AppleSox Add Five New Players To 2022 Roster

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Wednesday the addition of five new players to the 2022 roster. Devin Fry, CJ Horn, Xander Orejudos, Lee Souza and Davis Spencer have all joined the AppleSox to put the team at 40 players on this summer’s roster.

Wenatchee Valley College right-hander Devin Fry will stay in the Apple Capital of the World this summer. Fry is in his third season with the Knights after beginning his career in the brief 2020 season. He only appeared in one game that season but tossed six games last year and has appeared in eight games so far this spring.

Fry has started all but one game that he has appeared in this year and his best start was his most recent. The Asotin, Wash. native allowed two runs over seven innings on April 9 in an 8-2 win over Columbia Basin. Fry struck out five and did not allow any runs until the sixth. He is committed to pitch for Western Oregon next year.

“Devin Fry will give us quality innings on the mound this summer,” Darlington said. “He has continued to grow over the past couple years and we are excited to see his development this summer.”

CJ Horn is the first of two players in this week’s announcement who is not a pitcher. Horn is a catcher at Ball State and is batting .303 in 18 games this season. The Sun City, Ariz. native played at Sierra College in 2021 and hit .404 in 16 games. Horn began his collegiate career at the New Mexico Military Institute in 2019 and batted .348 with five home runs and 22 RBI in 27 games. He transferred to the University of the Incarnate Word in 2020 but only appeared in one game before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season.

This will be Horn’s second straight year playing summer ball. He played in 27 games in the Texas Collegiate League with the Amarillo Sod Squad in 2021 and hit .292, the second-best batting average on his team among players to appear in at least 20 games.

“CJ Horn will stabilize the catching position for us,” Darlington said. “He is an excellent blocker and receiver with an above-average arm.”

Xander Orejudos from Ellensburg has signed a 10-day contract with the AppleSox for the 2022 season. Orejudos is currently a junior at the University of Jamestown and has a .264 batting average through his first 37 games. The middle infielder began his collegiate career Columbia Basin College in 2018. Orejudos hit .356 in 46 games his freshman year and then followed up with a .358 average in 28 games as a sophomore. He transferred to Georgia Gwinnett afterwards but did not play in 2020-21 before transferring again.

Orejudos signed to play in the West Coast League in 2019 and 2020 but did not play either season. He signed on with the AppleSox in 2019 and the Yakima Valley Pippins in 2020. He did play for the Klamath Falls Gems in the Great West League in 2018 and hit .265 in 29 games while earning a spot in the mid-summer’s All-Star Game.

“Xander Orejudos is a dirtbag ball player,” Darlington said. “He does all of the little things well that help you win ball games.“

Lee Souza joins Fry as another NWAC arm to join the AppleSox this summer. The freshman right-hander has pitched in 11 games (two starts) for Yakima Valley College and has a 5.65 ERA but has only allowed three runs in his last six appearances, spanning 11.1 innings.

Souza becomes the second player signed to the AppleSox to hail from Hawaii, joining Aiva Arquette. The Wailuku, Hawaii, native played high school baseball at Henry Perrine Baldwin High School.

“Lee Souza brings a bulldog mentality on the bump,” Darlington said.

Another Ellensburg native, Davis Spencer, will suit up for the Sox this summer before joining Utah Valley in the fall. He is currently enrolled at Central Arizona, where he has a 4.40 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 14.1 innings in nine games. Spencer began his collegiate career at the University of Washington in 2020. He did not pitch in the shortened season and only appeared in one game in 2021.

Spencer was a part of back-to-back 2A State Champion teams at Ellensburg in 2017 and 2018. He was the no. 14 ranked player in Washington according to Baseball Northwest and no. 16 by Prep Baseball Report.

“Davis Spencer is a big time arm talent,” Darlington said. “He has a low to mid 90’s fastball that he pairs well with a plus change up.”

Listen to today’s edition of the Wenatchee AppleSox Podcast below to hear more of what Darlington had to say about the newest members of the 2022 team. Stay tuned for more roster additions by liking the AppleSox on Facebook and following @AppleSox on Instagram and Twitter.