Wild Things sign closer, catcher
The Wild Things have acquired a former Frontier League all-star pitcher, along with a catcher with one year of professional experience.
Washington signed right-handed pitcher Jonathan Kountis and catcher Michael Allen. Both players were members of the Greys, the Frontier League’s traveling team, during the 2013 season.
In 2012, Kountis was the top closer in the Frontier League while pitching for the Lake Erie Crushers. He had a 6-2 record, 18 saves, a 1.06 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings.
An Akron, Ohio, native, Kountis was then signed by the Toronto Blue Jays and spent one uneventful month with Class A Vancouver this spring, pitching in 10 games and posting a 5.79 ERA before being released.
Kountis appeared in four games with Laredo of the American Association before returning to the Frontier League with the Greys. He was a starting pitcher for the Greys and had a 1-5 record and 7.08 ERA in nine games (seven starts). He did strike out 36 batters in 34 1/3 innings.
The Wild Things plan to return Kountis to the bullpen.
“We are very fortunate to have signed closer Jonathan Kountis, especially after we traded our closer, Amalio Diaz, to Laredo,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said in a press release. “Jon fills a very large void left by Diaz, but with his record in the Frontier League in 2012, we have no doubt that he’ll assume the closing role for the Wild Things.”
Allen was signed by the Greys this year out of Davenport University, an NAIA school in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Player of the Year this spring. Allen played in 24 games with the Greys and batted .246.
“During the last month of the season, our staff paid a lot of attention to the Frontier League Greys as we learned that all members of their roster would become free agents at the conclusion of the season,” Zeller said. “Michael Allen caught our attention largely because he was a rookie assuming the role of starting catcher. He handled himself very well behind the plate.”