With under three weeks to go until the opening pitch is thrown on the 2013 Yorkton Cardinals WMBL campaign, the Cardinals roster has started to take shape. With the newfound College Summer League status of the Western Major Baseball League, the Cardinals needed to do even more scouring of the college ranks to find their ballclub in 2013 as even local talent must be enrolled in college to play in the WMBL with the new roster regulations of the summer college league.
With that in mind the Cardinals have explored all options when looking to add the right combination of ballplayers to attempt to bring a winner to Jubilee Park in 2013. Bringing in players from all over North America and of different cultures and nationalities, the Cardinals are hoping an eclectic mix of players from all over the United States and Canada will be the one that returns the ballclub to success after a less than stellar 2012 campaign where they finished last in their division, missing the playoffs.
Yet with the diversity of the roster manager Bill Sobkow is inheriting a team that will be long on players who played on the same collegiate teams as multiple colleges will be represented with pairs of 2013 Cardinals in an attempt to bring a team atmosphere to the ballpark. Lakehead University, Mayville State, Talladega College, and Warner University will all have multiple representatives on the Cardinals who will be hoping that the high number of familiar faces will create a winning atmosphere at Jubilee Park in the short two month WMBL season.
That short season makes the move to bring together groups of teammates a shrewd one as last season the Cardinals failed to get any early season footing in the fast paced nature of the WMBL and eventually had a season to forget at Jubilee Park as one of the WMBL's worst outfits in 2012, this year the Cardinals will be hoping that their returning players and groups of teammates will be able to lead to a turn of fortunes in the first year of college only rosters in the league. With players that will be excited to travel to Yorkton with familiar faces, it is a gamble that seems like a safe play as the Cardinals have put an emphasis on creating a team culture that will be able to kick things off into a high gear from right on Opening Day.
Highlighting the Cardinals spring roster is Lakehead Univer-sity's Rob Shedden. Shedden looks to be a key signing for the Cardinals this summer. The 6'0, 168 pound second baseman is a proven winner with four Thunder Bay Senior Baseball Association regular season titles and three TBSBA playoff titles under his belt. Shedden, a native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, has also represented Canada at the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) World Series from 2006-2008.
Currently Shedden is finsihing his year with Lakehead where he is the starting second baseman for the Thun-derwolves. Shedden has just two hits in six games this season for Lakehead for a .133 average. However, he does have eight walks and has scored eight runs.
Lakehead does not play many games so expect Shedden to excel when he is able to play on a regular basis. Shedden has previously studied and played at Ellsworth Community College (NJCAA, D-II) in Lamoni, Iowa.
Joining Shedden is Lakehead teammate Mike Meany. Meany is regarded as a power hitter and he joined the Lakehead Thunder-wolves last season and led the team in the hitting. Like his Thunder-wolves teammate Shedden, Meany too played at Ellsworth Community College for a time and the Cardinals will be hoping the relationship between Shedden and Meany leads to a dynamic duo in the lineup for that Sobkow can use at his disposal. A 6'1, 205 third base/pitcher, Meany throws right handed but bats left handed and has a solid glove in the infield.
That was evident in the summer of 2012 when he won the Senior League MVP and All-Star Infielder with the Thunder Bay Coastal Steel Orioles.
While the Cards will be adding just two of Thunder Bay's finest ballplayers out of Lakehead University, three Warner University Royals will be at Sobkow's disposal for the summer as the club picked up a trio of accomplished ballpayers from the NAIA school as Sergio Perez, Dylan Gross, and Justin Burgress all will be putting on the red and white and will be hoping to become fan favorites at Jubilee Park.
Sergio Perez started all 54 games for the Royals in his junior year in 2013. The 5'10, 190 pound light hitting catcher/utility man drove in 22 runs while collecting 50 hits, including eight doubles and one triple in 189 at-bats this season for a .265 batting average. He also stole 13 bases on 16 attempts, walked 16 times and struck out just 25 times making him an extremely efficient batter who can play a variety of positions including backstop. Perez has NCAA D-I experience with the Florida International University Panthers in 2011 and the Cardinals will hope that his consistent play translates with a trip up north.
Dylan Gross broke his hand last season, but 2013 has shown that it has been a very successful bounce-back season for Gross as he returned from a broken hand that kept him out of baseball for the summer of 2012. Gross, a 6'0, 180 pound outfielder, has been the offensive leader for his Warner Royals all season leading the team in runs (35), hits (65), doubles (10, tied with fellow Cardinal recruit Justin Burgess), batting average (.346) and RBI (38). The left handed batting Gross also hit one homerun and two triples in 52 games while walking 30 times (second on the team). Defensively Gross made just 6 errors for a .926 fielding percentage, making him an extremely well rounded talent in all aspects of the game.
The sophomore from Tampa, FL has previously won two 6A Florida State Titles with Alonso High School and is currently earning a degree in Business Management. Expect Gross to be one of the leaders offensively for the Cardinals all summer long.
Rounding out the Royals trio is Justin Burgress, and infielder from Tampa. Burgess had nearly identical numbers to Gross this season at Warner. The 6'0, 185 pound infielder from Tampa, FL, played in all 54 games collecting 61 hits including 10 doubles, three triples and three homeruns in 190 at-bats for a .321 batting average and 33 RBI.
He also walked 34 times, struck out 30 times and stole 16 bases in 24 attempts. He, like his Royals running mate Gross, will be counted on to be a source of production in the Cardinals lineup this summer.
With the Cardinals season kicking off in less than three weeks, more player and coaching profiles will be upcoming leading into the Opening Night of the 2013 Cardinals WMBL season when they take on the defending back to back champion Regina Red Sox in a divisional battle that will be a huge opening test for a new look Cardinals roster.
