On November 1st, the RailCats re-signed Jaykob Acosta, who played 7 games last season and was a late addition to the team after wrapping up his collegiate time at Fresno State.

Last year, in those 7 games, Jaykob pitched in 8.2 innings, gave up 8 hits, and 4 runs, which were all earned. He walked 7 batters while striking out 7. He had an ERA of 4.15 and a WHIP of 1.731.

Despite having a high walk total in a few games, Acosta was a big recommendation from an MLB executive, Manager Lamarr Rogers told Andrew Mild for his piece for the railcatsbaseball.com article. Lamarr also mentioned that Jaykob had showed positive signs which led to the decision to give him an opportunity in camp.

Sometimes going from one season right into another season can be a bit taxing and overwhelming, so I like the idea of giving Acosta a fair chance at a roster spot for a player who had high praise from an MLB executive.

On November 4th, the RailCats re-signed right-handed pitcher Andres Diaz, who played a full season with the ‘Cats last season. Andres Diaz is the first player to be signed to have some sort of affiliated playing time, as he played 5 seasons in the Kansas City Royals’ ranks.

Diaz started in the Bullpen until May 25th when he faced the Kane County Cougars. He ended with a no decision, going 4 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, and 2 earned runs.

On May 30th, Andrés had his best start of the year, which also earned him the American Association Pitcher of the Week award. He faced the Kansas City Monarchs, going 7 innings without allowing a run, giving up 1 hit and 1 walk. He struck out a season-high 7 batters.

Andres Diaz on the season went 6-6 and played in 24 games, starting in 17 games. He pitched in 104 innings and had an ERA of 6.40. He gave up 133 hits, 77 runs, 74 earned runs, 13 home runs, 39 walks, and struck out 76. He had a WHIP of 1.654, Hits/9 of 11.5, HR/9 of 1.1, BB/9 of 3.3, and SO/9 of 6.6.

He started out the season red hot, especially when he got into the starter role, but his numbers started to dip later in the season due to an injury he was battling. Manager Lamarr Rogers told railcatsbaseball.com that he also hopes Diaz can return to his pre-injury form of control and mental toughness.

On November 5th, the RailCats signed 27-year-old right-handed infielder Ethan Lopez from Whittier, CA, who went to the University of Hawaii.

After college, Ethan would start his independent baseball career starting in 2020 in the All-American Baseball Challenge with New Jersey. He would play in 2021 in the PECOS league with Monterey and would also play for Rocky Mountain in the Pioneer league from 2021-2023, playing the 2022 season with Gio Diaz. Lopez posted very good batting totals. He had a .342 batting average with an OPS of .998. He also played 21 games in the Mexican League with Aguascalientes, slashing a .125/.125/.125 for an OPS of .250. He had 24 at-bats, 3 hits, scored 5 runs, had 4 RBIs, and struck out 10 times.

Last season, Lopez played for Windy City in the Frontier League, where he participated in 20 games, recording 18 hits in 73 at-bats, slashing a .247/.337/.301 and an OPS of .639. He had 4 doubles, 4 RBIs, 5 walks, and struck out 19 times. He also stole a base and was caught stealing.

Ethan doesn’t show crazy power numbers but seems like a batter that would work better in the SteelYard versus the Birdcage, and we need more bats that can hit the gaps more than the bombers since the SteelYard isn’t a true launching pad (which can be on certain days). Lopez should bring a veteran presence to the team, especially in the independent realm, as we know it can be a tough grind!

WELCOME AND WELCOME BACK TO THE SOUTHSHORE!!