New-look Modesto Nuts roster loaded with key prospects for Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners prospect and Modesto Nuts third baseman Joe Rizzo sat in the dugout, thousands of miles from home, marveling at the beauty before him.

With its manicured lawn and smooth dirt stretches, John Thurman Field sparkled in the California sun.

Minor league baseball returned to Modesto on Monday afternoon as the Nuts, a collection of 30 players and coaches from across the globe, launched into the 2018 season with media day.

Players slowly streamed onto the field for photos and interviews, mixing it up with staff, local media, and a pint-sized reporter in a bow tie and "swag" suspenders. They later returned for a workout under the lights.

And so began another chapter for the Mariners’ Class-A advanced affiliate. The Nuts return just five players from a team that stormed to the California League championship in 2017, including Rizzo, a highly-touted third baseman and the Championship Series MVP.

"Every team is going to be different," he said, "but I like the group we have here and I think we're going to be able to do some special things."

The title was the organization's first since 2004 and ninth overall. The players and coaches were honored by the organization during spring training in Peoria, Ariz., receiving championship rings encrusted in diamonds.

Executive Vice President Mike Gorrasi said a commemorative flag will fly over Thurman Field at some point this season, but for now, the team is moving full speed ahead.

The Nuts open the season April 5 at the Lancaster Jethawks, and will make their home debut April 12 against the Visalia Rawhide. Tickets are available at modestonuts.com or by calling the Nuts' box office at (209) 572-4487.

"Winning the championship is now gone," said third-year manager Mitch Canham. "They're not just going to hand it to us again. It's real important that we flush it, but understand, 'We know where we are right now and we know where we want to be at the end of the year,' and that's hoisting a trophy up. So, now it's (about) building a road map to get to that destination."

The Nuts are an intriguing case study in minor league baseball.

The roster is lined with top prospects and journeymen who hope their stay in Modesto is productive and short.

Rizzo is the sixth-best prospect in the Mariners' system. He joined the Nuts late in the regular season, but acclimated quickly. Rizzo hit .421 in the postseason.

He is joined by six other prospects ranked in the organization’s top-30, according to Baseball America and MLB.com.

Infielders Donnie Walton and Bryson Brigman are ranked Nos. 22 and 27, respectively. Walton battled injuries in 2017, appearing in just 67 games. Brigman is a new addition, but no stranger to the Northern California scene. Brigman graduated from Valley Christian High in San Jose.

Outfielder Anthony Jimenez was elevated to the Nuts roster after developing into an all-star with the Clinton LumberKings. The 14th-best prospect hit .298 in 2017.

The bullpen will feature three ranked prospects: No. 10 Wyatt Mills, a Gonzaga graduate who struck out 29 batters in 21.1 innings last season; No. 17 Seth Elledge, who had a 5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio; and No. 30 Kyle Wilcox, who fanned 52 in 33.1 innings last season.

Starting pitcher John Richy is the oldest Nut, and the 25-year-old is just grateful to be back in a uniform.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander was drafted in the third round by the Los Angeles Dodgers and then reached the Triple-A level with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017.

Free agency and hip surgery, however, cast doubt on his future. He hopes Modesto is the start of his climb back up the ladder.

"Not everybody's path is really easy," said Richy, 19-16 in 59 career starts. "A couple of years and you're in the big leagues — it doesn't usually work like that. You have to embrace the process and the path; you have to really love the game and being in the minor leagues."

Smiles abounded on Monday.

A native of New Jersey, Rizzo was happy to be back in the California sunshine, and back in a Nuts uniform.

“It comes to a point in the off-season where you’re just itching to get back on the field, especially where I come from. It gets cold and we don’t have the chance to be on the field," he said. "It’s not as gorgeous as it is out here.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 10:09 AM with the headline "New-look Modesto Nuts roster loaded with key prospects for Seattle Mariners."