Eugene Emeralds players to watch as team is set to open 2024 season at PK Park
Though the sun will just be barely poking through the trees at PK Park this weekend, spring is now in full swing as the Eugene Emeralds return to open their season against the Tri-City Dust Devils for a three-game series starting Friday.
With a mostly new roster of prospects, the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants will be led by Emeralds first-year skipper Jeremiah Knackstedt, who served in the same role last season with the Low-A San Jose Giants.
"Coming in and knowing most of the guys, it's a really fun group of guys that play the game hard and play the game the right way," Knackstedt said. "They're always hustling, it's a really fun group to be with. They don't care about conditions or elements or who they're facing, they just go out and play hard."
Still in the midst of getting funding for a new stadium, and with the Oregon Ducks baseball team in the middle of their collegiate season, the Emeralds worked out a deal with local training facility Lydo's Lab to get work in at normal times.
While the situation is far from perfect, the Emeralds have made it work and are looking forward to a good season at PK Park for gamedays.
"The hope is to win it all and develop guys at the same time," Knackstedt said.
First pitch on Friday is at 7:05 p.m. at PK Park, while games on Saturday and Sunday start at 6:05 p.m.
Here are four players to watch this season.
Seth Corry, LHP
Once the top pitching prospect for the Giants pre-pandemic, Seth Corry has since struggled to find his groove after battling through injuries and control issues. A native of Highland, Utah, Corry was a third-round pick by the Giants in 2017, and had an 2.61 ERA over 38 innings pitched while in Rookie ball in Arizona in 2018.
Familiar with Oregon in his early career, the 25-year-old has had a stint in Salem, and will be opening the 2024 season with his fourth stint in Eugene.
Corry has a career 3.70 ERA in the minors over 308 2/3 innings pitched with 405 strikeouts and 196 walks.
Onil Perez, C
The Giants' 26th-ranked prospect by mlb.com, Onil Perez soared up the prospect boards after an impressive season with Low-A San Jose last season.
The 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic hit .300 over 253 at-bats in San Jose and stole 21 bases out of 23 attempts as a catcher. Perez got a late call-up to Eugene last season and swiped two more for good measure while hitting .289 over 45 at-bats.
Diego Velasquez, INF
Another international Giants prospect, ranked 19th by mlb.com, Diego Velasquez spent his entire season last year in San Jose and hit .298 with eight home runs and 69 RBIs.
The 20-year-old from Venezuela has been another quick riser for the Giants, batting .369 during just three seasons in the minors.
Aeverson Arteaga, INF
A 21-year-old from Venezuela, Emeralds fans should be familiar with Aeverson Arteaga after he spent all of 2023 in Eugene, batting .235 with 73 RBIs and 17 home runs over 546 plate appearances.
The Giants' 15th-ranked prospect is recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and was placed on Eugene's 60-day injured list March 20 but aims to return at some point this season and will then look to make the jump to the Giants Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene Emeralds set to open 2024 minor league baseball season
