15 Pitchers Named to Bears Roster

By Kevin Uretsky. Published Monday, June 11th, 2012

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The Arizona Diamondbacks have named 15 pitchers to the Yakima Bears roster for this year's Northwest League season, Position players are expected to be named to the roster tomorrow. The Bears open the season Friday in Eugene and will play their home opener a week from Wednesday on June 20th.

Below is the official release from the Bears on the pitching staff: 

The Arizona Diamondbacks have informed the Yakima Bears of the 15 pitchers who will be on the opening day roster in 2012.

Two of the pitchers on the roster pitched with the Bears last season: Victor Acosta and Alex Capaul. Acosta joined the team late in the season and went 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA in nine relief appearances. Capaul, a native of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, went 2-3 with a 3.07 ERA and only 10 walks in 75 innings over 16 appearances while bouncing between the bullpen and starting rotation.

Right-handed pitcher Miguel Pena and lefty Cody Wheeler return to Yakima having pitched for the Bears in 2010, but not taking the field last summer. Enrique Burgos also pitched with the Bears in 2010, but spent last season with Missoula (Rookie) and South Bend (A).

Of the newcomers to Yakima, five are from this year’s MLB draft, including 9th round pick Jeff Gibbs out of the University of Maine. The others include Derrick Stultz (14th round, South Florida), Blake Forslund (15th round, Liberty), RJ Hively (19th round, Mississippi), and Daniel Watts (32nd round, Jacksonville State). Hively has a Washington connection, as his father, Rick, played football at Washington State.

While Gibbs is the highest pick from this year’s draft, Cody Wheeler (5th round in 2010) is the highest overall pitching selection coming to the Bears. Seven of the pitchers on the staff were drafted and the other eight were signed as non-drafted free agents, with only Kaleb Fleck being an undrafted college pitcher. There are seven pitchers from the United States, five from the Dominican Republic, and one each from Panama, Cuba, and Canada. Four of the hurlers are lefties: Alexander Carreras, Jose Jose, Daniel Watts, and Cody Wheeler.