Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - Eleven Virginia Tech players will report to MLB spring training. Here's a look back at last seasons and their journey to spring training.
Peyton Alford
Alford will be competing in the Cactus League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the Seattle Mariners in Peoria, Arizona. Alford spent all of last season in AA with the Arkansas Travelers. Alford appeared in 43 games posting a 8-2 record with 57.1 innings pitched, 2.20 ERA, 63 strikeouts, and seven saves.
Zach Brzykcy
Brzykcy will be competing in the Grapefruit League with the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, Florida. Brzykcy last season worked his way up through four levels of the minors to eventually making Washington’s official roster. With the Nationals, Brzykcy appeared in six games posting 5.2 innings pitched and posting four strikeouts.
Kerry Carpenter
Carpenter will be competing in the Grapefruit League with the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida. In his third season with Detroit, Carpenter appeared in 87 games posting a .284 batting average, .932 OPS, 75 hits, 18 home runs, 37 runs, 57 RBIs, and 22 walks.
Gavin Cross
Cross will be competing in the Cactus League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the Kansas City Royals in Surprise, Arizona. Cross spent all of last season in AA with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Cross appeared in 101 games posting a .261 batting average, .770 OPS, 100 hits, 15 home runs, 54 runs, 59 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, and 45 walks.
Nic Enright
Enright will be competing in the Cactus League with the Cleveland Guardians in Goodyear, Arizona. Enright was called up to the official roster this offseason after spending all of last year in AAA. Last season with the Columbus Clippers, Enright appeared in 16 games posting a 2-1 record with 17.0 innings pitched, 1.06 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and three saves.
Jesse Hahn
Hahn will be competing in the Cactus League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the Seattle Mariners in Peoria, Arizona. Hahn spent last season in AAA with two different teams- Oklahoma City Baseball Club and Tacoma Rainiers. Hahn appeared in 35 games with the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, and appeared in eight games with Tacoma Rainiers. In the 43 total games, Hahn posted a 5-1 record with 50.1 innings pitched, 4.29 ERA, 54 strikeouts, and one save.
Joe Mantiply
Mantiply will be competing in the Cactus League with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Arizona. In his seventh season in the majors and fifth season with Arizona, Mantiply appeared in 75 games posting a 6-2 record with 59.2 innings pitched, 3.92 ERA, 53 strikeouts, and one save.
T.J. Rumfield
Rumfield will be competing in the Grapefruit League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the New York Yankees in Tampa, Florida. Last season, Rumfield started off in AA with the Somerset Patriots before moving up to AAA with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Seymour appeared in eight games in AA and 114 games in AAA. With the RailRiders Rumfield posted a .292 batting average, .826 OPS, 123 hits, 15 home runs, 72 runs, 71 RBIs, three stolen bases, and 43 walks. Rumfield participated in the Dominican Winter League this winter with the Toros del Este.
Ian Seymour
Seymour will be competing in the Grapefruit League with the Tampa Bay Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida. Seymour was called up to the official roster this offseason after spending all of last year in the minors. Last season, Seymour started off in AA with Montgomery Biscuits before moving up to AAA with Durham Bulls. Seymour started in 17 games in AA and 10 games in AAA. Enright started in 27 games posting a 9-4 record with 145.1 innings pitched, 2.35 ERA, 162 strikeouts, and 0.95 WHIP.
Anthony Simonelli
Simonelli will be competing in the Cactus League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the Kansas City Royals in Surprise, Arizona. Last season, Simonelli started off in AA with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals before moving up to AAA with the Omaha Storm Chasers. Simonelli appeared in 33 games in AA and 10 games in AAA. In the 43 total games, Simonelli posted a 5-3 record with 73.2 innings pitched, 2.93 ERA, 87 strikeouts, and three saves. After the season, Simonelli participated in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros where he appeared in eight games posting a 0.00 ERA in 8.0 innings pitched.
Carson Taylor
Taylor will be competing in the Grapefruit League as a Non-Roster Invitee with the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Florida. Taylor spent most of last season in AA with the Reading Fightin Phils before moving up to AAA with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Taylor appeared in 109 games in AA posting a .277 average, .854 OPS, 103 hits, 16 home runs, 53 runs, 75 RBIs, five stolen bases, and 67 walks. Taylor appeared in six games in AAA totaling a .316 batting average, .834 OPS, six hits, four runs, two RBIs, and six walks.