The Fireflies are ready to begin their inaugural season with a roster that will rely heavily on the 2015 draft class that makes up ten of the initial 28 players. The coaching staff will include familiar faces with manager Jose Leger entering his seventh season in the Mets system and second in Low-A.
The pitching coach will be Jonathan Hurst who returns to the Mets organization for the 11th season while spending the previous six with the Kingsport Mets. The final piece of the coach staff will be hitting coach Joel Fuentes who spend the last two seasons with the St. Lucie Mets. This will be Joel’s 10th year with the Mets and he will be returning to the South Atlantic League, he was the Sand Gnats hitting coach in 2012 and 2013.
Our highest rated prospect here at MMN on the Columbia roster is infielder Milton Ramos (#19) who will see the majority of the time at shortstop for the Fireflies. Dash Winningham will man first base for the Fireflies after hitting a league leading 12 homeruns in the Appalachian League last year. Second base will by played by 2015 14th round pick Vincent Siena and third base by 2015 4th rounder David Thompson. They will be backed up by power hitting Jeffrey Diehl and the versatile Jean Rodriguez.
(Kevin Kaczmarski, Photo by Timesnews.net)
Kevin Kaczmarski was drafted in the 9th round last year and will lead the Fireflies outfield after winning the batting title (.355 AVG) in the Appalachian League in his pro debut. He is joined in the outfield by the toolsy Ivan Wilson, Tucker Tharp, Joe Tuschak and Vicente Lupo who will return to the SAL where he hit just .213/.304/.381 last year.
The catcher position will be a strength of the team with 2015 8th rounder Patrick Mazeika and Mets Sterling Award winner (shared w/Kaczmarski) behind the plate. Along side him with be lefty hitter Jose Garcia who hit .286 with a .342 OBP for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2016. Roster also has catchers Natanael Ramos and Tyler Moore listed as well right now but I don’t see the Fireflies carrying four catchers, although all four of them do have experience at first base.
The rotation will be led by 2015 6th rounder Chase Ingram who went 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 20 innings during his pro debut for Kingsport in 12 appearances (one start). Joining him in the rotation will be right-handers Tyler Badamo (3.10 ERA, 1.02 WHIP in 2015) and 2015 20th rounder Thomas McIlraith (6-1, 1.71 ERA). Lefties Kevin Canelon (4.09 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) and 2015 13th rounder P.J. Conlon will round out the starting staff for now. Conlon did not allow an earned run in 17 relief innings during his pro debut for Brooklyn.
In the bullpen will be three more drafts picks from the 2015 draft with RHP Joe Shaw (12th RD), LHP Seth Davis (29th RD), and RHP Witt Haggard (10th RD). The rest of the group includes all right-handed pitchers in Christian Montgomery, Craig Missigman, Alex Palsha, and Tyler Bashlor. Palsha was the Sterling Award winner for Brooklyn and a mid-season NYPL all-star, he had 13 saves and a 0.36 ERA for the Cyclones in 2015. The hard throwing Bashlor is finally back from Tommy John surgery after being out since 2013.
The Fireflies will play their home games at the brand new and absolutely stunning Spirit Communications Park that sits 8,500 fans and is open 365 days a year. They will have to wait until April 14th against the Greenville Drive for the home opener. Their first season starts on the road tonight against the Charleston RiverDogs at 7:05 PM ET. All 140 games can be heard on WGCV 620 AM and 105.1 FM with Syracuse alum Kevin Fitzgerald behind the microphone.
Update: The Fireflies have announced that Patrick Mazeika, Natanael Ramos, and Tucker Tharp will begin the season on the disabled list.
