With spring training underway and the season opener just ten days out, there's a lot going on at Ozinga Field. Our new coaching staff, led by manager Richie Sexson, has been hard at work assembling the roster. Here's a complete look at the 2023 spring training roster. We've also got more news and notes including our exhibition schedule, regular season, All-Star Game and a list of improvements made to Ozinga Field!
Coaches
Manager Richie Sexson was a two-time All-Star during a 12-year Major League career played with Cleveland, Milwaukee, Arizona, Seattle and the Yankees. This will be his first professional managerial position. Since retiring, he has served as the Director of Baseball at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon.
Pitching Coach Jaret Wright is a former first round draft pick and an 11-year Major League veteran, who started game seven of the 1997 World Series for the Cleveland Indians and went on to win 68 games in his career. This will be Jaret’s first pro coaching experience.
Third Base/Infield Coach Chris Coleman is making his debut as a coach at the professional level after spending the last 11 years coaching for St. Francis High School and Palo Alto High School in California. He played collegiately at San Jose City College.
Catchers
Returning Players:
Peyton Isaacson: 69 G, .264 BA, 9 HR, 32 RBI
Matt Morgan: 34 G, .223 BA, 5 HR, 22 RBI
Newcomers:
Aaron Cook was picked in the third round of the Frontier League draft. He spent the last three years at Roosevelt University and hit .429 this winter in the California Winter League.
Jonathan Waite was a rookie last year with San Rafael of the Pecos League. He hit .392 there with 16 homers in 45 games. He also hit .214 last summer for Trenton of the MLB Draft League.
Infielders
Returning Players:
Jake Boone: 87 G, .257, 6 HR, 39 RBI, 16 SB
Newcomers:
Jordan Hovey is a former Kansas City Royals farmhand. Over the last two years, he played 78 games for Billings of the Pioneer League and hit a combined .297 with 11 homers.
Junior Martina is a former member of the Dutch national team. Over the last four years, he played in the Washington Nationals’ system, hitting a combined .264 with a .345 on-base percentage in 179 games.
Carson Matthews has played the last two years in the Los Angeles Angels system. He played in 55 games total across three levels and peaked at Double A. Last year, he hit .181 over 29 games.
Will Riley is a rookie from Australia. He played last season with the University of Oregon and, prior to that, was a Division II All-American. In 2021, he had a .401 batting average for Montana State-Billings.
Micah Yonamine has played the last four years in the Philadelphia Phillies system, appearing in 128 games across three levels. Last year in Class A Clearwater, he hit .241 with four home runs.
Outfielders
Returning Players:
Dan Robinson: 87 G, .270 BA, 6 HR, 47 RBI
Bren Spillane: 51 G, .232 BA, 12 HR, 40 RBI
Newcomers:
Chris Baker is a rookie from Trinity Christian College. He hit .364 there over two years and 110 games with 15 homers and 90 RBIs. He also spent two years at UIC.
Willie Carter is a former member of the Atlanta Braves organization. Entering 2023, he is a career .255 hitter over three years with 19 homers and 123 RBIs over 205 games. He spent all of last season with Class A Advanced Rome.
Paul Coumoulos is a rookie out of St. Leo University. He hit .271 over 99 career games there. Last summer, for Trenton of the MLB Draft League, he played in 40 games and hit .288 with 18 RBIs.
Jordan Wiley is a second-year player on his third professional team. Last year, between Schaumburg and Cleburne of the American Association, he hit .233 with a .353 on-base percentage and three home runs in 42 games.
Pitchers
Returning Players:
Garrett Christman: 20 G, 4-7, 4.99 ERA
Cal Djuraskovic: 13 G, 0-0, 3.12 ERA
Daniel Kight: 49 G, 3-3, 4.33 ERA
Austin Marozas: 7 G, 0-0, 2.08 ERA
Kenny Mathews: 16 G, 7-3, 3.17 ERA
Justin Miller: 39 G, 3-5, 5.57 ERA
Sebastian Selway: 13 G, 1-3, 6.10 ERA
Newcomers:
Cole Bellair returns to the ThunderBolts after spending the last two years in the Twins system. Last season, he had a 1.61 ERA for their Rookie level affiliate. Between 2019 and 2022, Cole started 14 games for the Bolts.
Derrick Edington was the second overall pick in the Frontier League draft. He went 4-3 with a 3.26 ERA last summer in the United Shore League after finishing a two-year career at Davenport University.
Ian McMahon is a rookie out of John A. Logan College, where he had a 4.50 ERA in 11 appearances. He went 3-0 with a 4.19 ERA for the West Virginia Black Bears in the MLB Draft League.
