Roster for new-look Lexington Legends coming together as spring training beckons
Spring training for the new-look Lexington Legends is less than two weeks away and — just in time — the team’s 2021 roster is coming into focus.
Lexington’s minor league baseball team announced the signings of nine new players this week, bringing their active roster to 21 with spring training set to start May 17.
After 19 seasons playing under the official flag of Major League Baseball through affiliations first with the Houston Astros and then the Kansas City Royals, the Legends are preparing to enter their first year as an independent club. The change came as part of Major League Baseball’s downsizing of its minor league operations last year that drove some 40 franchises out of business or into the unaffiliated independent leagues.
In February, the Legends joined the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The league is considered a “professional partner” of MLB, though ALPB teams are not affiliated with MLB organizations. As part of the agreement, Major League Baseball is allowed to test experimental playing rules and equipment during Atlantic League games.
When the pandemic forced minor league baseball to cancel the 2020 season, the Legends formed a roster independently and played a reduced schedule of games late last summer. The Legends’ roster included former MLB players and local ex-college standouts and created a foundation for how Lexington would construct its teams going forward.
The Legends’ roster for 2021 includes at least 19 players who were selected in the MLB Draft, including former first-rounders Henry Owens (Boston Red Sox, 2011), Keon Barnum (Chicago White Sox, 2012), D.J. Peterson (Mariners, 2013) and Courtney Hawkins (White Sox, 2012). Josh Ravin was a fifth-round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in 2006.
Three Legends — Dustin Beggs, Tim Peterson and Ben Aklinski — played collegiately at the University of Kentucky. Three played for Louisville — Derek Self, Jeff Thompson and Cole Sturgeon — and one played for Eastern Kentucky — Bryan Quillens.
Self (Cave City), Thompson (Louisville) and Sturgeon (Owensboro) were born in Kentucky.
The average age of the Legends is 29. The oldest player is former University of Tennessee player Ty’Relle Harris at 34. The youngest is Aklinski at 24.
Among the nine players announced this week were two with major league experience in Ravin and Mike Hauschild.
Ravin, a right-handed pitcher, reached the majors with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers, appearing in 35 games with a record of 2-3 and a 5.12 ERA. Ravin also played professionally in Japan.
Hauschild, also a right-handed pitcher, made major league appearances for Texas and Toronto, going 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA.
The Legends list their 2021 roster as “tentative” as it’s not yet complete.
The Legends open the 2021 season May 28-31 with four games at the Long Island Ducks. The Legends then return to Lexington to start a six-game home stand June 1 against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
