Where Are They Now? Series: 2016 Edition

Sweets Return to Winning Ways but Fall Short of Postseason Play

The 2016 Walla Walla Sweets managed to get back to their winning ways and finish the season above .500 under second year manager Frank Mutz. A veteran-laden roster filled with several future pros amassed a record of 30-24 but just missed out on the postseason in a competitive North Division.

The Sweets won seven of their final ten games to conclude the 2016 season. The Sweets saw five different players earn all-WCL honors and several others make the All-Star team as well. University of Washington product Willie MacIver was named to the WCL First Team and was second in the league in average, batting just under .330. He also led the team in home runs (4) and RBI’s with 33.

In total, the Sweets had five players participate in the 2016 WCL All-Star Game. Four players made the WCL Second Team, including second teamers Jarren Duran (Long Beach State), Chris Murphy (San Diego), Bobby Ay (Cal Poly), and Kyle Narahara (Cal State Monterey Bay). The Sweets had four different pitchers post an ERA of under 2.30

The Sweets were once again near the top in attendance for collegiate summer teams in 2016 as well. This season marked the second highest win total in a year for the Sweets and the second time they reached the 30-win plateau.

Pitchers

# Player B/T Ht Wt College Class Hometown Draft Status Player Eligibility
2 Ryan Anderson L/L 6-4 180 Nevada Freshman Sparks, NV
37 Bobby Ay R/R 6-3 180 Cal Poly Sophomore Trabuco Canyon, CA
26 AJ Carkner R/R 6-1 165 Pikeville Col Senior Ellensburg, WA
15 Jack Cosca R/R 6-1 185 Sacramento, CA
8 Billy Dimlow R/R 6-3 165 Emory U Sophomore Sammamish, WA
46 Grant Ford R/R 6-1 170 Nevada Reno (U of) Freshman San Jose, CA
13 Cole Henderson R/R 6-3 180 Nevada Freshman Jamul, CA
19 Ryan Kimball 6-1 225 Walla Walla CC Freshman Walla Walla, WA
21 Easton Lucas L/L 6-3 170 Pepperdine U Freshman Simi Valley,CA
12 Chris Murphy L/L 6-0 175 San Diego Freshman Granada Hills, CA
20 Kyle Narahara R/R 6-4 230 Junior Castro Valley, CA
3 Nick Scheidler L/L 6-2 170 UCLA Freshman Carlsbad, CA
18 Dylan Suppan R/R 6-0 185 Granada Hills, CA
28 Nick Vigo L/L 5-10 200 Cal State Monterrey Bay Junior Simi Valley, CA
16 Jackson Weeg L/L 6-0 175 Emory Senior Woodstock, GA

Catchers

# Player B/T Ht Wt College Class Hometown Draft Status Player Eligibility
29 Hayden Duer R/R 6-4 215 Junior Davis, CA
9 Willie MacIver R/R 6-1 200 Washington (U of) Freshman Pleasant Hill,CA
32 Griffin Mazur R/R 5-10 190 UC Irvine Sophomore Moorpark, CA
34 Branden Williams R/R 6-2 205 Huntington Beach, CA

Infielders

# Player B/T Ht Wt College Class Hometown Draft Status Player Eligibility
24 Ben Baird R/R 6-2 185 Washington Freshman Agoura, CA
4 Patrick Chung L/R 5-7 165 Gonzaga Junior Everett, WA
17 Jarren Duran L/R 6-1 185 Long Beach State Sophomore Cypress, CA
5 Coby Kauhaahaa R/R 6-0 195 Cal State Fullerton Sophomore Yorba Linda, CA
25 Nick Nyquist R/R 6-3 210 Gonzaga U Coeur d’Alene

Outfielders

# Player B/T Ht Wt College Class Hometown Draft Status Player Eligibility
6 Connor Doyle S/R 5-10 170 San Diego Danville, CA
10 Ryan Johnston L/L 5-10 160 UC Irvine San Diego
55 Chris McCready L/R 6-0 185 Valencia
30 Jordan Myrow R/R 5-10 185 UCLA Sophomore Sherman Oaks, CA
1 Zach Weisz R/R 5-9 160 Cal State Fullerton Poway, CA

Other

# Player B/T Ht Wt College Class Hometown Draft Status Player Eligibility
27 Hunter Villanueva R/R 6-1 200 Bakersfield, CA

Staff

# Name
31 Michael Dingilian Pitching Coach
Nathan Fry Trainer
39 Frank Mutz Manager
44 Mathew Troupe Hitting Coach
22 Kyle Wilkerson Bench Coach
North Division W L PCT GB STREAK LAST 10
Victoria HarbourCats  40 14 0.741 2W 7-3
Bellingham Bells  32 22 0.593 8 1W 8-2
Walla Walla Sweets 30 24 0.556 10 2W 7-3
Kelowna Falcons 25 29 0.463 15 2L 3-7
Wenatchee AppleSox 19 35 0.352 21 1L 3-7
South Division W L PCT GB STREAK LAST 10
Corvallis Knights  34 20 0.630 1L 9-1
Yakima Valley Pippins  32 22 0.593 2 2L 6-4
Gresham GreyWolves 26 28 0.481 8 2W 4-6
Cowlitz Black Bears 23 31 0.427 11 1W 2-8
Bend Elks 21 33 0.389 13 2L 3-7
Kitsap BlueJackets 15 39 0.282 19 6L 2-8

Where are they now?

Willie MacIver was a spring training invite for the Colorado Rockies. He spent the 2019 season with the Single-A Asheville Tourists.

Ryan Anderson spent time in the Appalachian League for the affiliate of the New York Yankees in 2019 and is currently still a member of the organization.

Bobby Ay spent one season in the Pioneer League for the affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019.

Grant Ford was a fifth round draft pick and is currently a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He last played for the low-A West Virginia Power in 2019.

Easton Lucas was drafted by the Miami Marlins and is currently a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Chris Murphy was drafted in the sixth round by the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and is a member of their organization.

Nick Vigo played for CSU Monterey Bay and is currently an assistant coach there.

Ben Baird is still an active member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He last played for Rookie League Johnson City in 2019.

Jarren Duran was drafted in the eight round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He is expected to be called up to the majors in Boston at some point this season and has been one of the top prospects in the Red Sox farm system for years.

 

 

By: Brandon Monty

Date: April 13, 2021