Henry Omaña was a Frontier League champion on the Quebec staff last year. He had a 2.77 ERA, primarily as a reliever. He has also spent parts of five seasons in the Mexican League.
Adrien Reese is a rookie out of Murray State University. Last summer, he had a 4.18 ERA in ten games pitching for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League.
Antonio Saldana is a rookie from NAIA national champion Southeastern University. He also pitched two years at Heartland Community College, where he went a combined 5-0.
Kaleb Schmidt has pitched for three different Frontier League teams over the last two years. In 2021, he posted a 3.88 ERA in Southern Illinois. Last year he had a 3-3 record between Ottawa and Lake Erie.
Brendan Smith pitched the last two seasons in the American Association with the Chicago Dogs and Winnipeg Goldeyes. He’s an alumnus of Iona University, where he had a 2.50 ERA over two years.
Josh Smith was picked in the second round of the Frontier League draft. He pitched in the league last year for the Trois-Rivieres Aigles. In 29 games there, he went 1-2 with a 7.14 ERA.
Taylor Sugg was acquired in a trade with the Gateway Grizzlies. He was a Frontier League champion for the River City Rascals in 2019 and has also pitched for the Lake Erie Crushers. Last year, he went 4-2 over 25 games for Gateway.
Daiveyon Whittle spent the last five years in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Overall, he had an ERA of 3.32 across three levels. Last year, he posted a 4.44 mark as a starter at Class A Charleston.
Exhibition Schedule
The ThunderBolts will have a busy preseason schedule playing six games in ten spring days. Only two will be at Ozinga Field and spectators are welcome to attend our home games for free. Concessions will not be open and there will be no promotions during these games. Just good old fashioned baseball. Schedule below...
Wednesday, May 3rd, 1 pm, at Schaumburg
Thursday, May 4th, 12 pm, HOME vs. Schaumburg
Friday, May 5th, 7 pm, at Joliet
Saturday, May 6th, 1 pm, at Chicago Dogs (Rosemont)
Monday, May 8th, 2 pm, HOME vs. Gary
Tuesday, May 9th. 6:45 pm. at Gary
2023 Frontier League All-Star Game
The Windy City ThunderBolts are honored to be selected as the host of the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game presented by Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau with support from the Cook County Tourism Alive Program. The league's 30th annual mid-summer classic is scheduled for Wednesday, July 12th at Crestwood's Ozinga Field. This marks its return to the Chicago Southland for the first time in over two decades.
The game itself will be the culmination of a two-day event that will feature a Skills Competition on Tuesday, July 11th. The first-of-its-kind event will showcase the league's best players as they square off in bunting, throwing, and hitting competitions and end with the traditional home run derby.
The following night, the league's best players will gather for the main event, the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game. In addition to the game, fans will enjoy other activities including face painting and the nationally recognized mascot inflatable show "ZOOperstars!." The night concludes with a massive firework spectacular.
Tickets for both the Skills Competition and All-Star Game are on-sale now. Lower level seats are $17 and upper level are $13. Limited seats are available and we encourage you to purchase your tickets now!
More information on the 2023 Frontier League All-Star Game can be found in our official guide HERE!
Ozinga Field Improvements
In conjunction with the upcoming All-Star Game, Ozinga Field has been undergoing signficant renovations and cosmetic improvments to the facility. Those improvements include...
- New LED lighting system includuing the concourses, interior and baseball field
- Drink rails added in both the Left Field Picnic Pavilion and #WinCity Party Patio in right field. The stainless steel rails will add much needed counter space for drinks and food in each area
- Restroom improvments including automated toliets, sinks and other dispensors
- Full renovation of the Party Box including new counters, flooring and paint job
- Full repainting of the exterior cream facade bringing back the original look of the stadium to its 1999 opening
Regular Season Schedule
This summer's 96-game season will feature 51 home games. The unbalanced schedule will see all teams play every other team in the league. One significant change at ThunderBolts home games will be earlier game times. All Tuesday through Friday night games will start at 6:35 pm. Saturday nights stay at 6:05 pm, but Sundays are now 1:05 pm. School & Splash Days will be a big part our summer as usual. 2023 features seven 10:35 am starts between May and July.
Also as tradition our schedule will start out as very home heavy. 13 of our first 15 games will be in Crestwood. Full details on our season schedule including promotional and group information can be found below:
Important 2023 Season Printable PDF Links
2023 Game Schedule - 2023 Hospitality Guide (Group Information)
2023 Fundraiser Info Packet - 2023 All-Star Week Guide
PURCHASE INDIVIDUAL TICKETS HERE!
