Tag Archives: Frontier League

Independent Ball

California Winter League Signings 2016

3 Comments

CWL

The California Winter League (CWL) finished their season last month and have released an updated list on all players that were signed to various leagues during or after the CWL’s season.

According to their list (updated as of February 25th), 69 different players have signed professional contracts; However, it is worth noting that most of these are spring training contracts with no guarantees of making the opening day roster.

As the Official Winter League of the Frontier League, it should come as no surprise that the majority of the players (41) who were given contracts are going to the Frontier League for spring training.

The list also includes seven players who signed affiliated contracts.

But players are always asking, “is the price of a winter league worth it?”

Well this season, we plan on giving updates on how players who signed are doing throughout the season. The first update will occur after spring training where we will make a new list including every player that managed to make an Opening Day roster.

Here are the  2016 CWL Player Signees:

Major League Baseball

Evan Crower Philadelphia Phillies
Steven Pollakov Chicago White Sox
Kevin Lenik Texas Rangers
Kade Andrus Arizona Diamondbacks (ST)
Connor Hoffman Arizona Diamondbacks (ST)
Tanner Kiest Texas Rangers (ST)
Jarrett Martin Texas Rangers (ST)

Frontier League

John Cruz Florence Freedom
Clayton Crum Florence Freedom
Josh Wright Florence Freedom
Darius Washington Florence Freedom
Matt Pobereyko Florence Freedom
Kenneth Frosch Evansville Otters
Victor Barron Evansville Otters
Buddy Elgin Evansville Otters
Kenny Knudsen Schaumburg Boomers
Scott Ward Schaumburg Boomers
Pete Leonello Southern Illinois Miners
Carl Jameson Southern Illinois Miners
Brandon Boyle Windy City ThunderBolts
Kevin Barker Windy City ThunderBolts
Ryan Strombom Windy City ThunderBolts
Alex Miden Windy City ThunderBolts
Andrew Lowe Windy City ThunderBolts
Quintin Alexander Windy City ThunderBolts
Brady Muller Windy City ThunderBolts
Luke Barker Traverse City Beach Bums
Wes Wallace Traverse City Beach Bums
Matt Burns Traverse City Beach Bums
Brian McKenna Traverse City Beach Bums
Lucas Hunter River City Rascals
Mike Jurgella River City Rascals
Josh Eatherly River City Rascals
Alec Saikal River City Rascals
Ben Allison Normal Cornbelters
Kaleb Barlow Normal Cornbelters
Max Ayoub Gateway Grizzlies
Derek Hasenbeck Gateway Grizzlies
Andrew Wellwerts Lake Erie Crushers
Parker Norris Lake Erie Crushers
Nate Antone Lake Erie Crushers
Tom Nagy Lake Erie Crushers
Dakota Freese Joliet Slammers
Casey Fletcher Joliet Slammers
Alex Simone Washington Wild Things
Brian O’Keefe Washington Wild Things
Alex Williams Washington Wild Things
Tyler Garkow Washington Wild Thing

Atlantic League

Colin Moberly New Britain Bees
Nick Murphy New Britain Bees

American Association

Will Soto Joplin Blasters
Mason Morioka Joplin Blasters
Brandon Landanger Lincoln Saltdogs
Kaz Nezu Lincoln Saltdogs

Can-Am League

Jalen Harris Sussex Miners
Michael Tamburino Sussex Miners
Alex DeBellis Rockland Boulders
Max Schonfeld Trois-Rivieres Aigles

Pacific Association

Kyle Adie San Rafael Pacifics
Julian Esquibel San Rafael Pacifics
Mark Lindsay San Rafael Pacifics
Trent Zaks Pittsburg Diamonds
Iszac Valdez Pittsburg Diamonds
Ian Hagenmiller Pittsburg Diamonds
Ethan Szabo Sonoma Stompers
Landon Hunt Sonoma Stompers
Masahiro Miyadera Sonoma Stompers
Marcus Blackmon Sonoma Stompers
Eddie Mora -Loera Sonoma Stompers

Independent Ball

Frontier League Loses Two Teams for 2016 Season

1 Comment

The Frontier League released the schedules for their teams today, but they look much different than last year’s.  That is because the league has gone from 14 teams to 12 for the 2016 season.

Throughout the season, there were signs that the Rockford Aviators were faltering.  Attendance was at an all-time low (averaging less than 1,000 fans per game), financial problems were apparent and in June, MKE Sports & Entertainment was forced to terminate its managed service contract with the team.

According to the Rockford Register Star, “Commissioner Bill Lee ruled that MKE Sports & Entertainment’s contract with the team violates the league bylaws because the owner of MKE Sports & Entertainment, Michael Zimmerman, owns multiple baseball teams in another league.”

Then late in the season, the Frontier League took over day-to-day operations of the Aviators, all but cementing the fact that the team would fold at the end of the season.

With the loss of the Aviators, the Frontier League was able to dismantle their travel team, the Frontier Greys, which had been in place since the London Rippers folded in the middle of the 2013 season.

This downsizes the Frontier League to 12 teams for the first time since 2011. The 12 teams remaining are: Evansville Otters, Florence Freedom, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Lake Erie Crushers, Normal Cornbelters, River City Rascals, Schaumburg Boomers, Southern Illinois Miners, Traverse City Beach Bums, Washington Wild Things and Windy City Thunderbolts.

However, the stadium in Rockford won’t go unused next summer. Rockford was awarded a franchise with the Northwoods League, a collegiate level summer wooden bat league.