Last year Parkland Expos head coach Tony Black had no idea what was in store for him and his team as they embarked on their inaugural Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League (SPBL) midget 鈥楢AA鈥� season.
It turns out that what was in store was a lot of hard times, with some future potential and good moments mixed in, as the Expos lost the majority of their games throughout the season, finishing with an 8-22 regular season record. 鈥淟ast year was kind of a learning experience for us at this level,鈥� said the Expos鈥� head coach in an interview earlier this week. 鈥淲e had some guys that knew what the calibre of ball would be like, but most of the players hadn鈥檛 played at that level before, so it took some time for them to get adjusted to things.鈥�
This year, however, the Expos will be far more prepared as they鈥檒l be welcoming back six players 鈥� Tyson Black, Caleb Bymak, Kaito Farquharson, Matt Wilgosh and Cole and Kyle Rathgeber 鈥� all of whom played key roles on last year鈥檚 team. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have six returnees this year, because it鈥檒l help our newer guys adapt quicker to the speed at the 鈥楢AA鈥� level,鈥� offered Black. 鈥淭hey also know what it takes to compete at this level, so we should have a better season because of that.鈥�
In addition to the six returnees, the Expos will be bolstered by several players with midget 鈥楢A鈥� experience, as third year veteran Luke Walters, as well as second year midget players Jordan Evans and Grady Hawkins will join the team after spending last season with the 鈥楢A鈥� Expos.
Their first year midgets will also come to the 鈥楢AA鈥� club with prior midget experience, as three members of this year鈥檚 club 鈥� Montana Johnson, Braden Kitchen and Joe Sliva 鈥� found themselves consistently called up to the midget 鈥楢A鈥� team last season, as did the 2016 Expos鈥� youngest player Gregor Farquharson, who spent time playing midget baseball as a first-year bantam player last season. 鈥淚 think them having that experience playing midget baseball last year will help with the transition to 鈥楢AA鈥�,鈥� mentioned Black, adding that while it will help, the younger players might still struggle to adapt to the velocity of some of the pitchers in 鈥楢AA鈥�. 鈥淪ome guys here throw in the 80鈥檚, so once they see those high-80鈥檚, mid-80鈥檚 and low-80鈥檚 pitchers, it will be interesting to see how they鈥檒l develop and if they can adapt to the speed of the game.鈥�
Also joining the 2016 Parkland Expos are midget rookie Jarod Stachowich and Chase Honan, the latter returning to baseball after a one year absence. Both are from Melville.
Offensively, Black expects his team to have their share of struggles early on. 鈥淥ur bats have always been quiet, and having nine new guys on the squad is going to be challenging versus the six that we have from last year, but I know our top four or five have the experience,鈥� said Black, continuing, 鈥淚t鈥檚 just going to depend on how these new guys are going to jump up to that calibre of ball because they usually don鈥檛 play at that calibre.鈥�
Black says he鈥檒l definitely lean on a couple of returning players, such as Cole Rathgeber (.427, two homeruns, 13 RBI in 2015) and Caleb Bymak (.302, nine RBI in 2015) to spark the offence.
Pitching wise, the Expos head coach feels his team will be fine for this upcoming season. 鈥淲e have five guys returning that can pitch, with Tyson and the Rathgebers being three of our starters,鈥� suggested Black. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get Caleb back on the mound, and Kaito can throw as well.
鈥淎s for the guys coming up, Grady Hawkins shows a lot of promise on the mound and young Gregor Farquharson and Montana Johnson can pitch as well.鈥�
As for who those pitchers will be throwing to, Black said that early on the catcher position was one of his team鈥檚 problem spots, but now it looks as if they鈥檒l be set there. 鈥淩ight now Wilgosh is our go-to guy at the catcher position, but he鈥檚 going to have a bit of relief as well,鈥� said Black. 鈥淭yson is going to be there, Bymak said he鈥檚 going to go behind the plate this year, Kyle Rathgeber said he鈥檚 going to give us some innings behind the plate, and we鈥檝e got a kid coming up from bantam, Braden Kitchen, who鈥檚 got some potential as he鈥檚 a very versatile player, so I鈥檓 going to see how it goes with him because he might be the go-to guy in a couple of years.鈥�
Overall, Black says he expects his team to be competitive this season, and that a top four finish isn鈥檛 out of the question, although a .500 record at the very least is what they鈥檒l be aiming for. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to get to close to the top of the league this year, but .500 will be our goal at first,鈥� mentioned the Expo head coach. 鈥淲e have the potential to be a top team in the league, we just have to make sure everything comes together throughout the season.鈥�
The Parkland Expos will open the 2016 season up with a doubleheader at home against the 麻豆传媒AVeast Twins on Saturday, April 23. Game times are 1:00p.m. and 3:00p.m. at Jubilee Park.
