The Tri-City Dust Devils are prepping for their fourth season in the High-A Northwest league, and Dust Devil fans should have something to look forward to this season. Eight top-30 Angel prospects and fifteen players return to Tri-City from last season, along with a relatively fresh coaching staff.
Coaching
Willie Romero is the new sheriff in town and third manager for the Dust Devils at the high-A level. The Venezuelan was formerly a hitting coach for the Low-A Inland Empire during the 2023 season. Willie will take over managerial duties for the Dust Devils in the 2024 season after the departure of Jack Howell.
Romero is a somewhat experienced manager, primarily known in the Mexican League where Romero was a manager for five seasons where the skill level is just a level below the MLB. Romero’s first stint was with Leones de Yucatan in 2012. Leones de Yucatan went 46-66, which was good enough for seventh out of sixteen teams.
Romero then switched clubs in 2013, going to Acereros de Monoclava, where he led the Monoclava crew to a 53-57 season. Romero then returned to Leones de Yucatan for three seasons from 2015 to 2017.
Romero notably played minor league baseball for the Yakima Bears during his first year in professional baseball in 1993.
Jack Howell, an 11-year Major League Veteran, managed the Dust Devils for two seasons and accumulated a record of 116 Wins and 143 losses, which was good enough for a winning percentage of 44%.
Howell will now become a part of the player development staff for the Los Angeles Angels following the withdrawal from Tri-City.
A new pitching coach has also arrived in Pasco: Ron Villone. Villone had a luxurious fifteen-year career in the MLB for twelve ballclubs, which puts him third all-time for the most MLB teams played for in a career. Villone was formerly a first-round pick in 1992 for the Seattle Mariners and played in Seattle for three seasons, which is the longest tenure he had with any team throughout his MLB career.
This is the first year Villone will be involved in the Angels organization as a coach; Ron was formerly a pitching coach in the Cubs organization from 2012 to 2023.
Tri-City has also found a new hitting coach. Hiram Bocachica, a 1994 first-round pick of the Montreal Expos, played fifty games for the Seattle Mariners in 2004. Bocachica played in more minor stints for several other MLB teams, including the Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
This is Bocachica’s first season coaching, and he will try to lift the curse of hitting in Tri-City as the Dust Devils have finished dead last overall in hitting every single season at the High-A Level.
The only returning man from the 2023 Tri-City coaching staff is bench/infield coach Trevor Nypp.
Nypp landed a job within the Angels organization in 2019 after becoming somewhat Instagram-famous for his baseball content. Nypp dissected defensive techniques from high school ball up to the MLB. Simply put, Trevor is somewhat of an infield geek, and the Angels caught on to it.
Pitching
Tri-City will start the year with four of the top 30 Angel pitching prospects on the opening day roster. To sum it up, the Dust Devils have a very young pitching staff with a high ceiling, and a mix of veterans in the bullpen.
Jorge Marcheco is the headline name. Marchecho finished the 2023 season with the Dust Devils. His short stint with the Dust Devils was very impressive. Jorge went 3-1 with a whopping 1.88 ERA and achieved a Northwest League Pitcher of the Week award at only 20 years old.
Marchecho is said to have some of the best command among pitching prospects in the Angels organization. It was undoubtedly evident, even with his limited innings at the high-A level. If Marchecho can add some velocity for this upcoming season, he will be among the top pitchers at the high-A level.
William Suarez is another familiar name and a minor-league veteran. The 26-year-old Suarez is entering his seventh year of minor league baseball.
Suarez, in 37 appearances, primarily a closer, had a 3-3 record and 3.60 ERA, holding batters to a batting average of .200 for Tri-City last season. Suarez had a stint at the double-A level in 2023 but struggled with a 7.71 ERA in just 2.1 innings.
Another name and rising star within the Angels organization is the flamethrower Walbert Urena. The 20-year-old Dominican’s fastball touches triple digits occasionally, and he is considered a Starting Pitcher.
