Championship celebrations to Fauxback uniforms: What to expect from the SeaWolves in 2024
One of the pillars of the Erie SeaWolves' 2023 championship season was a strong pitching staff.
The case could be made that the Erie pitching staff improved in the offseason despite losing several players to Triple-A Toledo.
“Not to repeat what I said last year but I think this year's staff is better than last year's staff,” said third-year manager Gabe Alvarez. “I'm very happy with what we have. We have some big, big arms both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. It was a long spring training and these guys are raring to go.”
More: SeaWolves win their sixth straight season opener. How did they get the road win?
The starting rotation begins with Lael Lockhart, who played a big role in the SeaWolves winning the Eastern League championship last year. Lockhart dominated Opening Day on Friday at Harrisburg to help the SeaWolves start the season with a win by debuting his new splitter with 4⅓ scoreless innings.
Next up is Ty Madden, the No. 5 prospect for the Tigers according to MLB.com and Jackson Jobe, the No. 3 prospect. Madden struck out five in four shutout innings on Saturday as the SeaWolves earned their second win before Jobe was tagged with a tough-luck loss as he allowed three unearned runs in 2⅓ innings in a 5-1 loss.
“It's an awesome group and it's great to be around these guys and see how they throw and what they throw,” Lockhart said. “It's great to see what they do in the weight room and what they do with recovery and everything that goes into pitching. All it does is help everyone in the rotation and in the bullpen to see what these guys do.”
Wilkel Hernandez was signed by the Angels in 1999 out of Venezuela and came to the Tigers along with Troy Montgomery for second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Hernandez gets the start on Tuesday for the SeaWolves' home opener before Troy Melton, the No. 11 prospect for Detroit, starts on Wednesday. Melton was Detroit's fourth-round pick in 2022 out of San Diego State.
The top three in the rotation and most of the bullpen have experience with the SeaWolves as 19 of the 28 players on the roster return to Erie.
“We have a lot of experience with guys who have been through the grind and guys that have been in high-pressure situations so I feel really good about this team,” Alvarez said.
The SeaWolves began the season by winning two-of-three in Harrisburg behind dominant pitching. In 26 innings, Erie pitchers allowed one earned run with six unearned runs scoring on three errors.
The Erie pitchers also broke a franchise record with the longest shutout inning streak to start the season by not allowing a run through 14⅔ innings. The previous record was 14⅓ innings set in 1995.
Former MLB players
The SeaWolves have Major League Baseball experience on the pitching staff and in the outfield this year. Relief pitcher Blair Calvo, 28, was drafted in 2019 out of Flagler College in the 23rd round by Colorado. In 2018, he pitched one year for the University of Pittsburgh with Harbor Creek grad Isaac Mattson.
Calvo reached the Rockies in 2023 and threw one scoreless inning before being designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for another player being promoted to the big leagues. Detroit jumped on the change and traded with the Rockies. The Tigers received Calvo for cash considerations.
The SeaWolves also have outfielder T.J. Hopkins to lean on. He is the only new outfielder on the roster for Erie this year.
Hopkins, 27, was a 9th-round pick in the 2019 draft by Cincinnati out of South Carolina. He spent the past few years climbing the minor league ladder and played 25 games for the Reds in 2023. He had seven hits and went through several moves in the offseason.
He was traded to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later and was later designated for assignment by the Giants. The Tigers claimed Hopkins off waivers and then also designated him for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Hopkins wasn't claimed and starts the season in Erie.
More: Defending Eastern League champion Erie SeaWolves return 19 players from last year's roster
Extending international reach
One of the new faces for the SeaWolves this season is infield prospect Hao-Yu Lee, a 21-year-old from New Taipei, Taiwan. Lee is the first player in SeaWolves history to come from Taiwan. Lee is the only infielder on the roster that didn't play for Erie last year. He came to the Tigers from the Phillies in a trade for Michael Lorenzen last year and spent the rest of the season in West Michigan.
