MANKATO, MN – The Mankato MoonDogs, a member of the Northwoods League, have added two players to their 2016 battery. Josh Matheson, RHP from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Jake Roberts, Catcher from Gonzaga University, will be joining the 2016 roster.
Matheson is a big righty that is coming off of 2015 Tommy John Surgery after having pitched for the Willmar Stingers, also of the Northwoods League, in 2014. While with the Stingers in 2014, Matheson appeared in 7 games striking out 9 over 10 innings of work. His 2014 record was 2-0 and he also recorded 2 saves with a 0.90 ERA for Willmar. In his latest outing for the Mavericks on April 10th, Matheson threw 7 innings striking out 7 and allowing just 1 run, bringing his record to 3-0 on the season.
Matheson was selected in the 19th round (572nd overall) of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He pitched for the Centennial High School Cougars in Circle Pines, Minnesota where he was a two-year letter award winner in both baseball and basketball. He began attending school at Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2012 and redshirted as a freshman before making 11 appearances in both 2013 and 2014, missing all of 2015 with an injury.
Jake Roberts is another exciting addition to the Moondogs who are hoping to get some nice slugging out of the junior Catcher from Gonzaga this season. Roberts is currently hitting .386 in 20 games while slugging .500 in his first in the ‘Zags lineup. Having spent the previous 2 season playing for Yakima Valley Community College, Roberts hit .342 with an on-base percentage of .459 and drove in 24 runs as a sophomore in 2015. Roberts, who is primarily a Catcher, also has the ability to play some infield and actually played shortstop during his career at Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Illinois.
The MoonDogs home opener is scheduled for Friday, June 3rd at 7:05 p.m. against the Rochester Honkers at Franklin Rogers Park. Season tickets are now on sale, call 507-625-7047 or visit the MoonDogs’ office at 1221 Caledonia Street in Mankato for more information.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. The 22-year old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 140 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Lucas Duda (NYM) and Ben Zobrist (CHC). All league games are viewable via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com
