SPRINGFIELD – Springfield’s summer baseball team is benefitting from its relationship with some former Ducks around the country.

The Drifters will feature four players from Rice University where ex-Duck shortstop J.J. Altobelli serves as an assistant coach. Tulane, led by former UO assistant Jay Uhlman, will send two players to the Drifters.

“Those guys are two of my good friends, so those are easy calls to make and pick up players,” second-year Springfield coach Jeff Lyle said. “Those are the kinds of connections that you don’t have to worry about. You know the kids they send you are quality baseball players and human beings because those coaches are.”

UC Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts, another former Oregon assistant, will send two players to the Drifters while ex-UO player and coach Mitch Karraker will send three of his current or former players from Fresno City College to Springfield this summer.

Springfield will feature Oregon signee Griffin Scott, a left-handed pitcher from Portland who spent a year at Utah before playing at Lane Community College this season. The Drifters will also get a couple of players off of Oregon’s roster, but they will be determined after the Ducks season ends.

Roster in flux

Springfield’s roster will be in flux when it opens the season at Bend on May 29 likely until it opens its second homestand on June 17 because college players will arrive in the West Coast League as their seasons end.

“It will be a little bit makeshift, but I think we will be competitive until we get back from Canada and then we should be full-go,” Lyle said, referring to a three-game set at Victoria that concludes on June 14.

Springfield has 39 players listed on the roster, but that includes a few 10-day guys who will help fill out the roster until everyone arrives and some of the pitchers may be limited if they threw a lot of innings in the spring.

The Drifters will be led by three veterans in Cooper Mullens, Nolan Miller and Blake Stavros.

Mullens, a second baseman from Marist playing at Michigan, will spend his fourth summer with the Drifters after earning all-WCL honors last year when he batted .285 with 28 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. He reached base in 44-of-51 games and had two five-hit games.

Miller, a first baseman/outfielder from Sheldon who plays at University of Portland, is back for a third year as he looks to extend his team record of 71 career hits. He batted .326 with 31 RBI last season.

Stavros, a right-handed pitcher from Willamette playing at Bushnell, is back for a fourth year after pitching in 38 games during the past three years.
“It is amazing, those three have been around the facility and it is like having extra assistant coaches,” Lyle said. “We have enough returners coming back that they will know how we do things and uno what to expect.”

Pitching development

Stavros is one of 19 pitchers on the roster who will be mentored by Dean Stiles, who returns for a second year on Lyle’s staff after previously working as pitching coach at University of Oregon and working with the development staffs of the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I like the pitching staff we could have if they all show up, but some of those guys could have a lot of work by the time they get to us so you never know how that will shake out,” Lyle said. “But I know we will be competitive. I think we will be good on the mound and then add in Coach Stiles and we will be better than good. By the time June 15 rolls around, we should have all of our players and be very competitive.”

The pitching staff includes lefty Luis Pablo Navarro of Tulane and righty Ethan Atchley of Rice. They will throw to familiar gloves as catcher Johnny Elliott of Tulane joins the team with Rice’s LJ Layhew.

Mullens and Miller return in the infield and are joined by Diego Vazquez, an Oregon State signee from Fullerton College. UCSB infielders Jake Johnson and Evan Thomas join the team along with Kahaku Harrison of Rice.

The outfield will feature Zac Daigre of Rice and Hunter Meyer of Cal State Fullerton. There are 20 position players on the current roster.

“We are trying to protect ourself against last year when we had a lot of guys playing every single day,” Lyle said. “That can be good and bad as guys want to play every day until they get banged up and need a break. We did a poor job giving guys breaks last year. … We are going to have a lot of options everywhere. If everyone is here at the same time, we should be really deep and versatile. That will be fun because guys will be able to develop and get a lot of competitive practice time and have the luxury to have an off day and go hit the weight room hard knowing that they will not be expected to play that night.”

Lyle hopes Springfield’s fifth summer in the WCL will end with a first playoff appearance.

“That’s the hope, but you never know because it’s summer baseball and I had teams in Medford that on paper had Division 1 kids everywhere from places like Oregon and Oregon State and we looked great, but finished in the middle of the pack,” said Lyle, who was an assistant coach for the Medford Rogues in the WCL from 2013-17. “Then we had teams with a lot of junior-college guys nobody knew about and we had a great summer. So I am not sure what the wins and losses will look like, but I know what our effort and the things we can control will look like. All I ask, and I know this will happen, is to be competitive and have a chance to win games late and I think this group will do that.”