Mike Farnell, Matt Warkentin, Cristian Montes and Ripken Reyes
selected of the top prospects in the Northwoods League by MLB Scouts.
Rochester, Minn. — The Northwoods League has announced the rosters for the 2018 Major League Dreams Showcase, which will be hosted by the Madison Mallards at Warner Park on Tuesday, August 7.
The annual Showcase will consist of a double-header featuring the top players from the Northwoods League who were selected by a panel of Major League Baseball Scouts. The players will participate in a day of workouts in front of scouts which will be followed by the double-header.
The first game will start at 4:05 p.m. and will match two teams featuring a mix of North Division players. The players on the visiting team in this game will primarily come from Willmar, St. Cloud, Bismarck, Duluth and Thunder Bay. The home team will be made up of players mainly from Mankato, Rochester, La Crosse, Eau Claire and Waterloo. Former Major League player and coach Al Newman of the St. Cloud Rox will skipper the visiting team while Dale Varsho of the Eau Claire Express will manage the home team.
The visiting team in this first game will be led by Northwoods League All-Stars Mike Farnell (Murray State), Matt Warkentin (Xavier) and Cristian Montes (SUNY Stony Brook) of the Bismarck Larks along with Troy Newell (Western Kentucky) and Augie Isaacson (Friends University) of the Duluth Huskies and Finn Del Bonta-Smith of the St. Cloud Rox. Isaacson currently leads the league with a .369 average and has 33 stolen bases in 49 games.
The home team in game one will feature the current league leader in home runs Kyle MacDonald (Arkansas State). MacDonald was an All-Star this season and has 14 home runs and 65 RBI in 56 games for the Mankato MoonDogs. Justin Slaten (New Mexico) of the Eau Claire Express will also play in this game. Slaten currently leads the league in wins with six, strikeouts with 67 and ERA at 1.18.
The second game will start at 7:35 p.m. and will be played by two teams of South Division players. The visiting team for this game will be made up of players mostly from Rockford, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. The home team will have players from Madison, Lakeshore, Kenosha, Wisconsin Rapids and Wisconsin. Brian Smith of the Rockford Rivets will be the Field Manager for the visiting team. Mallards Field Manager and former MLB catcher, Donnie Scott will be in the dugout for the home team.
In the night cap the visiting team will be led by the 2018 Northwoods League All-Star Game Home Run Derby Champion winner Zach Daniels (Tennessee) of the Kalamazoo Growlers. Seven other Growlers will join him on this roster including 2018 All-Star Mason Shinabery (Huntington). Other All-Stars on this team include Cooper Cain (Valdosta State) of the Rockford Rivets and Leo Perez (Texas A & M- Corpus Christi) of the Green Bay Bullfrogs.
Six members of the hometown Madison Mallards will compete for the home team in the second game. This talented group of players were all All-Stars this season and are led by two players with MLB pedigrees. Tyler Plantier (Richmond) is the son of former Major League outfielder Phil Plantier. Tyler is currently hitting .306 with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. Jake Randa (Northwest Florida State) is the son of former Major League third baseman Joe Randa. Jake is currently hitting .323 with 22 doubles and 43 RBI. On the mound, another 2018 All-Star, Josh Serio (UW-Milwaukee) of the Kenosha Kingfish will bring his talents to Madison. Serio currently has seven saves and 30 strikeouts in 19.1 innings for Kenosha.
Proceeds from the Major League Dreams Showcase will benefit the Northwoods League Foundation. The Northwoods League Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that serves as a vehicle to transform a shared passion for baseball into positive change and support for communities. Of the many needs the foundation may address through grants, scholarships or donations, one ongoing focus will be to view its member communities and look upon the baseball programs they have in place with a harmonious goal of making them all finer places to live.
More information on the Foundation can be found at northwoodsleague.com/community/foundation/
Tickets for the event can still be purchased and are available at mallardsbaseball.com.
