PaddleHeads 2023 Opening Day Roster Released
Missoula Opens 2023 Pioneer League Season Tuesday
Missoula, MT- The 2023 Pioneer League season is upon us and the Missoula PaddleHeads Professional Baseball Club is gearing up for another regular season grind. Missoula will look to continue to be one of the league's top teams after finishing with the highest winning percentage (.724) of any franchise in all of professional baseball in 2022. The PaddleHeads have also claimed the Pioneer League Northern Division crown in each of the last 2 seasons. After falling just shy of its second consecutive league title last season, the PaddleHeads also have added motivation to get back to the top of the mountain in 2023. Thanks to a roster filled with talented returning players, and promising newcomers, the PaddleHeads look to be primed for another strong season.
The PaddleHeads came away with a league-high 69 regular season wins during the 2022 regular season. Clearly the PaddleHeads were not looking to reinvent the wheel when constructing the 2023 roster as 14 returnees from last season's club occupy this season's roster. Highlighted by 2021 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year Mark Simon, and 2022 League MVP Jayson Newman, Missoula's roster features a group that has proven to have a winning formula. It also is a roster that is battle tested as 22 players come in with previous experience in professional baseball. Opening Day may always provide a feeling of optimism in the baseball world. However, fans of the game of baseball in the Garden City may have an added feeling of excitement when taking an in-depth look at the 2023 roster.
PITCHERS:
#41 Karl Blum
Height/Weight: 6'5 220
Birthdate: 06-16-1996
Hometown: Toms River, NJ
BIO: Blum will make his debut in the Garden City this season. Blum made a brief appearance in professional baseball last season appearing with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. In previous seasons, Blum also pitched with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League. Prior to his time in professional baseball, the New Jersey native pitched at the Division I level at Rutgers, and Duke respectively.
#37 Austin Dill
Height/Weight: 6'0 170
Birthdate: 01-16-1999
Hometown: Sikeston, MO
BIO: Dill will look to make his mark in the Pioneer League as a rookie with the PaddleHeads in 2023. The 24-year-old completed a 4 season career last spring at Evangel University. The Missouri native appeared in 59 games (34 starts) in his time with the Valor posting a 4.31 career ERA in 232 innings pitched.
#23 Liu Fuenmayor
Height/Weight: 5'11 170
Birthdate: 02-02-1999
Hometown: Guigue, Venezuela
BIO: Fuenmayor returns to the Garden City after spending the last 5 seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks system. The native of Venezuela posted strong numbers with the Osprey during the 2019 season finishing with a 2.50 ERA in 15 appearances. In Fuenmayor's time with the Diamondback organization, the bullpen specialist finished with 3.47 ERA over the course of 121 innings pitched.
#27 John LaRossa
Height/Weight:6-1 205
Birthdate: 02-24-1995
Hometown: N. Massequa, NY
BIO: LaRossa returns to the PaddleHeads for his 2nd season with the team. The 4-year professional appeared in 15 games last season in Missoula before having his season cut short due to injury. The former Brewers farmhand finished with 32 strikeouts in 21 ⅓ innings pitched with the PaddleHeads last season.
#45 Zach Penrod
Height/Weight: 6-2 220
Birthdate: 06-16-1997
Hometown: Nampa, ID
BIO: The former Rangers farmhand has spent the last 2 seasons pitching in the Pioneer League with 2 separate clubs. Penrod made 15 starts in 2021 with the Southern Division Champion Boise Hawks before he was traded to the Billings Mustangs for the postseason push late last season. The Idaho native struck out 105 batters over 90 ⅔ in his time with Billings, and Boise respectively.
#43 Kelvan Pilot
Height/Weight: 6-6 195
Birthdate: 12-31-1993
Hometown: Roseville, CA
BIO: Another pitcher with experience in the Pioneer League can be found in Pilot having spent the past 2 seasons with the Billings Mustangs. The Northern California native was one of the top starting pitchers for Billings last season finishing 7-5 with a 4.96 ERA as the Mustangs' 2022 Opening Day starter. Pilot holds a career 14-8 record in professional baseball with a 5.32 ERA over 132 innings.
