2016 Whitecaps roster: Two No. 1 picks, including pitcher Beau Burrows – MLive.com
COMSTOCK PARK – The West Michigan Whitecaps will open the season with the past two No. 1 picks of the Detroit Tigers on the roster, including last year’s top choice in hard throwing starting pitcher Beau Burrows.
Burrows, the 22nd overall pick last season, will be joined by outfielder Derek Hill, the Tigers’ top pick in 2014 who returns to West Michigan after an injury-plagued season.
The Whitecaps have two other top 10 picks from last year in outfielder Cam Gibson (fifth round) – the son of former Tigers standout Kirk Gibson – and left-handed pitcher Matt Hall (sixth round).
The rest of the team is uncharacteristically filled with veterans. Five of the 12 fielders played in 30 or more games in West Michigan last season.
The Whitecaps, the defending Midwest League champions, open the season Thursday at South Bend and then have their home-opener 4 p.m. April 9, also against South Bend.
The 19-year-old Burrows, who signed for $2.1 million a week after he was drafted out of Weatherford High School in Texas, impressed in nine appearances in the Gulf Coast League last summer. He posted a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings with 33 strikeouts and 11 walks.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander had a 0.78 ERA and struck out 132 in 72 innings during his senior season in high school.
Hill, meanwhile, couldn’t stay healthy in his first full season as a pro. The speedy outfielder, selected No. 24 overall in 2014 out of Elk Grove High School in California, was hampered by a left quad strain that first sidelined him the opening week of the season with the Whitecaps.
Hill didn’t play after mid-July following a reoccurrence of the strain. He batted .238 with 25 stolen bases in 32 attempts and 33 runs in 53 games and 210 at bats.
Hill, 20, who played center field last season, will be joined in the Whitecaps outfield by Gibson. The Michigan State product got into 33 games as a center fielder in the short-season New York-Penn League last year and batted .252 with six home runs (tied for sixth most) in 131 at bats.
As for Hall, the sixth-round pick out of Missouri State got 10 starts in the New York-Penn League and had an ERA of 2.90 in 31 innings.
Among the other returning players, left fielder Rashad Brown batted .289 in 56 games and stole 11 bases in 12 attempts.
The Whitecaps also have experience with returning catchers in Shane Zeile (.191 in 36 games) and Arvicent Perez (.229 in 33 games) along with second baseman David Gonzalez (.256 in 85 games).
On the pitching staff, Trent Szkutnik is a notable returner. The left-hander from Jackson went 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA in nine starts for the Whitecaps last season.
Two other relievers who pitched briefly with the Whitecaps last season return in Gerson Moreno and Spenser Watkins.
Manager Andrew Graham returns to for his third season after building a 157-122 over his first two years at the helm. Graham’s coaching staff consists of a new addition in hitting coach Edgar Alfonzo, while pitching coach Mark Johnson returns to the team for his seventh season
Wondering how Fifth Third Ballpark is coming along? Here’s what the groundskeeper said about it Friday:
Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
