The Frontier League tryout camp and draft took place April 22nd and 23rd at Wild Things Park in Washington, DC.
I was lucky enough to be able to attend the trial and speak to the various managers, players and families in attendance.
Hundreds of players from all over the country and the world (I also met players from Mexico and Japan) made the trip to Pennsylvania for the chance to try out in front of all 16 teams in the Border League.
What stood out to me the most was the support from the families of these players. Moms, dads, girlfriends and wives, they all stay at the stadium for 8+ hours every day to cheer on their player and help him achieve his dream.
46 players have been offered contracts to join teams during spring training to earn roster spots for the 2024 Frontier League season.
14 of them (6 pitchers, 8 position players) are currently on the active roster, though several were released and signed during the first half.
Here’s your full list, followed by mid-season. (Players: brave are now on the All-Star break roster).
1st stage
1 New England knockout Casey Bargo RHP
2 Lake Erie Crushers Michel Triana UTL
3 Lake Erie Crushers Anthony Perez RHP
4 Trois-Rivieres Aigles Dakota Parsons RHP
5 Windy City ThunderBolts Jose Gutierrez 3B
6 Tri-City ValleyCats Easton Klein RHP
7 Washington Wild Things Raul Ortega C:
8 Ottawa Titans Garrett Crowley LHP
9 Evansville Otters James Steindl LHP
10 New York Boulders Sam Franco OF
11 Schaumburg Boomers Allante Hall C:
12 Tri-City ValleyCats Rolando Heredia Bustos RHP
13 Florence Y’alls Jalen Evans RHP
15 New Jersey Jackals Greg Ryan IF
16 Quebec Capitals Chase Wilkerson LHP
2nd stage
17 New England Knockouts Daniel Goggin RHP
18 Florence Y’alls Val Stammler RHP
19 Tri-City ValleyCats Gino Sabatine RHP
20 Windy City Thunderbolts Austin Elder C
21 Joliet Slammers Jeissy De La Cruz IF
22 Washington Wild Things Ken Williams LHP
23 Ottawa Titans Charlie Towers SS
24 Evansville Otters Matt Cusumano C:
25 New York Boulders Kerry Wright RHP
26 Schaumburg Boomers Cameron Zunkel RHP
27 Tri-City ValleyCats Jolan Zhao RHP
28 Gateway Grizzlies Teague Conrad RHP
29 Sussex County Miners Nicholas DeMaio C
30 New Jersey Jackals Bryson Parks OF
31 Quebec Capitals Hunter Boag RHP
Additional
32 Florence Y’alls Nathan Riddle RHP
33 Trois-Rivieres Aigles James Smibert SS
34 Joliet Slammers Jacob Young RHP
35 Ottawa Titans Yushin Ohta UTL
36 Washington Wild Things Sheldon Johnson OF
37 Evansville Otters Benjamin Newbert 1B
38 Schaumburg Boomers Felix Aboueret C:
39 Tri-City ValleyCats Brant Broussard IF:
40 Gateway Grizzlies Eric Kozlowski RHP
41 New Jersey Jackals Orlando Swift RHP
42 Ottawa Titans Mitzuki Fukoda C:
43 Tri-City ValleyCats Bradley Roberto OF
44 Tri-City ValleyCats Ian Diaz OF
Post-draft Schaumburg Boomers Jesus Baez RHP
After the Lake Erie Smashers, Lolo Williams C
Windy City Thunderbolts Alex Lugo C
Updated statistics.
RHP: Casey Bargo – Activated by Knockouts on May 31st. Made 11 appearances, 7 starts, 0-4 record with a 6.75 ERA. Casey spent 7 days in IL from June 30th to July 10th.
UTL: Michael Triana – Did not sign with Crushers until June 28th. Played in 13 games with a .100 average. Hit 1 HR with 3 RBI and 2 SB.
RHP: Easton Cline – Has been with the Valley Cats since the start of the season. Made 11 appearances, 10 starts with a 4-2 record and 3.71 ERA. Has 41 Ks in 63 IP.
DAY: Franco himself – Released in spring training by the Boulders. Signed with the Lake Erie Crushers on July 5th. Played in 7 games with the Crushers with a .259 average, scoring 4 runs and stealing 3 bases.
C: Alante Hall – Signed with the Schauburg Boomers during spring training. Played in 28 games with a .146 average and 2 RBI. He worked in IL from June 1 to June 16.
RHP: Rolando Heredia Bustos – Currently in IL with the Tri City Valley Cats. Prior to his injury, he had pitched 31 innings with 1 start on the season. Compiled a 4.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP with 16 strikeouts and a 1-2 record.
RHP: Daniel Goggin – He was active in the team of “New England” throughout the season. Played 24 games and pitched 27.1 innings. Currently has a 5.06 ERA with 24 strikeouts. Record: 0-3.
RHP: Gino Sabatini – Originally released by Tri City on June 25th, but has since re-signed with the Valley Cats on July 13th. Made 12 appearances in 28.2 innings. Has a 3-1 record and a 5.65 ERA with 12 strikeouts.
IF: Jaycee De La Cruz – Has been active with Joliet all season so far. He played in 56 of 57 games. Has a .268 batting average, 31 runs with 12 RBI and 6 stolen bases.
RHP: Teague Conrad – Released by the Grizzlies during spring training, but re-signed shortly after the start of the season on May 19. Made 10 appearances (all starts) with a 5-2 record and a 3.38 ERA. Has struck out 53 in 53.1 innings.
C: Nicholas DeMaio – Released by Sussex Co Miners during spring training, but re-signed with them on July 11. Only played in 1 game before the All-Star break where he went 0-3.
DAY: Bryson Parks – Played the entire season with the New Jersey Jackals. Has a .270 batting average in 50 games with 1 HR, 14 RBI, 34 runs scored and 24 swipes.
SS: James Smibert – Played the entire season with the Trois-Rivieres Aigles. In 42 games, he has a .252 batting average with 3 HR, 17 RBI, 20 runs and 4 stolen bases.
DAY: Bradley Roberto – Originally released during spring training, but was re-signed by the Tri City Valley Cats on July 9. Played in 5 games with a .182 average including 3 RBI and 1 stolen base.
The second half of the Border League season kicks off tonight (July 19).