Urena spent last season with the Low-A Inland Empire, where he started twenty-one games and went 4-7 with a 5.66 ERA over 98.2 Innings. Urena does have one issue: his command. Over those 98 innings, Jose walked 60 batters, which is around four batters per nine innings.
If Urena can control his command, his cannon of an arm will make him a reliable part of Tri-City’s rotation throughout the season.
To cap off pitching, the eighteenth-ranked Angels prospect and a product of the Wake Forest college baseball powerhouse will join the Dust Devils to begin the 2024 season.
Camden Minacci, a reliever/closer who was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, will make his High-A debut this weekend in Eugene. He spent the summer following the draft with the Low-A Inland Empire.
In his limited innings with the Empire last season, Minacci had a 5.40 ERA in eight innings and seven overall appearances. Minacci is limited in his pitch selection, only fielding two pitches: a fastball in the mid-90s and a slider.
Rounding out some other notable pitchers on the opening day roster include the familiar faces of Dylan Phillips, Erik Rivera and Jake Smith.
Catchers
Kevin Bruggeman, a standout at Hofstra and 2023 ALL-CAA First Team selection, went undrafted and signed with the Angels in late July after an impressive NCAA season. Kevin hit .325 and led Hofstra to the NCAA tournament in 2023. Bruggeman still had one year of eligibility left in the NCAA but decided to go pro anyway.
The 5’9 Bruggeman, in seven games for the Dust Devils last season, hit an impressive .294 and will most likely be the day-one catcher for the Dust Devils and look to make a name for himself within the Angels organization. Bruggeman is best known for his hitting, and not behind the dish. Kevin has an excellent bat and some okay pop.
Ronaldo Flores is the other catcher listed. Flores has some prior experience in the Northwest League but not for the Dust Devils. In 2022, Flores played five games for the San Franciso Giant affiliate, the Eugene Emeralds. In those five games, Flores hit .182.
The Angels claimed Flores off waivers in December 2022 from the Giants. Flores then played the 2023 season for the Low-A Inland Empire, hitting .266 in 83 games. This season Flores will look to stick in the Northwest Leag
Infield
Tri-City lost top Angel prospects shortstop Arol Vera and second baseman Adrian Placencia, as the two have been bumped up to the Double-A level. However, the Dust Devils have added a top prospect within the Angels organization and returned five infielders from last season.
First, the Dust Devils have been gifted with another top shortstop in the Angels organization. Denzer Guzman, who is rising through the ranks in the Angels system. Guzman is currently the 28th-ranked international prospect in the MLB.
The 20 year old Guzman will join the Dust Devils after spending the entire 2023 season with the Inland Empire. With the Empire, Guzman nearly hit .240.
Guzman struggled with his decisions at the plate. In 426 total at-bats, Guzman struck out 131 times. Although Guzman is a highly-touted prospect, if he wants to stick with the Dust Devils, he will need to be much better at the plate with his decision making simply put.
Another familiar face will be at third base/outfield to start off the year, the Detroit native Werner Blakely.
Blakely is entering his fourth year of professional baseball. Blakely spent all of last season with the Dust Devils, hitting .214. Blakely, much like Guzman, had issues at the plate. In just 323 at-bats, Blakely struck out a whopping 137 times and hopefully has made work this offseason to improve the decision-making, much like Denzer Guzman at the plate.
Tri-City has another promising first baseman this season following Gabe Matthews’s departure. That man is Matt Coutney, a Canadian who played just under half of the 2023 season with the Dust Devils and the other half with the Inland Empire.
The 6’1, 230-pound native of Old Dominion university is entering his second year with Tri-City. In forty-seven games with Tri-City last year, Courtney hit just under .270 and will most definitely be a candidate for the best power among hitters on the roster.
Courtney hit 12 Home Runs in total with Tri-City in just 173 at-bats. This is good enough for a home run every 14.5 at-bats and shows how explosive Courtney’s bat is. To put that into perspective, in the MLB, slugger Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros had a home run every 13.2 at-bats in 2023.
