TRIO OF INCOMING UCLA FRESHMEN JOIN APPLESOX
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Three UCLA freshmen-to-be will join the AppleSox this summer, and two of the players had fathers who played professionally.
WENATCHEE, Wash. – After finding success with future UCLA right-hander Griffin Canning and reliever Nathan Hadley a summer ago, the Wenatchee AppleSox will once again sport multiple Bruins-to-be, Head Coach AJ Proszek announced Tuesday.
Brian Gadsby, a right-handed pitcher from Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, Calif., Tyler Nevin, an infielder from Poway High School in Poway, Calif., and Daniel Amaral, an outfielder from Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., will look to follow in the footsteps of future Bruins who have played in Wenatchee.
“UCLA has given us some quality arms in the past,” Proszek said. “Hadley and Canning were both great arms for us, threw a lot for us, and I enjoyed their presence. Coach [John] Savage does a great job of bringing in quality kids and players to his program and continues to send those types of guys to Wenatchee.”
Amaral and Nevin are both sons of former Major Leaguers Rich Amaral and Phil Nevin. Amaral played for the Seattle Mariners from 1991-98 and spent eight of his 10 Major League seasons in Seattle, before finishing his career in Baltimore. Phil Nevin played for Houston, Detroit, Anaheim, San Diego, Texas, Chicago (Cubs), and Minnesota during his 12-year career. Amaral played collegiately at UCLA and Nevin is currently the manager of the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gadsby will join the AppleSox pitching staff in 2015. He is known for his signature side-arm type delivery.
“I expect nothing different from him than I did from Canning or Hadley,” Proszek said. “I’m really looking forward to watching him perform and work hard this summer.”
Nevin will be a versatile piece of the AppleSox infield in 2015.
“I talked to him on the phone and I’m really fired up because he seems like a really well-rounded individual,” Proszek said. “Talking to Coach Savage, he said he was going to send me three guys who would be a perfect fit for the AppleSox and the way we go about it, so it’s nice to keep that going.”
Amaral enters the summer as one of the AppleSox three main outfielders.
“I’m definitely excited,” Proszek said. “Anyone who was a dad in the professional system usually has better knowledge as to how to go about it, how to work, and how to play the game. I expect him and Tyler [Nevin] to bring some of that presence to the team and I’m sure guys will be interested in hearing some of the stories and all of that.”
Wenatchee opens its season with a two-game nonleague series against the San Francisco Seals, June 4-5, at Paul Thomas Sr. Field. Tickets can be purchased by calling 509-665-6900, or by visiting: http://www.applesox.com/tickets/
