GRIZZLIES SIGN TWO PLAYERS FROM THE CALIFORNIA WINTER LEAGUE
After spending time in the California Winter League, Cody Beck (pitcher) and Brent Gillespie (infielder) are heading to the Midwest.
Beck signs with the Grizzlies in his first year as a professional baseball player. Before spending his time with the Palm Springs Power this past winter, Beck pitched four years for Young Harris College in Georgia.
As a Mountain Lion, Beck made 68 total pitching appearances in his 4-year career. In 2013, he pitched two complete games with one being a shutout and struck out a career high 49 batters.
Gillespie spent this past winter with the Oregon Lumberjacks in California. Before playing winter ball, Gillespie spent one season with the San Rafael Pacifics of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs.
The utility player will bring another strong bat to the Grizzlies lineup. He crushed 12 homeruns and added 40 RBIs to his resume with the Pacifics in 2016.
He has attended both Santa Rosa Junior College and Youngstown State University and graduated with a degree in Communications.
More information about the relationship between the Frontier League and the California Winter League:
The Frontier League is proud to have extended our agreement with the California Winter League as our Official Winter League for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Frontier League managers and coaches will be instructors in the California Winter League and sign a minimum of 24 players each season to spring training contracts.
Over 50 players from the 2015 California Winter League signed with Frontier League clubs, including All-Star Game MVP Michael Hur (Rockford Aviators), Home Run Derby champion Reggie Lawson (Traverse City Beach Bums), and Rookie of the Year Brandon Tierney (Frontier Greys).
Another 47 players from the 2016 California Winter League season signed with Frontier League teams, including Post-Season All-Star Catcher Mike Jurgella (River City Rascals), runner-up for Rookie of the Year Luke Barker (Traverse City Beach Bums), and Ken Frosch of the league champion Evansville Otters. In addition, Matt Pobereyko went from the CWL to the Florence Freedom before being signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks while Luke Barker was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers following the 2016 season.
ABOUT THE GATEWAY GRIZZLIES: The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team, located a mere 100-yards from I255 (10 minutes from downtown St. Louis). The Grizzlies offer baseball fans entertainment, the likes of which are difficult to find - affordable, family, fun in a comfortable ballpark with a great view of the St. Louis skyline. For tickets or general information please visit gatewaygrizzlies.com or call 618.337.3000.
ABOUT THE FRONTIER LEAGUE: The Frontier League is celebrating its 25th year as a professional, independent baseball organization. Since its inception, the Frontier League has provided millions of fans to a fun and exciting baseball experience within the American Midwest. Consisting of 12 teams in two divisions and 96 game schedules, the league is recognized for the amount of talented athletes that are picked up by various MLB teams every year.