2021 Frontier League Draft: 35 players selected / 35 presentations
Yesterday, May 11, was held the 2021 Frontier League Draft at Mercy Health Stadium, home of the Crushers in Lake Erie. 35 players were selected:
First Round
- Quebec: LHP Nick Horvath
- Washington: LHP Ryan Hennen
- Gateway: RHP Jared Wright
- Joliet: 2B Lane Baremore
- Windy City: INF Manuel Blanco
- New York: LHP Dario Polanco
- Schaumburg: RHP Ryan Middendorf
- Sussex County: RHP Gavin Sonnier
- Tri-City: RHP Zaquiel Puentes
- Southern Illinois: RHP Kaleb Schmidt
- Gateway: INF Abdiel Alicea Diaz
- New Jersey: C/P Colin Butkiewicz
- Evansville: 2B Trent Nash
- Sussex County: RHP Baylor Sundahl
Second Round
- Quebec: C Jorge Gutierrez
- Washington: OF Jordan Anderson
- Joliet: C Tyler Blaum
- Windy City: INF Peyton Barnes
- New York: C Miguel Molina
- New Jersey: LHP Jake Allen
- Tri-City: RHP Raibel Custodio
- Southern Illinois: C Fernando Villegas
- Lake Erie: RHP Aaron Glickstein
- Florence: RHP Ean Walda
- Evansville: RHP Jake Woods
Third Round
- Québec: OF Dane Tofteland
- Schaumburg: LHP Jesse Remington
- Tri-City: SS Brendon Dadson
- Southern Illinois: RHP Wes Noble
- Lake Erie: C John Tuttle
- Florence: C Colton Parrish
- Evansville: C Joe Sullivan
- Lake Erie: RHP Tyler Vogel
- Evansville: LHP Tristan Baker
- Evansville: SS Cristopher Pujols
Catchers: 8
Left-Handed Pitchers: 6
Right-Handed Pitchers: 12
Infielders: 7
Outfielders: 2
300 players were present to showcase their skills in the tryouts on Monday and 152 were invited back the next day to give the scouts and teams another look.
Below are presentations of the players selected with some info about them. Please remember that some of them have been inactive since the 2019 season and some have converted to another position and the amount of data is scarce. Others have also been working out a lot, refining their tools and the tryouts were the place to put them in the spotlight. Not being on the site means I don’t have these inputs, so please bear with me, as we’re all rooting for these players to take the next step in their respective careers and they were selected for a good reason.
My goal here is to paint an overall picture of what they bring to the table and to be able to add to it during the season. Let’s have fun with this. If there is something wrong in one of the reports, take a deep breath, relax and contact me (social media pages or frontierleaguejournal@gmail.com) so I can add or subtract from the reports.
Winning Teams?
There are too much unknowns for me to declare some teams winners, but I’ll give out some honorable mentions to:
- Québec: addressed some critical needs and there is certainly intriguing upside to all three selections. Nick Horvath is the best pick of the three, giving them another arm for the rotation.
- Windy City: I was not completely sold on their selections in the Dispersal Draft, but they really did well this time, in my opinion. Manager Brian Smith loves middle infielders and he has potentially two more good options for the roster. Well done.
- Schaumburg: While looking through teams these past few weeks, the Boomers rotation constantly came out as a bit uncertain entering 2021, but they selected two potential rotation piece to complement the current pitching staff. I’m really into strong rotations to compete for a championship and they upgraded in the last 24 hours, no doubt about it.
Équipe Québec
Nick Horvath (LHP)
The first overall selection was in the Baltimore Orioles organization in 2018–19 as a hitter and handled the challenge, but without making waves (.211/.318/.340). He’ll be counted on to fill a rotation spot, an area where Québec was hoping to improve before the season begins. He has good control of the strike zone, good velocity, keeps the ball on the ground and can get hitters out at the plate.
“We like his resume,” noted Québec manager Patrick Scalabrini. “He’s a good left-handed pitcher, with good velocity. He also addresses a team need for us. Overall, he’s a good-looking kid.”
Jorge Gutierrez (C)
A switch-hitter from Texas and he provides another option for his manager when you consider he has ‘only’ two catchers going into camp: Ruben Castro and Cole Warken.
