NEWS

By Mike Falcone, Newport Gulls Director of Baseball Operations

NEWPORT, R.I- Baseball America is a leader in covering baseball at all levels. Their team of professionals keep tabs on the game’s best and brightest, providing all-encompassing rankings of players in high school all the way up to the Major Leagues. Recently, Baseball America released their list of the Top 30 Prospects for all 30 MLB teams. Some of these players have made their Major League debut, while others are on the cusp of reaching The Show. Among the minor league’s most elite are 28 NECBL alumni. These players span 17 MLB franchises and nine of the New England League’s organizations. 

Read below to see a team-by-team breakdown of how these talented young men performed in the NECBL and where their journey has taken them thus far. Number denotes ranking within team’s Top 30. 

Newport Gulls

Atlanta Braves

            #25- Outfielder Trey Harris (Mizzou) joined the Gulls in the summer of 2016 and provided a spark for the squad, playing his first game on July 4th against the Ocean State Waves. He went on to hit .309, tallying five home runs and 26 RBI in 26 games. Harris left Newport and returned to Mizzou for his junior and senior season with the Tigers, ultimately was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in Round 32 of the 2018 Draft. He has quickly rose to Double- A and holds a professional career batting average of .317 and .480 slugging %. His performance in 2019 led to a designation as the Braves Minor League Player of the Year. 

Baltimore Orioles

            #20- Still yet to even make his professional debut, OF Hudson Haskin (Tulane) is among the Orioles top ranked prospects heading into 2021. He was drafted with the 39th Overall Pick in the 2020 MLB Draft after a short, but impressive career at Tulane University. USA Baseball placed Haskin on their Golden Spikes Award (Best College Baseball Player) watchlist heading into 2020 season after being named a Freshman All-American in 2019. A product of Avon Old Farms (Avon, CT), Haskin hit .372 and blast 10 home runs in his freshman campaign then followed up with an All-Star summer for the Gulls. He hit .306 with five homers, four triples, three doubles, 23 rbi, and 17 stolen bases. 

Chicago Cubs

            #29- Jack Patterson, a left-handed pitcher from Bryant University (Smithfield, RI), breaks into the Chicago Cubs Top 30 after continuing to impress climbing the minor league levels. Patterson was drafted in Round 32 by the Cubs in 2018 and spent two summers with the Gulls sandwiched with extremely successful years as a Bryant Bulldog. A southpaw from Suffield, CT, Patterson first joined the Gulls in 2014 after his freshman season, helping lead Newport to an NECBL Championship- starting the series clincher against Sanford on August 12, 2014. He was named the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior after spending summer 2017 with Newport and was invited to the Cubs 60-Man roster in 2020. 

Kansas City Royals

            #5- Stanford University left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic is one of two former Gulls to rank in the Royals’ organizational Top 30. He made his MLB Debut this past summer on July 31 and pitched in a total of 10 games, all of which starts. 

            #21- Hard throwing right-hander Jon Heasley accompanied previously mentioned Jack Patterson on the 2017 Newport Gulls pitching staff, striking out 20 hitters over 18.1 innings of work that summer. Drafted in Round 13 in 2018, Heasley was an All-Star for Royals minor league affiliate Lexington Legends, taking home their team’s Pitcher of the Year honors in 2019.

Los Angeles Angels

            #17- The Angels selected 2016 Gull Denny Brady in Round 7 of the 2017 MLB Draft. He is now a member of the Salt Lake Bees of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League because of his ability to put batters away via strikeout. A right-handed pitcher who attended Mercer Community College, Brady has struck out 157 opposing hitters in 144.2 innings pitched. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

            #4- Drafted No. 25 Overall in 2019, Kody Hoese (Tulane) is among the top prospects in the MLB, not just his Los Angeles Dodgers. He nearly led the country in home runs for the Green Wave in 2019 with 23 and has been tabbed Major League Baseball’s eight ranked third basemen prospect. Hoese was an NECBL All-Star for the Gulls in 2018, hitting .283 with seven home runs. 

