guy on this list who's closed out games for multiple years at his program. He was also an All Star in the Coastal Plains League last season, and while he's a smaller guy, he packs a pretty big punch. Raether and Kohn - our two relievers from Central Michigan both throw hard and compete like crazy. They're both young, but they're both very talented young pitchers who will really learn a lot from the guys they'll be surrounded with. Max Ryan is just going to be an incredibly uncomfortable AB. Not only is his arm slot low and funky, but it's from the left side - and hard from the left side. His slider moves about four feet so he's going to be incredibly useful when it comes to mixing up looks."

The starting rotation will be headlined by Canisius RHP Andrew Sipowicz, who will get the ball opening day. Joining him will be Rice RHP Kendal Jefferies. Sipowicz has been among the steadiest rising junior pitchers in college baseball. Jefferies, a 6'0, 180 lbs. Junior from Spring, TX- broke out in a big way for the Owls this season.

"We build our rotations around steady, reliable starting pitchers - not necessarily your flame throwing all or nothing super prospect types that are pretty vogue in this league," added Golden. "Sip has been as predictable a pitcher as there's been in college baseball and for a team like ours - that's as good a thing as you can hope for. It's going to be 6 innings. He'll give up a run or two, but it'll be 4 or 5 K's, 1 or 2 BB's and then on to the bullpen. You really improve your bullpen by just being able to go deeper into games - and Sip is able to do that. Kendal is a little different in that he's really settling into himself, finding his confidence as a pitcher - and whose best days lay ahead. We think we're getting him at just the right time." 

RHP Cooper Bradford (North Florida) will start this season on the heels of being named to the all freshmen team in the Atlantic Sun conference, as well as the #1 rated prospect in the A-Sun for the 2019 draft - the same conference that produced Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale (Florida Gulf Coast) and former National Player of the year and 11th overall pick Blue Sox 2012 alum Max Pentecost (Kennesaw St). The multi-talented Garrett Delano (Brown) will both hit and pitch for the Sox this summer - and brings a high professional ceiling to the table.

"Both Cooper and Garrett are something that you don't find many of on our team - and that's freshmen," said Golden. "In fact, they're both the exception to the rule so to speak. We don't take freshmen unless we're really confident they've got the chance to be really good as soon as they hit the ground here. But both these guys broke a lot of rules for us this year. Cooper's obviously the top prospect in his conference - a conference with lots of great pitching talent. He's got a sneaky fastball that gets on hitters quickly and an absolute wipe-out curve ball. He threw a lot of innings at school and as the year progressed, you could see that even the staff at North Florida were having a hard time holding him back - and his responsibility increased. That's everything we want to see."

"Garrett is just a different case of his own in general," added Golden. "The natural, raw tools are all there. He's still developing his instincts as a player, but the bat and power are legit. The staff at Brown and I have been talking about him for a while and in the fall, we kind of took a leap of faith on him in hopes things would work out and we were certainly happy with how things went. He played every day in the lineup - something that's unusual for a freshman baseball player. But even more interesting - he was as good a pitcher, if not better - than he was as a hitter. So he'll do both and get plenty of opportunities to do both. This is a big summer for him - he's got all the tools to be a break out guy here and put himself on the map, but it'll also be a healthy challenge for him where he'll finally see guys who naturally have just as many tools as he does and to get by - he'll have to make adjustments. It's an ideal situation for both us and him." 

Rounding out the Sox rotation will be experienced veterans RHP Michael Adams (Towson) and LHP Peter Moore (Lehigh). Adams was named 1st team JUCO All American in 2016, leading Harford CC to the Junior College World Series. The 6'5, 220 lbs hurler also spent time in the Cape Cod Baseball League

"Mike is like the nomad pitcher. He shows up in a place, pitches well and shuffles off down the road," explained Golden. "Again, we're a results-oriented organization and he's just managed to pitch well just about everywhere. And he's got pro-level capability to boot. A fast ball that sits in the 90's and solid secondary offerings. He's a good pitcher. And Pete Moore's going to come in hungry. He's been as reliable a pitcher as Lehigh has had the last few years - and he struggled to stay healthy early on - so he didn't quite get the start to the season he wanted - but he's every bit of high- 80's, low 90's from the left side and quality offerings across the board." 

The Blue Sox season starts tonight at 6:35pm at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke. To order tickets, call (413) 533-1100 or visit the website at www.Valleybluesox.com. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors. 
 

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