There are 17 Taiwanese players that have reached the big leagues since Chin-Feng Chen broke through in 2002. C.C. Lee (2013-15) pitched 47 games for Cleveland and Yu-Cheng Chang (2019-22) was an infielder for the Guardians. The Pirates had several Taiwanese players including Wei-Chung Wang in 2019 and Chang in 2022.
Taiwan is the 17th foreign country to have a player suit up for the SeaWolves. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela lead the way with the most foreign-born players to play for the 'Wolves and one country was recently added as well. Ulrich Bojarski suited up for Erie in 2021 and 2022 as the first SeaWolves player from South Africa.
Championship giveaways
Fans will have plenty of chances to pick up championship gear this season as the SeaWolves celebrate the 2023 Eastern League championship. In addition to the championship items being sold in the team store, the SeaWolves have a list of giveaways scheduled this season.
It all begins Saturday as the first 1,000 fans received an Eastern League championship Howl Towel then on April, 26, the SeaWolves will give away an Eastern League champions trucker hat to the first 1,000 fans.
One day later, the SeaWolves will have an Eastern League champions flag for the first 1,000 fans and on June 8, the first 1,500 fans get a replica Eastern League championship ring.
The SeaWolves will have other giveaways all season including bobblehead nights of Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith.
Howl, yes! Erie's C. Wolf makes top minor league mascot list in USA TODAY's 10Best
Extended net
One of the biggest changes to the ballpark this season is an extension of the net that protects fans from foul balls and broken bats behind the plate. The net at UPMC Park has been extended to both bullpens to add more protection for fans.
“The installation is complete and went smoothly. It will impact the fan experience on multiple levels and the fact is when you have netting that is almost foul pole to foul pole it changes the way you operate,” said SeaWolves president Greg Coleman. “It makes tossing a ball into the stands after a third out tricky if not perilous but the fact is everything is outweighed by the safety. People come to the ballpark to have a good time and before it can be fun it has to be safe. We have to figure out a way to navigate and change the way we do things.”
The extended netting is a new standard put in by Major League Baseball and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, It was announced in December of 2022 that all fields would need to extend the protective net to each foul pole by the 2025 season. The SeaWolves and Erie Events moved forward one year earlier than required to avoid any last-minute problems and so fans can start getting used to watching through the net.
The net at UPMC Park goes from bullpen to bullpen as one of the exceptions from going all the way to the foul pole was “PDL Clubs are required to install netting from foul pole to foul pole unless the configuration of the ballpark makes such coverage unnecessary.”
Fans aren't allowed in the bullpens during games which means the bullpens didn't necessarily need to be covered by netting during games.
“We still have preserved access. There are openings in the netting that can be opened before the game and after the game, so you can still ask players for autographs and get fans on and off the field,” Coleman said. “We have had our kids autograph corner in the past and will continue to do so.”
The pregame autograph corner is one of several ways fans can get player autographs despite the new netting. The SeaWolves also have openings before the game along the first and third base lines that can be used as well.
Fauxback uniforms
The idea of a fauxback uniform is similar to throwback except it's a fake uniform from that franchise. The SeaWolves were founded in 1995, but the team is debuting a logo and uniform that would have likely been their logo if the team had been around between the 1930s and 1960s.
It's a common theme among minor league teams as it brings back a nostalgic and vintage look for teams that weren't around back then.
The SeaWolves will wear their new fauxback uniforms and hats every Sunday home game this season.
“We are working toward our Sunday games being as retro as we can,” Coleman said. “Whether that's oldies music and organ prompts. It's about taking the games back to the period of peanuts and cracker jacks. That's the objective to make things very vintage. The fauxback uniforms appeal to both ends of the spectrum with our more mature fans are going to appreciate the simplicity of the experience and our younger fans will appreciate the cool logo and the fun that goes along with it.”
More: Erie Times-News names SeaWolves manager Gabe Alvarez its 2023 Sportsman of the Year
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: What can Erie baseball fans expect from the SeaWolves in 2024?