            #21- A 2016 Gull, Devin Mann (Louisville) is currently in Double- A for the Dodgers and was drafted in the fifth round of 2018. He was placed on the 2016 ACC All-Freshman Team in 2016 and All-ACC Third Team in 2018 prior to getting drafted. 

Miami Marlins

            #2- The highest ranking NECBL alumni, OF JJ Bleday was drafted fourth overall in 2019 out of Vanderbilt University. Bleday is the only alum to crack Baseball America’s Top 100, coming in at No. 43. Bleday led Vandy to a College World Series victory in 2019 and was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award that same season. He blasted three home runs in his first professional season and hit two during his 24 games with the Gulls in 2017. 

            #13- Sharing the same outfield in 2017 with Bleday in Newport was Kameron Misner of Mizzou. The 2017 NECBL Batting Champion (.378), Misner was selected just ten picks after Kody Hoese with the 35th Overall Pick in 2019. Misner was the Gulls MVP in 2017, playing in 38 total games and leading the team average, hits (51), home runs (8), RBI (25), walks (28), and stolen bases (14). 

            #29- The third former Gull and second former Vanderbilt Commodore that ranks among the Marlins Top 30 is left-handed pitcher Jake Eder. A standout for Vandy Head Coach Tim Corbin for three seasons (2017-2019), Eder pitched out of the bullpen and as a starter, helping win the 2019 College World Series with Bleday. Eder pitched in, and started five games for the Gulls in 2018, winning two and losing one. The Marlins used the 104th Overall Pick (Fourth Round) in this past year’s draft to take Eder.

Philadelphia Phillies

            #14- With a 1.50 ERA, spanning three levels of the Phillies farm system in 2019, Erik Miller (Stanford) finds himself in the top half of Philadelphia’s best prospects after getting drafted in Round 4 of the 2019 Draft. A product of Wildwood, MI, Miller stands 6-5 and has a fastball that reaches the upper 90s. In 2017, Miller struck out 19 batters over the course of five appearances and 18.1 innings. 

Seattle Mariners

            #21- Appearing in the most games of any Seattle Mariner in 2020, Anthony Misiewicz (Michigan State) certainly made an impact after debuting on July 24 of this year. He pitched in 21 games for the Mariners and fanned 25 batters over 20 innings of work. While with Newport, Misiewicz appeared and started in four games which spanned 27.1 innings pitched. He completed the summer with an 0-1 record, 2.96 ERA, and struck out nearly a batter an inning (26) while walking just nine opposing hitters. 

Washington Nationals

            #18- UCLA’s Holden Powell was dominant in college, earning 2019 Stopper of the Year (Nation’s Best Closer) honors, completing the year with a 1.84 ERA and 17 saves. His save total ranked second in the country and is second-most all-time in UCLA history. Known for his mid 90s fastball, the former Bruin struck out 40 batters in 26 innings pitched for the Gulls in 2018. The Washington Nationals selected Powell in the 3rd Round, 94th Overall in 2020. 

Keene SwampBats

Colorado Rockies 

            #23- Virginia’s Tommy Doyle spent two summers pitching for the Keene SwampBats (2015 & 2016) and was selected 70th Overall in the 2017 MLB Draft. He was named 2016 NECBL Top Prospect and on September 23, 2020, Doyle made his MLB debut against the San Francisco Giants. 

            #24- Another right-hander, Gavin Hollowell (St. Johns), ranks among the Rockies best players and spent time pitching for the SwampBats. In 2017, Hollowell went undefeated (3-0) over five starts and seven appearances for Keene where he walked only five batters in 39 innings pitched. Hollowell once again went 3-0 in 2019 during his first professional season with the Rockies. He was drafted in Round 6 of the 2019 Draft and held hitters to a .200 batting average in 18.2 innings for the Single-A Grand Junction Rockies. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

            #8- A product of Butler University, Ryan Pepiot started five games for Keene in 2017 and was drafted by the Dodgers in Round 3 of 2019’s Draft. He was promoted from Rookie Ball to Full-A after just four games in 2019 season, finishing the year with a 1.93 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched and 13 appearances, 10 of which were starts. 

