2023 AppleSox Roster Nearing Full Shape

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Thursday the addition of five players to the AppleSox’ 2023 roster. Marty Kaplan, Trent Liolios, Ryan Martinez, Josh Williams and Spencer Green will all join this summer’s team. 

Kaplan is the first-of-two players from Northwestern. He has appeared in eight games and has a .385 average. The left-handed hitting outfielder only appeared in one game in February but has played in five of Northwestern's last eight games. Kaplan graduated from Harvard Westlake High School (CA) in 2022.

"Randy Flores, the Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting for the St. Louis Cardinals, is a family friend of his,” Darlington said, “and reached out about getting Marty on our team because he had heard good things about Wenatchee. Marty has numerous offers coming out of college. He chose Northwestern over Arizona, Georgia Tech and a few others because his older brother played at Northwestern."

Liolios is also a freshman at Northwestern but has played in 26 of the Wildcats' 34 games so far. He is batting .195 with eight extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in his first year with Northwestern while working as a corner infielder. The Newport Beach, Calif. native hit .270 in 32 games last spring as a senior at Newport Harbor High School. 

"I've got him slotted to play at third base but he can also play first and pitch a little,” Darlington said. “In the fall when we signed him it sounded like the bulk of his work was going to come on the mound. It makes me think that he may have just torn the ball off the cover in the fall to earn a spot in the lineup this spring."

Martinez is in his freshman year at the University of the Pacific (CA). The right-handed has an 8.34 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 13 walks over 21.2 innings in 14 games (three starts). Martinez’s best outing came on Feb 25, when he tossed 3.1 scoreless innings against Milwaukee in his second collegiate appearance. The Las Vegas, Nev. native graduated from Centennial High School last year. 

“His swing-and-miss pitch is a little different,” Martinez said, “and I’ve had some conversations with him about it. He throws a knuckle curve, it’s his go-to swing-and-miss strikeout pitch. He says it’s not a true 12-6 over the top, it’s not really a true slider, it’s just in between and moves sometimes where even he doesn’t know.”

Williams comes to the AppleSox after a big summer last year with the Walla Walla Sweets. He hit .315 with six home runs in 28 games while patrolling the outfield. The Clovis, Calif. Native recorded 11 multi-hit games, including a 2-for-4 game against the AppleSox on July 23. Williams is in his redshirt freshman year at UC Santa Barbara and is batting .217 through 23 at-bats in 27 games. 

“I really think he’s going to have a good summer for us,” Darlington said. “He’s one of those California kids who is going to show up late in mid-June. The nice thing is he is going to be able to stay full season for us and hopefully go on a playoff run and we can keep a talented guy like that on the roster for the full summer.”

Green is in his senior year at Richland High School and is not committed to a college yet. He had originally announced he was joining Oregon State before decommitting. Green was ranked in February as the fourth-best player in Washington state by Perfect Game.

“He’s talented,” Darlington said. “He’s got a low-90’s fastball, a good breaking pitch, just next-level stuff. Really excited to see what he does for us. I could see him in a starting role if he is fully healthy and ready to go.” 

Listen now to the AppleSox Podcast to hear more of Darlington’s thoughts on the five players signed. You can listen to it and other previous roster-release episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Ticket packages for the AppleSox’ 23rd season are now on sale. Season tickets lock in your seats for all 31 home games and run as affordable as $145 for general admission bleacher seats while reserved premium seating is $245. Additionally, fans can get 10-ticket Double Play Ticket Packs for $60. These 10 general-admission ticket punches can all be used at once or spread out over the course of the season over multiple games. To purchase 2023 ticket packages please visit applesox.com/season-tickets call 509-665-6900 or email allie@applesox.com.