The HarbourCats roster continues to firm up as we get closer to Opening Day. While our favourite day of the year is only 11 days away, the team’s exhibition season begins even earlier -- this Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM, to be exact.
Today we learned that two more local boys will be wearing the HarbourCats jersey, but unfortunately we also found out that
Adam (A.J.) Alcantara of UC Irvine will be unable to spend the summer in Victoria due to a leg injury. But let's focus on the positive...
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| Brandon Feldman |
The HarbourCats have signed sophomore 1B/RHP Brandon Feldman of Otero Junior College (La Junta, Colorado) to a 10-day contract. The former Victoria Eagles star enjoyed a breakout season with the Rattlers this spring by hitting .318 with 5 homers and 42 RBI in 151 at-bats. Feldman led the team in doubles (12), home runs, sacrifice flies (7) and slugging percentage (.497) after hitting a paltry .160 in 25 at-bats as a freshman. His offensive numbers shouldn’t really be a surprise, because Feldman was the MVP and batting champion of the BC Premier League in 2013 with the Eagles. Although he pitched five scoreless innings for the HarbourCats last summer, his lack of control has been his Achilles’ heel, and it’s pretty clear that his talents are best utilized with a bat in his hands. If he’s given a chance, this guy could put up some solid offensive numbers this summer.
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| Zane Takhar |
Another former Victoria Eagle has been signed to a 10-day contract, 2B/SS Zane Takhar of Northeastern State University (NCAA Division II) in Oklahoma. Takhar was redshirted this spring, so he did not appear in any games for the RiverHawks. In 2014, Takhar hit .287 with no homers and 10 RBI in 129 at-bats with Eagles, but he did manage to post a .439 on-base percentage by walking more than twice for every time that he struck out (32 walks vs. 15 strikeouts). He’s only a singles hitter at this point of his career, but he’ll easily be able to hold down the fort until the big guns arrive in June. Takhar played second base against HarbourCats in a June 5, 2014 exhibition game at Royal Athletic Park and went zero-for-three with an RBI.
The ‘Cats have also signed freshman LHP Connor Suing of Corban University, an NAIA Division II school in Salem, Oregon. Suing did not make any appearances on the mound this spring and his high school numbers aren’t available either. About all we know about Mr. Suing is that he is a graduate of McNary High School in Keizer, Oregon and that he is scheduled to pitch for Western Oregon University (NCAA Division II) in the fall. He has been signed to a full-season contract.
HarbourCatNip
- The HarbourCats also announced an intriguing Ducks on the Pond promotion today. Details can be found in their official press release.
- The team also announced that tickets for their three pre-season games will be sold for only $5. Sounds like a deal to me!
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Can someone help me understand why so many players are being signed? 13 IF, 11 OF and 5 C??? Last year the Cats had 6 IF, 7 OF and 3 C. Way too many players on the roster...many of these kids won't get to play. The college coaches send the players here expecting them to get a lot of ABs. With this many boys, playing time will be very limited.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a valid issue, John. It does seem like an excessive number of players, however many players will arrive late while others may have to leave before the season ends. Without a target arrival and departure date for each player it’s pretty difficult to determine if there are “too many” players on the roster. It’s also possible that more cancellations are coming -- we have already had 17 players back out of their commitment for a variety of reasons.
DeleteWe’re taking a wait and see approach, but we share your concerns.