Dane Tofteland (OF)
Rated third on Baseball America’s list of top prospects in the Great Lakes summer college league in 2016 and he hits from the right side. He has a good eye at the plate, but his contact / power skills have not shown yet in competition. The 24-year-old will battle for a spot in the outfield with Jhalan Jackson, Jack Barrie, Riley Pittman and LP Pelletier.
Washington Wild Things
Here is what new manager Tom Vaeth had to say to the Observer-Reporter after the Draft:
“We look forward to both of these guys coming into camp and competing for a spot”. “Jordan is a strong, athletic outfielder who provides depth, and Ryan gives us another left-handed pitcher who showed ability to command the strike zone.”
Ryan Hennen (LHP)
Not much can be found on the 23-year-old, so here is the info from his University of North Carolina Greenboro:
Was named the 2016 NJCAA DIII National Pitcher of the Year as well as being named a 2017 Third Team Academic All-American … appeared in 12 games, making nine starts with a perfect 7–0 record and a 1.80 ERA in 65.0 innings pitched with 71 strikeouts, an average of 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in his sophomore season
Earned three letters for Cold Spring High School and was a two-time All-Central Lakes Conference selection, two-time All-Area honoree and selected as the All-Area Player of the Year … was a Minnesota All-Star participant and started seven games as a senior, going 6–1 with a 1.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 39 innings … went 8–0 with 0.79 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 52.2 innings pitched in his junior season … as a sophomore, he made three starts with a 2–1 record and a 1.80 ERA.
Jordan Anderson (OF)
Vaeth was not kidding when he mentioned his athleticism. I always love when players like this 27-year-old right-handed batter find a way to make it work and click in the right environment. His Perfect Game profile in 2017 is satisfying:
Jordan Anderson is a 2017 OF with a 6–2 190 lb. frame from Madison, AL who attends James Clemens HS. Very athletic build, long and lean with lots of room to get stronger, really projects physically. Outstanding runner, 6.25 in the sixty. Shows lots of arm strength in the outfield, can improve footwork for a quicker release, makes accurate throws with carry. Right handed hitter, hits from a wide base with a short stride, short swing with tight hands, upper half dominant swing, can get extended better when he learns to use his lower half, does keep things simple and handles the barrel well. High ceiling athlete who will keep improving with repetitions and physical maturity. Good student. Selected for the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Gateway Grizzlies
Jared Wright (RHP)
I was not able to find anything on him.
Abdeil Alicia Diaz (INF)
I was not able to find anything on him.
Joliet Slammers
Lane Baremore (2B)
A 6–3, 175 lbs right-handed batter that used to be a switch-hitter. He has refined a lot of his skills since then, but this 2015 report on him is interesting in some aspects of his game:
Baremore is a tall and lanky 2018 SS whose hard working approach and coach-ability will help him get the most from his abilities which project well. A switch hitter, Lane showed above average ability from the right side with quality balance and an activated load with rhythm. From the left side Lane needs to match the rhythm that he finds from the right side in his launch complex and stay looser throughout his swing. From both sides, developing a shorter bat path to contact by attacking the inside part of the baseball will benefit Baremore. As a SS, Lane attacked the ball well and worked from the ground up properly while working through the ball and showed a quick exchange. Commitment to a strength and conditioning program and an arm strengthening routine will be the key to Lane’s future success.
Tyler Blaum (Catcher)
What did I write, yesterday, about the Joliet Slammers and what they’d look for in the Draft? Exactly! I’m very interested in this right-handed batter from the Virginia-Wise Cavalier. Look at his offensive stats in the NCAA (5 seasons): .330/.395/.454. If he can handle the catching duties, he could be a nice backup / pinch hitter / 1B behind Brian Parreira.
Windy City Thunderbolts
Manuel Blanco (INF)
Very interesting offensive upside for this middle infielder, but I’m not sure he’ll stick at SS, having had a hard time with errors at the Florida National University. He seems to have good speed and feel on the bases, having been caught stealing only three times in 27 attempts. Not much info on him, but I very much like the upside and the team taking a flyer on him. Let’s see what he does in camp.