#40 Arman Sabouri
Height/Weight: 5-10 200
Birthdate: 06-28-98
Hometown: Santa Clara, CA
BIO: The Bay Area product will look to find success in his first season with the PaddleHeads after spending 2 seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. The South Bay native enjoyed his best season professionally with the Rocky Mountain Vibes in 2019 finishing with a 4.62 ERA in 21 appearances. Prior to his time in professional baseball, Sabouri held a 3.76 career ERA in 65 appearances (17 starts) at the University of California.
#11 Conner Schultz
Height/Weight: 6-4 225
Birthdate: 02-23-1999
Hometown: Allentown, PA
Bio: Schultz returns to Missoula after beginning his professional career with the PaddleHeads last season. The Pennsylvania native made the bulk of his impact in the starting rotation making 6 starts (8 total appearances). Schultz also appeared at Iowa, and Butler at the collegiate level before joining the PaddleHeads.
#10 Austen Seidel
Height/Weight: 6-3 235
Birthdate: 03-10-1998
Hometown: New Braunfels, TX
Bio: Seidel returns to the PaddleHeads for his 2nd season. After being added to the roster on July 8, Seidel was one of Missoula's top starting pitchers finishing with a 7-2 record and a 4.43 ERA in 10 starts. The Texas native pitched into at least the 5th inning in 9 of his last 10 starts in Missoula last season.
#7 Mark Simon
Height/Weight: 6-0 185
Birthdate: 08-04-1995
Hometown: Houston, TX
Bio: The 2021 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year returns to Missoula for a 3rd season of action. After spending a portion of last season in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, Simon had solid numbers in his return to Missoula posting a 2.82 ERA in 22 ⅓ innings. Simon holds a 2.91 career ERA with the PaddleHeads in 95 innings pitched to go along with 132 strikeouts.
#18 Mitch Sparks
Height/Weight: 6-2 190
Birthdate: 11-11-1996
Hometown: Willis, TX
Bio: Sparks provided the PaddleHeads pitching staff with a boost last season down the stretch making 7 starts in his first season with the team. The Texas native was also called upon in the postseason appearing as the starter in Game 2 of the Pioneer League Championship Series.
#28 Cody Thompson
Height/Weight: 6-3 200
Birthdate: 05-28-1996
Hometown: Mechanicsville, VA
Bio: One of Missoula's most reliable relievers returns for his second season with the PaddleHeads in 2023. Thompson held a 3.23 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 37 bullpen appearances a season ago. The Virginia native also spent time with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League prior to his time in Missoula.
#26 Mark Timmins
Height/Weight: 6-3 205
Birthdate: 05-12-1998
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Bio: Timmins will look to once again be one a reliable option in Missoula's starting rotation after making his debut as a professional with the PaddleHeads last season. The Nebraska native posted a 5-4 record in 17 starts last season to go along with a 5.98 ERA. Prior to his time in Missoula, Timmins' pitched at the Division I level at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Height/Weight: 6-0 220
Birthdate: 09-03-1997
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Bio: Villa enjoyed a strong season in his first year in professional baseball last season pitching with the Pioneer League Champion Grand Junction Rockies. The Arizona native held a 7-1 record with a 3.09 ERA in 19 games last season. Villa spent 3 seasons at Adams State University making 24 starts before his time in Grand Junction.
CATCHERS:
Height/Weight: 5-10 195
Birthdate:
Hometown:
Bio:The 5-Year professional will look to be a stable presence behind the plate in his first season in the Garden City. After graduating from Pepperdine, Bernard was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2017. The Southern California native played in over 200 games in the Rockies system from 2017-2022.
#13 Kevin Elefante
Height/Weight: 6-0 200
Birthdate: 12-01-1994
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Bio: Elefante will look to set down roots with the PaddleHeads this season after appearing with 2 separate teams in the Pioneer League last season. The North Carolina native appeared in a total of 24 games playing with both the Idaho Falls Chukars and Ogden Raptors last season.
