With the curious departure of Carlos Duncan, it appears that Sergio Pedroza may be the team's new DH. With Pedroza's right field position open and Chris VanRossum's season-ending injury, that leaves two outfield positions to be filled. Enter the new Seals, Garbriel Riley and Billy Krause.On Friday night, Riley batted sixth and played in right field. The 25-year-old went undrafted after playing baseball for Missouri Valley College, an NAIA school. Riley has one plus seasons of independent ball under his belt, having played for the Chico Outlaws in 2008 and part of this season. He was released by the Outlaws on July 4th after batting .253 with 3 homers and 14 RBIs in 83 at-bats. In 135 at-bats last season, he hit .319 with 3 homers and 23 RBIs. In addition to a good eye at the plate, he has a bit of speed: 10 steals in his 218 at-bats with the Outlaws. He doesn't look like an impact player, but he'll likely be fun to watch play the game. He might even run down a fly ball or two in the cavernous foul territory at Royal Athletic.
Billy Krause batted eighth and played center field for the Seals on Friday night in his professional debut. He's a product of the University of Portland Pilots and a native of Seattle. Krause had a grand total of 307 at-bats in his five seasons on the Pilots, so he is not likely to set the Golden League on fire. His highest batting average was in 2007 when he hit .224. He didn't show much power, speed or plate discipline at the NCAA level, but I'm sure he's a nice fellow. My guess is that he'll show great hustle and be happy to have the opportunity to play pro ball. Then again, maybe he'll shock us all...
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