Look at the numbers at the plate, good find by the team:
Peyton Barnes (INF)
As we talked about with manager Brian Smith in our video interview, he LOVES to select and work with middle infielders and then deploy them all over the field. Another good contact guy / good runner with an intriguing potential. From his 2021 Wayne State Wildcats page:
2021: Played in 33 games with 32 starts at second base, batting .315 with four home runs and 21 RBI…led team in assists with 83 and ranked third on the team in batting average, hits (34) and stolen bases (10 for 11)…tied for second on the team with 10 multi-hit games…was 2–3 and a career-high seven RBI with a grand slam and three run homer vs. Minot State (3/30/21)…went 2–4 with two doubles and three RBI at Emporia State (3/3/21)…was 3–3 with a homer, two RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored at Minnesota Duluth (4/10/21)…also had a three hit game (3–4) with two RBI at Sioux Falls (4/17/21).
New York Boulders
Dario Polanco (LHP)
(Edit: info from Reed Keller, Media Relations — New Jersey Jackals. Thanks man!) He was with the Jackals last year in the All-American Baseball Challenge. If I remember correctly, he came out of the bullpen a few times earlier in the campaign and attended Alderson Broaddus University. Not a ton of stats listed from his time there, but it paints a bit of a picture.
Miguel Molina (Catcher)
A 24-year-old right-handed batter from Venezuela, signed by the San Diego Padres in 2017. Did not impress with the bat in the small sample available (.255/.327/.367), but did retire 33% of would-be stealers. That’s where he might have impressed in the tryouts and could be an option as a backup, but just speculating.
Schaumburg Boomers
Ryan Middendorf (RHP)
There is a LOT to like with this 23-year-old starting pitcher. He has a huge pitcher’s frame at 6–6, 215 lbs and has always been able to limit walks and home runs allowed, which is always a skill that managers look for. The Boomers had a need in the starting rotation and they might have stumbled upon a great option for 2021. We learn a lot more from the Post-Bulletin in 2019:
Middendorf is a classic four-pitch starter — fastball, curve, slider and change-up. He touched 92 on the radar gun at Mayo Field a few times this summer, but he says his fastball is usually in the 87–89 mph range.
That’s not overpowering, yet somehow he’s been one of the most dominant pitchers in the league this summer.
“My command has been good here,” he said. “I’ve had all four of my pitches going, and I’ve been able to work inside and outside with all four pitches.”
Jesse Remington (LHP)
How about going 2-for-2 with starting pitchers who can hold their own and maybe even prosper in the Frontier League? Remington fits the same need as Middendorf and he held his own in the Pecos League in the 2018, always a though environment for pitchers. He’s got to work on keeping the batters off base and the ball in the park, but pitching coach Connor Reed might be the guy to get him on the right track.
He seems to work really hard at his craft and truly appreciate his determination in the face of adversity. Look at what I found on the Black Sox site, a barnstorming club from January to June:
This is a good one. Remington showed up in Spring Training and was told by PAC teams to go and build innings as a starter. He went to the Pecos and built, with 2 different teams in 2017.
No one bit. He went back to the midwest where we set him up with workouts for the Gary Southshore Railcats and the Southern Illinois Miners. He ended up signing with SI and finishing the season, invited back for Spring Training in 2018. When he didn’t make the team, he went back to the Pecos and did better than ’17. 5–5 Record in 73 innings, 69 strikeouts and 13 starts, continuing to build and prove he’s a strike thrower and durable and worthy of a higher look.
Sussex County Miners
Gavin Sonnier (RHP)
The 23-year-old could be an option for a relief role in 2021, but I’ll wait and see what he does in camp, because not much info is available and the stats offer a very small sample, so to rely on them would be lying to you. At 6–3, 190 lbs, the Miners might have seen something encouraging in the tryouts and they were right to take a flyer on him.