Third baseman Ben Gobbel will join Tri-City for the first time. The 6’1 and 24-year-old Gobbel played for the Inland Empire last season. In 59 games with the Empire, Gobbel hit .267 and had just under 30 RBIs.
Shorstop Will McGillis, Shorstop Caleb Ketchup, and Shorstop Andy Blake round out Tri-City’s infield. All three signed with the Angels last summer after their college careers ended, and they are making their return to Pasco after finishing last season with the Dust Devils.
Outfield
Tri-City has another exciting outfield, much like in past years. This year, three of the four outfielders listed on the opening-day roster are ranked among the top 30 prospects in the Angels organization.
We’ll start with Joe Stewart, the only non-ranked outfielder and only returning outfielder for Tri-City.
The towering 6’5 Stewart played college baseball in Michigan and has spent both years of his professional career with Tri-City, now entering his third year with the team.
Stewart hit .244 in 2023 for Tri-City, but Joe is not known as much for his hitting as he is for his fielding and stealing bases. In 2023, Stewart stole 43 bases which was fourth most in the Northwest League. Stewart was arguably one of the best outfielders for Tri-City last year, rivaling World Baseball Classic star for England, D’Shawn Knowles who is currently in Double-A. Stewart, obviously, with his speed, can cover lots of ground, and his height makes the perfect combination for the outfield. Stewart has a solid arm and is a defensive gem overall.
Next up is the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Alberto Rios, a catcher/outfielder not known for his fielding. Rios had an eye-opening 1.191 OPS at Stanford and helped the Cardinal get to the NCAA World Series.
Rios is currently ranked 17th in the Angels system and played the latter half of the 2023 season with the Inland Empire to round out his first summer of pro baseball.
Rios, a power hitter at heart, has seemingly been unable to unlock that talent in pro baseball with the low-A Inland Empire. In thirty-three games with the Empire, Rios only hit .181 and only hit three home runs in that time.
If Rios wants to make it in pro baseball, he will need to unlock his power, which he had at Stanford, and focus on his hitting overall, which is what he was best known for and why he was drafted.
Sixteenth-ranked prospect Jorge Ruiz is Tri-City’s third outfielder. At only nineteen years old, Ruiz is one of the youngest Dust Devils on the roster, and he has some high expectations this year.
The 5’10, 160-pound Venezuelan hit .304 with the Inland Empire last season and is an exceptional hitter, to say the least. Ruiz has a knack for getting on base as well and, unlike many players on this roster, does not strike out a whole lot. Ruiz’s strikeout rate was only 12.7% with the Empire, one of the lowest on the team, while teammate Denzer Guzman, for example, had a strikeout rate of nearly 27% with the Empire.
Overall, Ruiz is an average outfielder, but his hitting will help him through the Minors and is what Tri-City fans should be most excited about when it comes to Ruiz. Ruiz stealing ability is something to watch out for; although he has not stolen much in his career so far, he may get into Joe Stewart’s range this season if manager Willie Romero lets him go.
Rounding out the outfield is the thirteenth-ranked prospect for the Angels, Jadiel Sanchez, who has soared back up through the ranks. After being a twelfth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019 and bouncing around the Complex league, he was sent to the Angels along with Mickey Moniak for Noah Syndergaard in late August 2022.
Sanchez had a resurgence. In 2023, the switch hitter hit .297 for the Inland Empire, had a very impressive .380 OBP, and became one of the best outfield prospects for the Angels. Like Jorge Ruiz, Sanchez stays away from the strikeouts and loves getting on base.
Overview
The Dust Devils will certainly be better at the plate this season than prior years. With the experienced infield, and outfield full of batters poised to get on base, there sure will be no shortage of hitting this season.
Pitching will be a question mark this season for the Dust Devils. There are numerous amounts of young arms in the bullpen and rotation, however, can they adjust to the high-A game that well?
Whichever way this season turns out, it will still be loads of fun to see the new coaching staff and highly-ranked outfield, along with the experienced infield and mix of youth and veteran pitching take the field and mark the twenty-fourth year of Dust Devil baseball.
Northwest Sports Desk 