Modesto Nuts prepare for season opener in Stockton with new manager, promising prospects

A new set of faces descended on Modesto’s baseball scene earlier this week as members of The Modesto Nuts, the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, settled into the Central Valley ahead of the start of a new season.

The Nuts play their first game Thursday, April 6, as part of a three-game season opening series against the Stockton Ports.

They play their first game of 2023 at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at at John Thurman Field against the San Jose Giants. The first 500 fans will receive an Ichiro Suzuki bobblehead.

Among the many newcomers to Modesto is manager Zach Vincej.

The first-year Nuts manager was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 37th round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Pepperdine University. He played eight season as an infielder in the minor leagues from 2012 to 2019 and appeared in 10 Major League games between Cincinnati (2017) and Seattle (2018). He also played in the Mariners organization with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers and spent time with the Orioles Triple-A affiliate.

“I’m really, really grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “I know this is a huge opportunity for not just me, but for our whole coaching staff and young players … to really help and guide them. Some of them are in their first full professional season. So I feel like we have a big responsibility on our hands to get them going in their careers.”

Through his playing career, Vincej played for managers who still influence him today. He hopes to mold the best of each of them nto his own coaching style that will cater to player development while holding individuals accountable.

“As a player, I really liked the managers that were creating relationships with the guys and not just acting as the superior,” Vincej said. “My main focus was to get to know the guys and get to know their personal lives. Talk to them as a person first, and then help them and be a guidance for them as a baseball coach as well.”

Vincej comes to Modesto alongside a staff he has some familiarity with.

Hitting coach Seth Mejias-Brean was with Vincej in Tacoma and like the new manager, pitching coach Jake Witt spent time in the Orioles organization as he was the pitching coach for the squad’s Dominican Summer League team.

Third base and catching coach Hecmart Nieves enters his second season in the Mariners organization but first in Modesto. Athletic trainer Blake Wooten is new to the Mariners organization after spending 2022 with the Orioles organization as a Seasonal Athletic Trainer.

Returning strength and conditioning coach Jose Alcantara Beas can fill Vincej and the new staff in on all of the local amenities and help them get acquainted with the Nuts.

“The whole spring it’s been great learning from them,” Vincej said. “I’m very lucky to have the guys that we have. We have a really good connection, good relationships with each other and … it just makes my job a lot easier. I’m very grateful for them.”

His start in coaching with the Mariners organization came last season as a member of the Rainiers staff. He worked alongside Tim Federowicz, who is now with the Detroit Tigers, coaching third base and working with the infielders on a team that finished the season 72-78.

“I learned a ton from him on the pitching side of things because he was a catcher, so he’s really in tune with the pitching staff.” Vincej said. “It was a great learning experience for me (getting) a full season of coaching and I’m looking forward to using some of those skills and carrying them over to this year.”

Young looks to continue improvement as one of Mariners’ top prospects

After playing in Modesto just two weeks at the end of last season, shortstop Cole Young starts his first full season in Modesto. The Mariners’ No. 3 prospect, according to MLB.com, the Pennsylvania native was selected 21st overall in 2022. He was promoted to Modesto just one month after the draft and slashed .385/.422/.539 in 10 games. Around the end of the season, Adidas also approached him about being an Adidas athlete.

“It’s cool to be a top prospect, but I’m mainly focused on getting better each day, competing and trying to win,” Young said. “If we win every day that’s all I care about.”

Young will look different than last season as he has added 12-15 pounds of muscle over the offseason, a point of emphasis, according to second-year Nuts strength and conditioning coach Jose Beas.

“We were in Peoria, Ariz. at the spring training complex for about a month and a half,” said Young, who estimates he weighs about 193 pounds. “We lifted five times a week, they fed us well and I just naturally got stronger.”

Expanding their game

If a player is thinking about adding something to his repertoire, low-A baseball is the best time to do it. That is the case for at least three members of this year’s Nuts squad as outfielder Curtis Washington Jr. and pitchers Brandon Schaeffer and Tyler Cleveland are all looking to add to their games on their way to the big leagues.