Baylor Sundahl (RHP)
The 25-year-old played with Sussex County in the All-American Baseball Challenge in 2020, started four of the seven games he was involved in and was a bit erratic with a 1.71 WHIP. The following report dates from 2015, so take it with a grain of salt, but it shows already a couple of interesting fact about his velocity and fastball action:
Baylor Sundahl is a 2015 RHP/OF/MIF with a 6–1 168 lb. frame from Maryville, TN who attends Canterbury HS. Slender athletic build, plenty of room to get stronger. Works from the stretch, compact power arm action, tight 3/4’s arm slot, will get his front side open early and miss up arm side. Steady 86–88 mph fastball, occasionally straight but developed big run and sink as he settled in and worked down in the zone, ball gets on hitters quickly. Flashed curveball spin but tends to drop elbow and get under this pitch. Developing off-speed pitches will be key to his development. Right handed hitter with a very spread stance, upper half rotational swing. Showed his arm strength from the outfield in drills.
Tri-City ValleyCats
Zaquiel Puentes (RHP)
The 20-year-old was signed out of Venezuela in 2018 by the Miami Marlins, but allowed as much walks as he struck out batters in two seasons with the organization.
Raibel Custodio (RHP)
He was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but was walking too much batters. Could not find anything about his arsenal.
Brendon Dadson (SS)
A left-handed batter from Ontario, Canada, who played in Germany last season. I really like this pick, good upside and why not give him a chance to shine after he worked hard to add body strength. Very good article on him can be found here:
Brendon Dadson, a Welland Jackfish first baseman on this side of the pond, enjoyed the most productive season of his baseball career, putting up eye-popping numbers in Germany’s elite league.
He hit five home runs, drove in 20 runs while compiling a .581 batting average, .667 on-base percentage — and a 1.29 slugging percentage — in 43 plate appearances in 10 of the team’s 14-regular-season games.
While the 16-team league isn’t expected to release final stats until later this month, Dadson believes he’s in the running to top the loop in many of those categories.
……
Dadson likened pitching in the German’s top league as a notch below the IBL. German-born pitchers, who are required to start the opening games of seven-inning doubleheaders, throw in the low- to mid-80s while those on the national team can top out in the low 90s.
Imports also throw fastballs in the low to mid-90s.
“When they bring in the import players, they know how to pitch. They’re in their late 20s and they’ve played baseball for quite a while,” he said. “They might not have the same velocity, but they’re just good pitchers.”
Ballparks are similar in size to those in the IBL, including Welland Stadium. Foul lines are about 320 feet, rather than 330, “but they were pretty similar.”
“All my home runs would have been gone out anywhere but maybe in Berlin. They had a short left field, which is the opposite field for me,” Dadson said.
Southern Illinois Miners
Kaleb Schmidt (RHP)
I don’t feel comfortable commenting, since two players found fit his name and I obviously don’t want to get them mixed up.
Fernando Villegas (Catcher)
Again, two players could fit the profile and the one most likely to be him was an outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, where manager Mike Pinto’s pitching coach was before he went to Southern Illinois. If that’s him, here’s what Pirates Prospect wrote about him in 2018:
The Pirates gave him a tryout in Monterrey, Mexico, where he went through running drills, fielding, live batting practice and strength tests. His signing scout was Roberto Saucedo, who first scouted him in 2015 during a Pan-Am tournament. Since then, Villegas has participated in the Mexican league academy, where he hit .333 in 52 games, with a league leading 25 doubles in 2016. In 2017, he went to Spring Training with Saltillo, then played 43 games in the minor league version of Mexican baseball. That’s usually the next step after players graduate from the academy.
Wes Noble (RHP)
A soon-to-be 25-year-old who was in the Detroit Tigers organization, acting as a starter 5 out of his 22 games out. He is not dominant on the mound, but won’t hurt himself or the team with unnecessary walks or home runs. Here what was said about him when he signed as a free agent with the Tigers in 2018:
Noble, a right-handed pitcher from Lebanon, Ohio, made 14 starts during his senior campaign, compiling a 7–7 record with a 5.42 ERA. He racked up a career-high 67 strikeouts in 2018, allowing just 25 walks for a personal best 2.68 K/BB ratio.
Noble excelled in Big South Conference games this past season, going 5–2 with a 3.21 ERA. His best performance of the year came on Sunday, May 13, as Noble tossed his first career complete-game shutout in a 5–0 win over the Winthrop Eagles that clinched a regular season conference title for Campbell.