Toronto Blue Jays

            #26- The final of four rightys to play for Keene and be included in Baseball America’s ranking is Joey Murrayof Kent State. Drafted in 2018, Murray now finds himself in Double-A with a career 2.60 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 163 innings pitched. Murray started three games for the SwampBats in 2016. 

Plymouth Pilgrims

Chicago White Sox

            #28- A staple in the Plymouth Pilgrims starting rotation in 2015, Tyler Johnson’s (South Carolina) eight appearances were all starts. He finished with a 4-1 record and a 3.28 ERA that summer and was drafted in Round 5 of the 2017 MLB Draft. This right-handed hurler has succeeded at multiple levels of the White Sox farm system, entering 2021 in Double-A. 

Houston Astros

            #3- Just one position behind JJ Bleday’s ranking with the Marlins, Jeremy Pena (U Maine) is second highest among Top 30 Prospects within their respective franchise. Hitting four home runs and five doubles in 2016 for the Pilgrims after his freshman season at the University of Maine- Orno, Pena was eventually drafted by the Astros in the third round of 2018. He has been promoted to Double- A and also was invited to spring training in 2020, then assigned to the Astros Alternate Training Site during the season.

Minnesota Twins 

            #12- The 2015 NECBL Most Improved Player, Brett Rooker (Mississippi St.) played two seasons in Plymouth and improved his batting average nearly 100 points from .275 in 2014 to .360 in 2015. He ranked first in the NECBL in homers (10), RBI (33), runs (36), hits (59), and total bases (99). Rooker was the 2017 SEC Player of the Year and was selected 35th Overall by the Twins, reaching the Major Leagues this past September. He hit .316 in seven games for the Twins. 

Winnipesaukee Muskrats

Boston Red Sox

            #27- An NECBL All-Star in 2016, Andrew Politi (Seton Hall) won four games for the Musktrats over the course of seven starts and 13 total appearances. The Red Sox drafted Politi in 2018 and have used him as a reliver during his first two professional seasons. Politi has eight saves in 11 chances and has limited hitters to .217 batting average over 107.2 innings of work. 

Washington Nationals

            #27- Coincidentally, the second Muskrat to crack his team’s Top 30 is another right-handed pitcher from their 2016 squad and is also ranked 27th: Jackson Tetreault (State College of Florida). He was taken in the 7thRound of the 2017 Draft and will begin the 2021 season with Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. 

Vermont Mountaineers

Chicago White Sox

            #7- Staring two games for the White Sox during the 2020 season, including his MLB debut, Jonathan Stiever (Indiana) spent the 2016 summer with the Vermont Mountaineers. He finished the summer with a 1-2 record and 3.02 ERA in nine games and six starts. 

Sanford Mainers

San Francisco Giants

            #15- The Louisville Cardinals were among the eight teams to reach the College World Series in 2017. Logan Wyatt (Louisville) joined the Sanford Mainers in late June after their run came to an end and finished the year hitting .258 with four doubles and seven RBI. An All-American in 2018, Wyatt also garnered All-ACC honors in 2018 and 2019, leading to the Giants picking Wyatt in Round 2 of the 2019 Draft.

New Bedford Bay Sox

Atlanta Braves

            #9- Playing for his hometown Bay Sox, Jared Shuster (Wake Forest), shined in 2018, striking out 62 batters while walking only 18 and recording a 2.75 ERA over 49 innings of work. Shuster is yet to pitch professionally, yet ranks among the Braves’ top prospects as he was only drafted this past June, taken 25th Overall.

Upper Valley Nighthawks

Minnesota Twins

            #4- Drafted in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft , Ryan Jeffers (UNC-Wilmington) joins a few other NECBL alums to have made their MLB debut in 2020. He played in a total of 26 games after getting the call on August 20, tallying 15 hits, three home runs, and .273 average. A native of Wilmington, NC, Jeffers was a 2017 NECBL All-Star, helping lead the Nighthawks to the playoffs that summer. 

Martha’s Vineyard Sharks

Toronto Blue Jays

            #30- While Martha’s Vineyard was a member of the Futures League, catcher Philip Clarke (Vanderbilt) hit .337 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 47 games played during 2017. The Blue Jays took Clarke in Round 9 of the 2019 Draft after he helped lead the Commodores to a College World Series victory.