Blue collar staff

MAT-SU — Last summer, Mat-Su ace Garrett Richards dazzled fans with a wicked slider and made hitters whimper with a fastball that touched 97.

First-year Mat-Su pitching Matt Kruse doesn’t see an arm like Richards on the 2009 Miners staff.

But that’s okay.

Kruse knows he has the type of talent to win with in the Alaska Baseball League.

“We’re not going to run out the number one prospect,” Kruse said Monday afternoon. “But we’ve got guys who can get the job done in this league.”

Kruse and the Miners currently have 13 pitchers on the roster. There are five juniors, four southpaws and three who have already pitched at Hermon Brothers Field.

Most importantly the Miners have a baker’s dozen worth of talent who have shown the ability to consistently move the ball across the plate. And most can even spin a solid breaking ball when they want, too.

Back for another tour of duty with the staff are Eastern Connecticut junior Will Musson, Lafayette junior Jeremy Atkins and Scottsdale Community College sophomore Mike Carlson, a Palmer High School graduate.

Each of the three saw a decent amount of action last summer. Musson sported a slim 1.00 earned run average and fanned 13 hitters in 18 innings of relief. He also saved a game.

Carlson was nearly as good, posting a 1.40 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings. He was also 1-0.

Opponents hit less than .170 against both right-handers.

Both also had successful college seasons. Musson was 9-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 85 strikeouts at Eastern Connecticut. Carlson notched a 2.84 ERA in his first season in Arizona after transferring from Odessa Junior College following his freshman season.

Atkins finished with a 2.76 ERA in 32 2/3 innings, while striking out 24 hitters, last season with the Miners. He was 4-3 as a junior at Lafayette.

Carlson and Atkins are both in the early-season starting rotation, Kruse said. Carlson will get the ball Friday against the Michigan Monarchs, while Atkins is slated to start on Sunday.

Mat-Su will serve opponents lefties in back-to-back starts to open the 2009 season. Western Oklahoma State Junior College standout Danny Almonte is Mat-Su’s opening day starter.

Almonte helped WOSC advance to the NJCAA Division II World Series by finishing 9-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 13 starts. Almonte also fanned 73 hitters in 55.2 innings.

The dual threat also hit a team-high .472, smacked 18 home runs and drove in 76 runs at the plate. Needless to say, Almonte will be hitting for himself when he makes his starts.

Lefty David Stilley, a Washington State sophomore, will start Thursday against the Panners, Kruse said. Stilley made 18 appearances and nine starts during his second season in Pullman. He was 3-3 with a 4.63 ERA and better than 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Kruse said Almonte and Stilley could likely be staples in the Mat-Su rotation this summer and the remainder of the spots are still be up for grabs.

“It’s a trial run to see what they can do,” the pitching coach said.

Texas A&M freshman Estevan Uriegas and Lubbock Christian junior R.L. Eisenbach join Almonte and Stilley as left-handers on the Mat-Su staff.

“That’s one of our strengths,” Kruse said. “Left-handed pitching.”

Eisenbach was a Division II workhorse at Lubbock Christian. He finished 12-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 15 starts. Eisenbach also posted 116 strikeouts in 88 innings.

Uriegas, who worked 18 appearances in relief as a freshman in the Big 12 Conference, brings something different to the mound, Kruse said.

“He’s a little guy, deceptive,” Kruse said. “He changes arm angles, can throw the breaking ball at any time.”

Rounding out the staff are Arkansas junior Sam Murphy, Indiana sophomore Matt Carr, Harvard freshman Connor Hulse, Centenary sophomore Justin Kraft, Cincinnati sophomore Dan Jensen and St. John’s junior Ryan Cole.

Cole led his team with five saves as a junior. Kraft saved two games at Centenary.

“I’m excited about what this group could potentially do,” Kruse said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can get the job done, and that’s the bottom line.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.