The Gateway Grizzlies added two pitchers to their spring training roster to add more depth to veteran Manager Phil Warren’s pitching staff. LHP Keelan Smithers and RHP Kevin Simmons will join the team as they head into spring training.
Keelan Smithers, 23, an imposing figure at 6′ 5″ 230lbs. Smithers spent his college years in the Ivy League as a member of the Princeton Tigers. The big lefty made 34 appearances, 29 starts, garnering 7 wins with a 5.84 ERA over his four year tenure.
Kevin Simmons, 24, played his college ball at Wallace Community College (Dothan, Alabama). 2014 16th round draft pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks spent two years in their system going 3-5 with a 3.95 ERA. Simmons brings Frontier League experience pitching for the Joliet Slammers during the 2016 season. In 34 appearances out of the bullpen Simmons went 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA.
Smithers and Simmons will join a pitching staff looking to improve on a 5.11 team ERA during the 2017 season .
The Grizzlies will begin their spring training schedule Tuesday April 1st against the Southern Illinois Miners in Marion.