Washington, who recently starred at Purdue before going in the 19th round of the 2022 draft, is transitioning to a switch hitter like his idol Chipper Jones. The natural right-handed batter has worked on his lefty swing in summer ball but decided to fully commit to it about a year ago.

“The more I swing from the left side, the more comfortable I feel and the more success I have from the left side, it will grow my confidence in it.” he said.

Cleveland started transitioning into being a submarine pitcher in college during the COVID-19 pandemic and was a standout during his 2021 and 2022 seasons at the University of Central Arkansas. Cleveland says the Mariners has been a “very good spot for me” as the 2022 14th rounder has been able to learn from pitchers Pen Murfee and Collin Kober. Both have similar throwing styles and are working their way through the ranks of the Mariners as well as fifth-year pitching coordinator Max Weiner.

“I just talk to those guys and there’s a lot of knowledge … they’re able to help me with new things that I haven’t learned.” Cleveland said.

Schaeffer is in the process of adding a new pitch to his arsenal.

Incorporating a changeup allows the 2022 draftee out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to work off of the slider and fastball he has thrown for years.

“I think it is going to go a long way,” he said. “Being a starting pitcher, especially in pro ball, it is important to have more than two pitches you can command in the zone.”

Townsend’s busy offseason

Pitcher Blake Townsend didn’t have much down time this off season as he spent most of March playing for the Australian National team at the World Baseball Classic in Japan. He sees it as an experience that can only help as he plays in Modesto for the second season.

“I’ve pitched on as big of a stage as I could possibly pitch,” he said. “It’s only going to help me when I’m in those hard situations on the mound … I think I’ve learned that I’m prepared and I’ll be able to overcome a situation if I’m in it.”

Townsend saw action against the host country and faced arguably the best player in baseball, Shohei Otani.

“It was insane,” he said. “I’ve never pitched in front of more people and I probably never will. There was 41,000 people in the stands and they didn’t stop cheering. They had drums, trumpets. It was insane.”

In addition to his time in Modesto last season, Townsend played for the High-A Everett AquaSox and Triple-A Rainiers.

Draft Combine attendee starts pro career

Pitcher and Mariners’ No. 24 prospect Tyler Gough’s two-month stint in the spring/summer of 2022 will be remembered forever. The RHP and Riverside, Calif. native helped JSerra Catholic win a CIF Southern Section Division I championship, graduated high school then attended the second ever MLB Draft Combine. What did he do at the combine? Only strike out the five batters he faced at Petco Park in San Diego. He was a member of the Mariners organization shortly after.

“Pitching at Petco Park was awesome,” he said. “That ended up being one of my best outings … I couldn’t have done better. I think that’s what pushed me over the edge to be able to sign.”

Originally an Oregon State signee as the top prospect in the Beavers’ 2023 recruiting class, Gough was drafted in the ninth round and is already being mentioned among the organization’s top 30 prospects.

“It’s an honor to be ranked as a top prospect already,” the 19-year-old said. “There’s probably a little bit of pressure … the biggest thing for me is the mental side of things and being able to understand where I’m at, who I am and stick with that and just do what I do best.”

Shortstop Hood highlights top notch infield

The Nuts infield will be special. In addition to Young, the Mariners’ No. 29 prospect Josh Hood starts the season in the red, black and white. He played his first two college years at UPenn and missed most of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and unlike a lot of college athletes also missed the 2021 season when the Ivy League canceled spring sports. He spent his final collegiate season at NC State before being selected in the sixth round in 2022.

“I definitely wish I could have gotten more out of my college experience but I’m super excited to be a pro baseball player,” he said. “This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. Just to get started is super exciting.”

The right-handed hitter has been tabbed by MLB.com as someone with “above-average raw power” and has already been scoping out John Thurman Field’s outfield walls.

“It’s been great getting to take a look at the ballpark,” he said. “I noticed left field is pretty deep, so I gotta put a little extra umph on the right side of the box if I’m gonna hit it pull side.”

MLB.com says the natural shortstop also has shown ability to play third base and even some outfield as well.