Previewing the Greenville Drive

The time has finally come! For the first time in 12 years, there will be a professional baseball game in central South Carolina! Fittingly it is against the organization that abandoned us. Though to be fair, Greenville had lost their AA team to the suburbs of Jackson, Missisippi which has since gotten worse attendance than Greenville. So if there is somebody we should be mad at, it's Mississippi. Or really the Braves, who were looking for a way to market in Mississippi as they feel entitled to a monopoly on Southern professional baseball. Or really the Mets, who are unfortunately still our parent club after they pulled their affiliation feeling Capital City Stadium unsuited for baseball and pressuring the Bombers/Drive to give the Red Sox what they wanted in Greenville. So with that out of the way, here is a look at the Greenville Drive. You can check any of my other posts for a look at the Fireflies.

Both the Drive and Fireflies are 4-3.

Nice to see a Big South guy in Kyri Washington from Longwood playing outfield for the Drive. For Gamecock fans, there's also a couple SEC guys on Greenville's pitching staff as well. 

The top prospect on the Drive is shortstop Michael Chavis, drafted in the first round out of high school two years ago from Marietta, Georgia. Chavis so far is batting .333 for the Drive.

The Drive have identical twins from Venezuela with nearly identical names: Luis Alexander Basabe and Luis Alejandro Basabe. Same first and last name, with the middle names being a slight variation in language from one to another.

The Red Sox apparently have a narrow range from which they scout pitchers: all 13 Drive pitchers are from Latin America, Florida, or Texas.

So here is a look at the batters:

Player	Position	PA	OPS	AVG	HR	RBI	Round Picked	Age	College	Home State/Country
Michael Chavis	SS	29	0.787	0.333	0	4	1	20		Georgia
Josh Ockimey	1B	25	0.749	0.19	1	1	5	20		Pennsylvania
Luis Alexander Basabe	CF	23	0.626	0.182	1	2	IFA	19		Venezuela
Chad De La Guerra	2B	23	0.367	0.15	0	2	17	23	Grand Canyon	California
Kyri Washington	OF	22	0.955	0.318	1	4	23	21	Longwood	Virginia
Mitch Gunsolus	3B	21	0.697	0.316	0	0	10	23	Gonzaga	Washington
Joseph Monge	RF	21	0.596	0.263	0	1	17	20		Puerto Rico
Austin Rei	C	19	0.217	0.059	0	2	3	22	Washington	California
Luis Alejandro Basabe	2B	18	1.1	0.4	1	3	IFA	19		Venezuela
Jeremy Rivera	SS	15	0.593	0.231	0	3	17	21	El Paso CC	Puerto Rico
Roldani Baldwin	C	14	0.558	0.25	0	1	IFA	20		Dominican Republic
Trenton Kemp	LF	12	0.258	0.091	0	0	15	20		California

And a look at the pitchers:

Player	IP	W	L	S	ERA	Round Picked	Age	College	Home State/Country
Matt Kent	12	0	0	0	1.5	13	23	Texas A&M	Texas
Anderson Espinoza	10	0	1	0	2.7	IFA	18		Venezuela
Daniel Gonzalez	6	1	0	0	0	IFA	20		Venezuela
Logan Boyd	5	1	0	0	3.6	19	22	Sam Houston State	Texas
Roniel Raudes	5	1	0	0	0	IFA	18		Nicaragua
Anyelo Leclerc	5	1	0	0	3.6	IFA	24		Dominican Republic
Austin Glorius	4	0	0	0	0	NDFA	22	Valdosta State	Florida
Bobby Poyner	4	0	0	1	0	14	23	Florida	Florida
Jake Cosart	3	0	0	0	0	3	22	Seminole State	Texas
Kuehl McEachern	2.67	0	0	1	0	34	22	Flagler	Florida
Victor Diaz	2.33	0	2	0	15.43	IFA	21		Dominican Republic
Dioscar Romero	2	0	0	0	9	IFA	20		Dominican Republic
Jeffry Fernandez	2	0	0	0	0	IFA	23		Dominican Republic

Hope to see all 7500 of you in a few hours!