The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WHILE opening day in Major League Baseball took place last Sunday, minor league play also begins this week and several Bahamian players will be featured in their 2017 debut for their respective franchises.

Champ Stuart will compete in Double A while another four Bahamian players – Anfernee Seymour, Todd Isaacs, Lucius Fox and Jazz Chisholm - will start the season out in Single A ball.

Stuart and the newly named Binghamton Rumble Ponies open play 7pm tonight against the New Hampton Fisher Cats.

The Rumble Ponies compete in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League as an affiliate of the New York Mets.

The club shifted its name this offseason from the Mets and held a name-the-team contest on its website from May 17-June 1. The mascot pays homage to the city’s reputation as the carousel capitol of the world.

“All off-season we’ve been working really hard for the fans to build a season full of nothing but fun, so that’s our mindset for the season,” Binghamton Rumble Ponies owner John Hughes said at a meet and greet session for fans. “It’s an exciting time for us because we get to unveil it and let everyone see all the hard work that’s been done.”

Stuart, 24, looks to continue his progression in the Mets organisation after being one of the final cuts in Major League spring training, his second spring training appearance with the club.

In 2016 he had a season of several milestones, including an appearance as a pinch runner in the final Grapefruit League game for the Mets in spring training and a stellar season with the Port St Lucie Mets in Single-A Advanced, which led to a Double-A call up with Binghamton.

Through 114 games in both leagues, Stuart hit .240 with 34 RBI and eight home runs.

He has also totalled an OBP of .319, slugging percentage of .349 an OPS of .663 and 40 stolen bases

The quartet in Single A will also play tonight with a heavy presence in the Midwest League.

Seymour, 22, will return to the Rome Braves in the Single A South Atlantic League’s Southern Division.

They open a three-game series against the West Virginia Power tonight at 7:05pm.

“We are excited to welcome this group of players to Rome for the 2017 season. They not only represent the Atlanta Braves and the Rome Braves but all of Braves Nation, specifically NW Georgia,” says Rome general manager Michael Dunn. “We look forward to more championship baseball and playing into September.”

Last August, Seymour began the season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the Miami Marlins organisation but was traded to the Atlanta Braves in a three-player deal, which also saw the Braves acquire pitcher Michael Mader in exchange for relief pitcher Hunter Cervenka.

Seymour came on board for a torrid second half of the season as the Braves went 43-27 the rest of the way and won the divisional title.

In 125 games last year, Seymour hit .257 with 72 runs scored, 43 stolen bases and 31 RBI. He has recorded a slugging percentage of .303, an OBP of .296 and an OPS of .599 and 149 total bases.

Chisholm, 19, continues to make an early a faster than projected impact with the Arizona Diamondbacks organisation and progresses to Single A with the Kane County Cougars in the Midwestern League’s Western Division.

He makes his debut when the Cougars take on the Clinton Lumberkings 7pm tonight.

The Diamondbacks currently list Chisholm as the No.3 prospect in the minor league pipeline headed into the 2016-17 campaign.

According to AZcentralsports.com, Chisholm has drawn comparisons to former infielder Orlando Hudson – now a minor league instructor for the Diamondbacks – both for his play and personality. Hudson said he can see it but only to an extent.

“That kid has tremendous tools – tools out of tools,” Hudson said. “I see so much of me in him, but I didn’t have the tools he had. Definitely not. He’s a joy to watch, a joy to coach, but he’s definitely got a lot to learn still.”

Last season, Chisholm’s entrance to the Major Leagues was with the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League.

He excelled in Rookie League play and showed flashes of the potential the Diamondbacks looked forward to when they signed him as a free agent and was named to the annual Pioneer League vs. Northwest League All Star Game.

He appeared in 62 games for the Ospreys. and in 249 at bats, he hit .281 with nine home runs, 37 RBI and 13 stolen bases. He finished with an on base percentage of .333, slugging percentage of .446 and OPS of .779.

Isaacs will also compete in the Single A Full Season for the first time, the next step in his journey with the Cleveland Indians.

The 20-year-old outfielder was named to the roster for the Lake County Captains in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League.

The Captains will face the Dayton Dragons tonight at 7pm.

In 2016, Isaacs was selected to the All-Star roster in the New York Penn League where he hit .333 with 20 RBI, six home runs, 14 stolen bases and an .898 OPS for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in the Class A Short Season.

Lucius Fox will play Single A ball for the second consecutive season, this time as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays organisation.

Fox will suit up for the Bowling Green Hot Rods, also in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division.

The Hot Rods face the Fort Wayne Tin Caps at 7:35 tonight.

The 19-year-old shortstop made his much-anticipated pro debut last season for the Giants with the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic Class A League.

In 75 games, Fox hit .207 with 46 runs scored, 25 stolen bases, slugging .277, an on-base percentage of .305, an OPS of .582, two home runs, four triples and six doubles.

Fox was traded to the Rays along with Matt Duffy and Michael Santos in the deal which sent left-handed pitcher Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants. He was limited to just a single game in the Instructional League with the Rays before he was sidelined with a foot injury.

The Class-A leagues, the South Atlantic and Midwest, feature a cross section of players moving up from the Short Season and Rookie leagues, as well as the occasional experienced first-year player