Exciting Crop of Beavers to Report Friday, June 12.
June 6, 2015Freshmen Elliott Cary, Christian Donahue, KJ Harrison and Jackson Soto to Play Summer Baseball in Corvallis
What could very well be the Knights' best collection of Oregon State players since 2011 has team president Dan Segel extremely stoked about the 2015 West Coast League season, the home portion of which starts Tuesday, June 9 against the Bellingham Bells on Big League Chew Opening Night, presented by AmeriTrade.
All-Pac-12 first baseman/catcher KJ Harrison, speedy outfielder Elliott Cary, slick-fielding second baseman Christian Donahue and slugging third baseman Jackson Soto all should make a seamless transition from the Beavers' locker room to the Knights' dressing quarters when they become eligible to play on Friday with the end of OSU's spring term.
"I can't begin to describe how thrilled I am to have these guys in Corvallis uniforms," Segel said. "They are some of OSU's premier young talent and remind me of the young Beavers who helped us win the 2011 West Coast League championship."
That summer, pitchers Ben Wetzler and Scott Schultz, catcher Ryan Gorton and incoming freshman Jace Fry helped spearhead the Knights' charge to the regular-season and divisional titles, and a convincing sweep of Walla Walla in the WCL Championship Series.
This year's freshman foursome has that same capability, according to new Knights' assistant coach Dane Lund, a player on the 2011 Knights and a teammate of Cary, Harrison, Donahue and Soto at OSU this past spring.
"Those guys are just a ton of hard workers," Lund said. "They're going to bring a lot of maturity, a lot of leadership, and the same stuff they brought to the Beavers."
Harrison was the Pacific-12 Conference Freshman of the Year, a first-team Pac-12 selection, and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after a stellar season that saw him hit .309 with a team-high 10 homers and a Pac-12-best 60 RBIs.
"What impressed me about KJ was his ability to learn, and really step into a big role that fast," Lund said. "He got off to a really hot start, probably the hottest in the country, and his drive and his work ethic and desire to get better will make him a really special player."
KJ has been invited to the Team USA tryout camp in Cary, N.C., which begins on June 18. He will return to the Knights in late June if he doesn't make the National team, or sometime in mid-July if he does.
The 6-foot, 200-pounder was selected in the 25th round by Cleveland in 2014 as the 758th overall pick and was a three-year letterman at the Punahou School in Honolulu. He was first-team all-league and honorable mention all-state as a sophomore and junior, and honorable-mention all-league as a freshman.
A speedy outfielder, Cary overcame a slow start with the Beavers and earned a starting job in right field over the final 1/3 of the season. He hit .258 in 36 games, with a homer, 17 runs and 13 RBIs.
"Elliott is a hard worker," Lund said. "Once you get here, everyone can play, and it's your work ethic that is going to separate you."
No stranger to the WCL, Cary played for the Cowlitz Black Bears in 2014 after graduating from Clackamas High School and turning down the Washington Nationals, who chose him in the 32nd round of the 2014 MLB draft as the 964th overall pick. He hit .190 (15-79) in 25 games for the Black Bears, with four RBIs.
"I'm really excited," to move down I-5 to the Knights, he said last fall. "It's going to be good, playing with three of my freshmen teammates. [Soto] told me it's a great experience, a great way to get used to Pac-12. He said he loved playing here, and being around the coaches."
Cary was Oregon 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year and the Three Rivers League Player of the Year after hitting .522 for Clackamas High School, with 22 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He moved to Oregon from Niceville, Fla., for his senior season after committing to OSU. His father, Chuck, is a former major-league pitcher.
A 5-10, 170-pound switch-hitting middle infielder from Mililani, Hawaii, Donahue (pictured) was OSU's starting second baseman for much of the season. He hit .287 in 51 games, with no homers, 14 RBIs, 33 runs and a team-best nine steals.
Christian was a three-year letterman at the Iolani School, and also played in the 2008 Little League World Series.
"He is going to be really solid for us, in all aspects of his game," Lund said, and should continue the Knights' tradition of middle-infield excellence established by former WCL standouts Josh Hogan, Richie Jimenez, Matt Duffy, Trent Oleszczuk, Nate Roberts, Peter Van Gansen, Chris Rabago, Marc Gallegos and Michael Lucarelli, the team's 2014 MVP.
Soto earned a full-time position with the Knights last summer after graduating from West Albany High School. He hit .245 (37-151) in 50 games, with no homers and 23 RBIs, was honorable-mention all-WCL, and led all West Coast League third basemen in fielding percentage.
A hand injury limited his time with the Beavers in 2015, as he was unable to play early in the season. He was hitless in four at-bats but Lund is confident Soto can relocate his groove with more playing time.
"I just remember him coming in and getting huge, clutch hits for us" last summer, Lund said. "What I always liked about summer ball was getting about 100 or more at-bats, it really helps you out," and that should happen for Soto in 2015.
OSU assistant coach Andy Jenkins, a Knights' alum (2002-2004) and former assistant coach (2012) said Corvallis is getting some of the top talent from the 2014-15 freshman class.
"They are going to fit in just fine, and they [were] some of the most talented freshmen in the Pac-12," Jenkins said. "They should hit in the middle of the lineup and play in the middle of the field for the Knights, for sure."
