2017 season preview: Miners on a mission

PALMER — As Mat-Su head coach Ben Taylor made the trip to the Valley earlier this week to lead the Miners for the fifth straight summer, there was something slightly different.

Taylor was sporting a big-ole championship ring on his finger. But other than that, it’s business as usual for Taylor and the Miners, the defending Alaska Baseball League champions.

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to be back for the fifth year. I get to work with my good friend Pete Christopher for another (summer),” Taylor said of Christopher, who enters his 15th year as general manager of the Miners. “One of the biggest highlights of this has been working with him on this season’s roster. I’m excited to see how things shake out.”

Taylor said winning the ABL title after three straight runner-up finishes did not change how the Miners recruited or put together the roster.

“It’s a different year, different team,” Taylor said. “The goals don’t change. The approach doesn’t change. The expectations don’t change.”

With nearly two decades of combined experience in the historic ABL, Taylor and Christopher have been able to fine-tune the approach to recruiting.

“We get a pretty good feel for things, the type of kids who work well in this league,” Taylor said. “The kind of kids that fit the Miners. Fantastic in the community, work hard, handle their business, represent their team, their school, their family very well.”

Taylor said the Miners — who open the 2017 season against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots Monday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers Field — will have a similar look to Mat-Su squads of recent memory. Taylor said the Miners have worked to build a tradition of fielding teams that feature power arms on the mound, strong defense up the middle and a well-rounded lineup with some thunder in the middle.

The Mat-Su pitching staff currently includes 13 arms, eight right-handers and five lefties. The unit features a veteran of the Miners and the ABL, Gonzaga junior lefthander Calvin LeBrun, who pitched for the Miners in 2015.

“I’m excited to have Calvin back. He’s a really proven, experienced guy in the league,” Taylor said of the southpaw, who pitched in the Cape Cod League last summer after being named an ABL All-Star after his freshman year of college.

LeBrun worked out of the bullpen as a junior, recording a win and three saves in 48 innings of work.

LeBrun will be joined by a Gonzaga teammate, junior Justin Blatner, a tall lefty with limited innings poised for a bigger role as a weekend arm next season, Taylor said.

Mat-Su’s group of lefthanders also includes Texas A&M freshman John Doxakis.

“John is carrying on the tradition of the A&M pitching we’ve had previously up here,” Taylor said, noting the Aggies’ three starters this season all spent time with the Miners.

Doxakis made 22 appearances as a freshman and added a strikeout per inning.

Another lefthander is Ventura Community College freshman Andrew Nardi, who posted a 1.17 earned run average in 14 appearances.

“He’s one of the top left-handed junior college arms in California,” Taylor said of Nardi, who throws in the low 90s with a plus change up.

Another junior college pitcher on the roster, Zach Hardy, follows Taylor from Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. The 6-foot-4 right-hander hits 95 mph on the mound, and can hit the ball at the plate. Taylor said Hardy can be a power threat at the designated hitter spot.

Hardy is among a handful of right-hander power arms in the arsenal of Taylor, and Mat-Su’s pitching coach Matt Greely. The Miners also have Baylor freshman Hayden Kettler, Oral Roberts freshman Spencer Henson, Central Florida sophomore Thaddeus Ward and West Virginia freshman Kade Strowd. All top 90 mph. Ward adds a slider. Hensen can also hit and play first base. The Miners also have Long Beach State freshman John Castro, who tops 90 mph

with a change up.

The Miners also have a pair of local products on the pitching staff, Wasilla graduate Nolan Monaghan and Colony product Jake Butcher. Monaghan, a member of three straight conference championship teams at Wasilla High, just completed his first season at Feather River Community College in California.

“I’m really excited. He did good things at Feather River and has a great opportunity to play with some of the best in the country and develop,” Taylor said. “I’m excited to see how it goes.”

Monaghan made 12 appearances as a freshman, and earned one win on the mound.

Butcher, who played for former Mat-Su Miners pitching coach Brad Baker at Blue Mountain Community College in Oregon for two years, just completed his first season at Division II Minnesota-Crookston.

“I’m excited to have Jake with us. It’s nice to have him on our club,” Taylor said.

Mat-Su is carrying three catchers on the roster at the beginning of the season, including a veteran of the club. USC sophomore Zack Sharpley is returning for a second straight summer in the Valley. Last year, Sharpley’s season was cut short due to injury, and Taylor said he wanted to give the California product another shot.

“He’s as tough as they come,” Taylor said. “He played two weeks with a broken thumb until jus just couldn’t play anymore. I’m excited to have his toughness back on the club.”

Sharpley is part of a trio of standout defensive catchers that also includes Arizona junior Ryan Haug and Baylor freshman Andy Thomas. Haug was a member of a team that played in the College World Series last year, and Taylor called him one of the top defensive catchers in the Pac-12.

Thomas won a gold glove as a catcher in high school in California, and has a plus-arm, Taylor said.

Thomas suffered an injury as a freshman, but finished the season hitting .474.

“He finished the season very strong,” Taylor said.

In addition to its catchers, Mat-Su boasts versatility with its positions. It’s something Taylor looks for, he said.

“That’s big. You’ve got to be able to shift things around and do some things,” Taylor said. “It’s easier to keep guys fresh that way.”

In the outfield, the Miners have Middle Tennessee sophomore Elijah MacNamee and Grand Canyon sophomore Preston Pavlica, who can both play all three outfield spots. Tennesse’s Justin Ammons, an everyday player as a freshman, can hit anywhere in the order, Taylor said.

St. Johns freshman Mike Antico is centerfielder who can hit at the top of the order. Blake Benefield, a Middle Tennessee sophomore, is a middle of the order power bat, Taylor said, who can play in the outfield and at first base. Grand Canyon freshman Quinn Cotton shows true power from foul line to foul line, Taylor said.

The Miners are also loaded with versatility in the infield. The group includes Tennessee freshman Brandon Chinea.

“The guy is like a Swiss Army Knife. You can play him at all four infield positions and all three outfield (positions),” Taylor said.

And there’s Mass-Lowell sophomore Oscar Marchena.

“Slick fielding middle infielder that can play all three infield spots for us, and will play top-level defense for us,” Taylor said.

Another utility player is Middle Tennessee sophomore Austin Davis, who led his squad in RBI this season.

“He’s a fantastic utility guy for us who shows some power at the plate,” Taylor said.

Mat-Su’s infield also includes a player Taylor has been watching since the athlete was a sophomore in high school, Grand Canyon sophomore Austin Bell.

“I’m incredibly happy to have him up here. He’s one of the top players in the (Western Athletic Conference),” Taylor said. “He’s one of the top draft prospects out of the WAC for 2018.”

Bell, a switch-hitting shortstop, hit .339 and led his team with 74 hits and 49 runs.

Rounding out the infield in Gonzaga junior Nick Brooks, a middle of the lineup producer who can play first base.

The Miners two-month regular season will include a June loaded with road games, but a big homestand to end the season. Mat-Su’s opener, an exhibition game, is Monday at Hermon Brothers against the Anchorage Glacier Pilots at 7 p.m. The ABL opener is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hermon Brothers against the Chugiak Chinooks.

After a seven-game road trip — six games in Kenai — Mat-Su is back home to host the Chinooks June 15 at Hermon Brothers.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.