In four seasons with the Camels, Noble finished his collegiate career with 180 strikeouts across 198.1 innings pitched. His 180 K’s rank 10th in Campbell’s Division I history, while his 8.17 strikeouts per nine innings are the seventh-best for CU since 1978.
New Jersey Jackals
Colin Butkiewicz (C/P)
He has only 3 IP in summer leagues, but is listed as a catcher and pitcher in the draft, so there’s obviously info missing about him on my end. Defensively, he retired only 17% of would-be stealers in those same summer leagues, but was holding his own as a switch-hitting batter, especially in the Prospect League in 2018 where his power showed up, adding to his already contact/plate discipline skills. Jason Agresti and Austin Biggar are ahead of him in the catcher depth for the Jackals at this point, but maybe he has developped as a pitcher since 2017. Let’s see what happens in camp.
Jake Allen (LHP)
Another player I don’t feel comfortable analyzing, since two players fit the profile and the info are not recent. Sorry about that.
Evansville Otters
Trent Nash (2B)
Very little info on him, but must have impressed the Otters to take a chance on him when you consider their current infield options.
Jake Woods (RHP)
There’s a lot to like in this 22-year-old arm: he misses bats and doesn’t allow a ton of walks. I could see him being a potential surprise in camp and get some high leverage innings under the tutelage of Pitching Coach Max Peterson.
Joe Sullivan (Catcher)
Not a bad selection, even though he’ll be the fourth catcher in camp. He can make contact, get on base and has power…. at Lasell University. Let’s be honest here, he’ll have to show that he can hit higher-level pitching, but he has a good foundation and his left-handed bat could be moved around the field if he is versatile.
Tristan Baker (LHP)
Very little info on him, but he was already throwing 89 mph in 2015 at the age of 18, so a lot has happened since then and he clearly caught the eyes of some baseball people during tryouts. From what I can gather, he would be an arm out of the bullpen if he breaks camp with the team.
Cristopher Pujols (SS)
A right-handed batter out of the Mets organization, signed in 2016 at 18 years old. He never made it out of Rookie ball and has a career .263 average. Another infielder added to the mix in camp. The competition on that field will be intense!
Lake Erie Crushers
Aaron Glickstein (RHP)
A relief pitcher who had one of his best seasons in 2018 when he… was a starter. Wonder if the Crushers are considering him for a role in the rotation? He has already had Tommy John surgery earlier in his career, so that’s a factor to consider, on top of never having thrown more than 44 innings in a season.
John Tuttle (Catcher)
I have no information on him that’s not older than 2014. He was a 6-foot, 170 lbs right-handed batter with an athletic frame at that time.
Tyler Vogel (RHP)
He played with Washington in 2020 in pod play and there seems to be something electric with his arm, but control has definitely been an issue, on top of allowing the long ball. Oh, did I mention he’s a mountain of man at 6–8, 255 lbs??!! If he makes the roster out of camp, he could be the first pitcher to make pitcher’s interference with the batter! Would love to know what his velocity / arsenal are.
Edit: I reached out to Tyler Vogel after posting a funny (at least I think) story on Instagram and he tells me his arsenal: 4-seam fastball (sits in the upper 80s, low 90s), change up and a slider.
Florence Y’alls
Ean Walda (RHP)
Very little can be found, other than he’ll turn 26 during the season and has a 6–3, 215 lbs frame.
Edit: Chad Rhoades, the Florence Pitching Strategist, sent me this:
Walda has a simple, repeatable delivery and a competitive mindset. Three pitches: four-seam, slurve with more depth than slide and a changeup he sells with good handspeed. He needs to stay on the attack, but keep his excitability in check to allow his pitches to play. I have seen him pitch with the Blacksox and tracked his progression over the last few months. Late developer to ‘pitching’, but he can throw.
Colton Parrish (Catcher)
A 24-year-old left-handed batter that has great plate discipline.He’ll be the fifth catcher in camp, so there’s also a possibility that he could get reps at 1B and in the corner outfield if his bat produces. Keep an eye on him.
