Speed, arms highlight Frederick Atlantic League team's roster to start season
Apr. 27—The new Frederick Atlantic League baseball team has plenty of star power, including 10 former major leaguers and a multi-time All-Star, as it begins its inaugural season Friday at Gastonia.
The yet-to-be-named team is led by four-time MLB All-Star Starlin Castro, who was an impact bat across parts of 12 seasons with four teams. Castro collected 1,722 hits and 138 homers while playing for the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals.
The infielder's MLB career abruptly ended in 2021, as he was accused of domestic violence, suspended by the league upon further investigation and ultimately released by the Nationals.
While Castro is the highest-profile player on the squad, he won't join the team immediately. He and several other international players are working through visa issues, and Frederick manager Mark Minicozzi said the full roster should be in place by May 12.
That means more powerful bats like Castro, former Baltimore Oriole Jimmy Paredes, outfielder Moises Sierra and catcher Raudy Read won't be able to contribute right away, meaning Minicozzi will have to rely on some small ball to start the season.
The group could be boosted by one of the Atlantic League's three experimental rule changes that would allow a pitcher to step off the rubber just once per at-bat. It plays to the strength of the team's speedsters like Clayton Mehlbauer, Gavin Johns and Johnni Turbo, who could run wild on the basepaths as they try to bait opposing pitchers into disengaging from the rubber.
"We're going to be aggressive early and put pressure on other teams," Minicozzi said. "We're going to see how we can take advantage of these rules and take advantage of other teams who might not be built that way. You're going to see everything."
But the backbone of the roster is its pitching staff, led by former MLBers Steven Brault, Elih Villenueva and Max Povse.
Brault has the most major-league experience of that group at seven years and will get the ball on opening night as Frederick's ace. Villenueva led the Atlantic League in strikeouts last season for Kentucky and will also serve as the team's pitching coach, his second full season pulling double duty.
"It's a little weird and difficult putting on a coaching hat and then taking it off and putting on a player hat, but it's good. I was able to get the other side of things," Villenueva said. "A straight line of communication, that's what most players like."
The bullpen includes former MLB relievers Brett de Geus, Edgar Garcia and Dovydas Neverauskas, among a handful of hard-throwers who will supplement the experienced rotation.
"We have five or six guys who get it up to 97, 98 mph. We have five experienced starters ... with success everywhere they pitched," Minicozzi said. "Having that veteran staff and some electric arms in the back end will be a real strength going into the year."
The team's home opener will be Tuesday against Lexington, and the team's nickname will be revealed as Frederick takes the field for its June 23 game against York.
