The Yorkton Cardinals made sure they had some local flavour on their team for the upcoming season by officially locking up pitchers Kody Rock and Derek Marshall.
Rock, a native of Canora, Saskatchewan, returns to the Cardinals for his second consecutive summer after spending the university season with the NAIA's Mayville State Comets in Mayville, North Dakota, where Rock is a freshman.
Last season the 6'4", 200-pound right-handed pitcher worked in 15 games for the Cardinals, 13 out of the bullpen and two in the starter role, where he went 1-4 with an 8.00 ERA.
In the summer of 2013 the hard throwing Rock struck out 25 batters and walked 13 in 27 innings of work while also registering two saves.
While his 2013 numbers weren't stellar, Rock will be one year older and one year wiser in 2014.
He'll also give Bill Sobkow a very useful tool in the sense that Rock can pitch in virtually any game situation as well as out of the bullpen or as a starter.
Another familiar face to the Cardinals faithful will be that of Yorkton's own Derek Marshall.
Marshall, a freshman on the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Illinois Falcons in Harrisburg, Illinois, will be in his first official WMBL season after having spent part of last year as an AP midget call up for the Cards.
While Marshall has been a quality pitcher for much of his career he does not rely on velocity. Instead, the 5'11", 155-pound Yorkton product uses a sharp breaking curveball and pinpoint accuracy to get batters out.
Marshall's not just a one trick pony, either. The lanky right-hander can play any infield position, but is listed as a middle infielder for his university team.
Look for Marshall to provide some depth on both the mound and the middle infield during the 2014 season.
Welcome back to the Cardinals, Rock and Marshall.