INFIELDERS:
Height/Weight: 5-7 165
Birthdate: 06-15-1995
Hometown: Everett, WA
Bio: Chung will look to once again be a sparkplug in the Garden City after a successful 2022 campaign in Missoula. The Washington native posted an astounding .390 batting average in 33 games with the PaddleHeads. Chung also spent time with the Idaho Falls Chukars last season before being acquired by Missoula. Chung appeared at Gonzaga, and Western Oregon in the collegiate ranks.
#17 Jake Guenther
Height/Weight: 6-4 230
Birthdate: 05-16-1997
Hometown: Oshkosh, WI
Bio: Guenther was a 7th-round selection in the 2019 June Amature Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays out of Texas Christian University. This will be the Central Wisconsin Native's first season in the Pioneer League. Guenther posted a .262 batting average over 179 games played while in the Rays farm system. Guenther enjoyed his best collegiate season in 2019 at TCU posting a .345 average in 58 games played with the Horned Frogs.
#55 Jayson Newman
Height/Weight: 6-4 280
Birthdate: 08-20- 1997
Hometown: Northridge, CA
Bio: The 2022 Pioneer League MVP returns to Missoula for his third season with the team. Newman also set the Pioneer League record for home runs in a season (32) in 2022 while also adding 115 RBIs. Newman has a career .361 batting average in 110 games played with the PaddleHeads.
#30 McClain O'Conner
Height/Weight: 5-10 165
Birthdate: 07-05-1998
Hometown: Pioche, NV
Bio: O'Conner will look to solidify himself as one of the league's best infielders in his 3rd season with the PaddleHeads. The Nevada native signed in June of 2021 and immediately became one of Missoula's everyday starters. The UC Santa Barbara product holds a .302 career average with the PaddleHeads in 123 games played.
#22 Cameron Thompson
Height/Weight: 5-11 190
Birthdate: 10-14-1997
Hometown: Pasadena, TX
Bio: One of the Pioneer League's best overall players returns to the Garden City as Thompson enters the fray for his 3rd season of action. The Texas native was the only player on the roster to appear in all 95 games that the team played as a fixture at 3rd base. Thompson has been very consistent offensively over 2 seasons as well compiling a career .336 batting average in 179 games.
Height/Weight: 6-3 175
Birthdate: 02-25-1998
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Bio: Willman solidified himself as the everyday starter at shortstop in his rookie season with the PaddleHeads in 2022. The Central California native finished with a .336 average in 68 games played last season. Willman also spent time at Kansas State and New Mexico.
OUTFIELDERS:[Text Wrapping Break]
#8 Jared Akins
Height/Weight: 6-3 220
Birthdate: 11-12-1996
Hometown: Altadena, CA
Bio: Akins has spent the last 2 seasons playing in Missoula after spending time in the Minnesota Twins organization. The former Fresno State Bulldog enjoyed a solid season in 2022 posting a .310 average in over 60 games with the PaddleHeads.
Height/Weight: 6-0 185
Birthdate: 05-31-1997
Hometown: Silverthorne, CO
Bio: DeBonville will look to continue to be a solid offensive weapon in the Pioneer League in his first season with the PaddleHeads. The Colorado native spent most of the last 2 seasons with the Idaho Falls Chukars posting a .336 batting average in 100 games played over that span. DeBonville also played in 36 games with the Schaumberg Boomers of the Frontier League last season.
#16 Keaton Greenwalt
Height/Weight: 6-3 175
Birthdate: 11-23-1997
Hometown: Clovis, NM
Bio: The Former Phillies farmhand is back in Centerfield for his second season with the PaddleHeads. Greenwalt combined his defensive prowess with a solid offensive effort last season posting a .305 batting average in 89 games played. Only Thompson appeared in more games last season for the PaddleHeads than Greenwalt.