2018 Northwoods League Major League Dreams Showcase
Visiting Team – 4:05 p.m. game
| NAME | POS | TEAM/YR /COLLEGE |
| Eli Wilson | C | Willmar Stingers SO University of Minnesota |
| Cal Greenfield | C | Madison Mallards FR University of Florida |
| Mike Farnell | INF | Bismarck Larks JR Murray State University |
| Matt Warkentin | 1B | Bismarck Larks JR Xavier University |
| Augie Isaacson | 2B | Duluth Huskies JR Friends University |
| Billy Cook | 3B | Thunder Bay Border Cats FR Pepperdine University |
| Nick Sogard | SS | Duluth Huskies SO Loyola Marymount University |
| Cam Pearcey | OF | Thunder Bay Border Cats JR Coastal Carolina University |
| Brandon Trammell | OF | Thunder Bay Border Cats FR University of Tennessee |
| Cristian Montes | OF | Bismarck Larks JR SUNY Stony Brook |
| Christian Jones | OF | Duluth Huskies SO University of Washington |
| Omar Maldonado | RHP | Thunder Bay Border Cats JR Graceland University |
| Hunter Bigge | RHP | Duluth Huskies SO Harvard University |
| Troy Newell | LHP | Duluth Huskies JR Western Kentucky University |
| Louie Varland | RHP | Willmar Stingers SO Concordia University, St. Paul |
| Kyle Richardson | LHP | St. Cloud Rox SO Texas A & M University |
| Finn Del Bonta-Smith | RHP | St. Cloud Rox JR San Jose State University |
| Erik Martinez | RHP | St. Cloud Rox SR University of California, Berkeley
|
| Home Team – 4:05 p.m. game
NAME |
POS |
TEAM YR COLLEGE |
| Logan Denholm | C | Rochester Honkers JR University of California, Davis |
| Korey Lee | C | La Crosse Loggers SO University of California, Berkeley |
| Kyle MacDonald | 1B | Mankato MoonDogs JR Arkansas State University |
| Mike Rothenberg | INF | La Crosse Loggers FR Duke University |
| Ripken Reyes | 2B/SS | Bismarck Larks JR University of California, Berkeley |
| Nate Webb | 3B | Rochester Honkers FR University of California, Riverside |
| Nick Novak | SS/2B | Mankato MoonDogs SO Angelo State University |
| Braiden Ward | OF | La Crosse Loggers FR University of Washington |
| Drew Hmielewski | OF | Eau Claire Express FR University of Minnesota |
| Donta Williams | OF | La Crosse Loggers FR University of Arizona |
| Brendan Hueth | OF | Waterloo Bucks FR St. Joseph’s University |
| Tim Holdgrafer | RHP | Duluth Huskies JR California State Polytechnic University, Pomona |
| Ryan Anderson | LHP | La Crosse Loggers SO University of Nevada |
| Justin Slaten | RHP | Eau Claire Express SO University of New Mexico |
| John Matthews | RHP | St. Cloud Rox SO Kent State University |
| Matteo Bochi | RHP | Rochester Honkers JR University of Texas |
| Joshua Culliver | RHP | Waterloo Bucks FR University of Minnesota |
| Brandon Pfaadt | RHP | Mankato MoonDogs FR Bellarmine University
Visiting Team – 7:35 p.m. game |
| NAME | POS | TEAM YR COLLEGE |
| Logan Michaels | C | Rockford Rivets SO Madison College |
| Jonathan Foster | C | Kalamazoo Growlers JR Florida State University |
| Cole Zabowski | 1B | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders SO University of Mississippi |
| Sam Hall | 2B | Kalamazoo Growlers FR Clemson University |
| Jordan Swiss | 3B | Battle Creek Bombers JR Saginaw Valley State University |
| Cayman Richardson | SS | Kalamazoo Growlers SO University of Virginia |
| Jason Sullivan | INF | Kalamazoo Growlers JR Central Michigan University |
| Adrian Damla | OF | Green Bay Bullfrogs SO University of California, Irvine |
| Zach Daniels | OF | Kalamazoo Growlers FR University of Tennessee |
| Preston Pavlica | OF | Green Bay Bullfrogs JR Grand Canyon University |
| Sam Crail | OF | Kalamazoo Growlers FR Indiana University |
| Joe Boyle | RHP | Kalamazoo Growlers FR University of Notre Dame |
| Dane Haveman | LHP | Rockford Rivets SO Texas Tech University |
| Cooper Cain | RHP | Rockford Rivets SO Valdosta State University |
| Leo Perez | RHP | Green Bay Bullfrogs FR Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi |
| Jon Mierzwa | RHP | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders JR Catholic University |
| Tyler Thornton | RHP | Rockford Rivets SR Faulkner University |
| Mason Shinabery | RHP | Kalamazoo Growlers SO Huntington University |
| Jacob Kostyshock | RHP | Fond du Lac Dock Spiders SO University of Arkansas
Home Team – 7:35 p.m. game |
| NAME | POS | TEAM YR COLLEGE |
| Ty Duvall | C | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters SO Vanderbilt University |
| Christian Boulware | C | Lakeshore Chinooks SO Panola College |
| David Vinsky | INF | Madison Mallards SO Northwood University |
| Jack-Thomas Wold | 1B | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters FR University of Nevada, Las Vegas |
| Ben Troike | 2B | Kenosha Kingfish SO University of Illinois |
| Jack Dunn | SS | Lakeshore Chinooks JR Northwestern University |
| Trevor Schwecke | 3B | Madison Mallards SO University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
| Jake Randa | OF | Madison Mallards FR Northwest Florida State College |
| Jaren Shelby | OF | Wisconsin Woodchucks SO State College of Florida |
| Zach DeLoach | OF | Wisconsin Woodchucks FR Texas A & M University |
| Tyler Plantier | OF | Madison Mallards JR University of Richmond |
| Carson Ragsdale | RHP | Madison Mallards SO University of South Florida |
| Trayson Kubo | RHP | Wisconsin Rapids Rafters JR Stephen F. Austin State University |
| Alex Stodola | RHP | Wisconsin Woodchucks JR University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
| Josh Serio | RHP | Kenosha Kingfish JR University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
| Trace Norkus | RHP | Madison Mallards JR University of North Florida |
| Orsen Josephina | RHP | Wisconsin Woodchucks JR Palm Beach Atlantic University |
| Brandon Komar | RHP | Lakeshore Chinooks FR Madison College |
| Austin Jones | RHP | Lakeshore Chinooks SR University of Wisconsin-Whitewater |
