AppleSox Add Four More Players To 2023 Roster

AppleSox head coach Mitch Darlington announced on Wednesday the addition of four players to the AppleSox’ 2023 roster. Griffin Allen, Luke Meyers, Junior Flores and Marcus Harrison will all join this summer’s team.

Allen is in his first season at Ohlone College in California after transferring from Grand Canyon University. He did not pitch in 2022 but has a 2.61 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks in 38 innings over eight games (six starts). The California Community College Athletic Association awarded him NORCAL conference Pitcher of the Week honors for tossing seven shutout innings with five strikeouts, one walk and one hit on March 4 against San Mateo. 

Allen already has a connection to the AppleSox in that he worked with the team’s pitching coach Mike Callia a summer ago. Allen pitched for the Western Nebraska Pioneers in the Independence League and recorded a 2.55 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 16 walks in 67 innings over 11 games (all starts). He tossed six-or-more innings in seven starts and earned the league’s Pitcher of the Year honor in its inaugural season. 

“I think Griffin Allen is going to be a huge addition for us,” Callia said. “I had the pleasure to coach him last summer and he and I hit it off really well. He’s a really coachable kid and wants to win. When he was reaching out looking for a summer spot and I was in Wenatchee it was a no-brainer. He’s a great teammate and I think fans will enjoy that. He’s a bulldog on the mound but he’s a teddy bear off it.” 

Meyers is in his first year at Central Arizona College, where he has a 4.11 ERA with 21 strikeouts and five walks in 15.1 innings over eight games (one start). His best game so far was a three-inning relief effort against El Paso Community College on Feb. 4. Meyers allowed an unearned run while striking out seven and not issuing any walks. He is teammates there with two former AppleSox players, Felix Schlede and DJ Massey.

The Denver, Colo. native was a multi-position star at Heritage High School as he batted .377 in 44 games and recorded a 2.51 ERA in 21 games in two years on the varsity team. Meyers’ senior year was phenomenal all around as he batted .387 with nine extra-base hits and 14 stolen bases while also recording a 2.53 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 22 walks in 47 innings over 12 games. He appeared in Prep Baseball Report’s West Coast Games in 2021 prior to his senior season and was ranked as the eighth-best prospect in Colorado in 2022. 

“He’s going to be huge for us out of the bullpen,” Darlington said. “I could see him getting a ton of innings for us. He’s not really a long-inning guy but a come in and shut things down guy who makes a lot of appearances.”

Flores began his collegiate career at Hawaii before transferring to New Mexico for this season. The sophomore southpaw has only appeared in one game this spring but toed the rubber nine times last year. He posted a 6.14 ERA with four strikeouts and six walks in 7.1 innings over nine games for the Rainbow Warriors. Flores only allowed one run over his last six games while also striking out one, walking two and only allowing two hits in three innings. 

The Maricopa, Ariz. native graduated from Mountain Pointe High School in 2021, where he recorded a 3.15 ERA with 12 strikeouts and six walks in 6.2 innings over four games. He recorded a save in three of those appearances and also hit .267 in nine games. 

“Junior is teammates with Jack DeDonato,” Darlington said, “which is really how we found Junior. Jack reached out this fall when we invited him back to return to us and he mentioned that he had a left-handed arm who was interested in coming to Wenatchee. Pitching is at a premium in the West Coast League and especially when it is a Division-I arm you can’t pass up on them.”

Harrison has moved into a regular role at Central Arizona after appearing in six games as a freshman in 2022. He has a .269 average with three home runs and 25 RBI in 36 games. Harrison’s home run and RBI totals are tied for the most on the Vaqueros, who are the reigning NJCAA Division-I Champions. He recorded an eight-game hit streak from Feb. 14-25 in which he batted .312.

The Chandler, Ariz. native graduated from Corona Del Sol High School in 2021 and shined in his shortened 2020 junior season. Harrison batted .292 with four doubles and 13 RBI in 10 games. 

“We’re going to see him playing a lot of first base for us,” Darlington said. “This is a guy who we envision batting in the middle of our lineup and competing for some innings at first base. Central Arizona is a program that speaks for itself. Getting a guy who is batting in the middle of their order and who is playing every day for them is great for us.” 

To hear more of Darlington’s thoughts on the four newest members of the 2023 roster stay tuned for the newest addition of the AppleSox Podcast tomorrow. 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.