HarbourCats roster comes into focus

Andrew Nelson

The Victoria HarbourCats announced today that they have signed another six players for the 2014 season, boosting their roster count to 33. The latest roster additions are:

Player	Pos.	Year	2013-14 School
Jacob Hill	P	Sophomore	Orange Coast College
Andrew Nelson	P	Junior	University of Kentucky
Preston Ryan	P	Freshman	University of New Mexico
Thomas Bernal	1B	RS Junior	University of Kentucky
Ted Boeke	3B/SS	Freshman	Loyola Marymount University
Nathan Lukes	OF	Sophomore	Sacramento State

Perhaps the most significant signing in this group is starter Andrew Nelson, who has posted a sparkling 1.09
WHIP for the 22nd-ranked University of Kentucky Wildcats so far this spring. Nelson has excellent control to go along with good movement on his fast ball, and he is a potential staff ace on the HarbourCats.

Southpaw Jacob Hill has been dominant this season with Orange Coast College, posting a spectacular 0.98 WHIP and a perfect 8-0 record. He looks like a solid number two or three starter on the 2014 version of the HarbourCats, and along with Nelson and the University of Utah’s Bret Helton gives the team three very good starters.

Nathan Lukes

Sacramento State’s Nathan Lukes is a dynamic player who just may be our starting right fielder this summer. He’s an on-base machine, posting a .427 OBP in his first 104 at-bats with the Hornets this spring, so he would fit in nicely at the top of the HarbourCats batting order. Lukes led Sacramento State with seven outfield assists in his freshman season and he has three more so far this year.

In the grand scheme of things, the Victoria HarbourCats roster is really starting to round into shape. The team boasts an impressive amount of hitting, so they shouldn't have too much trouble scoring runs this summer. In fact, the Cats roster is overflowing with talented outfielders -- no less than six of our players would be a starting outfielder on most West Coast League teams (Hunter Mercado-Hood, Lukes, Andrew Calica, Danny Collier, Devin Carter and Wyler Smith). 

On the pitching side, the team’s late-inning relief looks good. Will Dennis, Quintin Torres-Costa and Carson Schneider are a fine trio of shutdown lefties. Hopefully a right-hander will emerge from the bullpen to give us a solid option from that side as well. Like just about every team in baseball, the HarbourCats could use another reliable starter or two, especially since Nelson will probably be on a playoff run with the Wildcats and arrive late for the WCL season. However, additional player signings will be announced between now and Opening Day, so there is still a decent chance that our pitching staff will be beefed up further. Put it all together, and it’s clear that the HarbourCats will improve upon the 22-32 record that they posted in their inaugural season.