May 8, 2013 4 min read

The business of paring down of the roster begins in earnest tonight for the Wild Things when they host Lake Erie (7 p.m.) in the first exhibition game of the spring.

The Wild Things and Crushers will play five games in four days – tonight, Friday morning (10 a.m.) and Friday night at Consol Energy Park, and Saturday and Sunday in Avon, Ohio. Washington has 36 players on its roster and must be down to 28 by Sunday night. Four additional cuts must be made before Washington opens its 12th Frontier League season May 17 at Schaumburg.

Trimming the roster won’t be an easy task for first-year manager Bart Zeller, but he’s used to making difficult decisions after being manager of the Joliet Slammers the last two years. Washington’s roster is currently overloaded at both the Experienced and Rookie roster categories.

“For the rookies, these games are everything. They will make a world of difference when you see those guys against outside competition,” Zeller said. “For the experienced players, we’ll evaluate on a combination of exhibition games, intrasquad games and past histories. One thing I don’t put a lot of stock in is college statistics because that game is so different from the professional game.”

One Wild Things player with only college experience is former University of Louisville standout outfielder Stewart Ijames, who as little as a year ago didn’t expect to be battling for a roster spot on an independent team. Ijames (pronounced Iams) was planning to be playing in affiliated baseball, and he certainly had reason to be thinking big.

Ijames has been drafted twice, the first time by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 46th round out of Owensboro (Ky.) Catholic in 2007. He chose not to sign and stayed firm on a commitment to attend Louisville. After hitting .324 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI as a redshirt sophomore in 2010, Ijames’ draft stock soared. He was picked by the New York Yankees in the 29th round, but opted to return to Louisville.

Despite helping Louisville to four Big East championships, four NCAA tournaments and a Super Regional appearance, Ijames went undrafted after his junior and senior seasons. Last spring, after suffering from biceps tendonitis that caused him to be moved from right field to first base during his senior season, Ijames spent three days watching the draft unfold on his computer. His name never flashed on the screen.

“That was incredibly frustrating and disappointing. I got off to a hot start my senior year, and I was hearing that I could get picked as high as the first five rounds,” Ijames recalled. “I had heard the same thing the year before.”

Ijames’ hitting fizzled toward the end of his senior year, which left even the independent teams taking a will-call-you-later approach.

“I talked with one team in the (Frontier) league last year, but they never had an opening for an outfielder,” Ijames explained. “I’d call, and they would say they don’t have an opening yet, so keep waiting.”

What Ijames did have going for him was his former Louisville teammate Chris Smith, who was a pitcher with the Wild Things the last two years and is currently in the Yankees’ minor league system. Smith thought Ijames could help Washington this year and made a push for the Wild Things to sign the left-handed hitter, who is second in RBI (212) and sixth in home runs (45) in Louisville history.

“I’m a hitter,” Ijames said. “That’s the reason I’m here. I’ve always been able to hit.”

Ijames had a .292 career batting average at Louisville. He’s one of only a few players in Wild Things history to have played in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League.

“What I’m looking for from Ijames is the ability to play the outfield and hit the ball to all fields,” Zeller said. “Early in camp, he pulled everything. If he’s going to succeed in this league, then he’s going to be driving the ball to the gaps. He’s a very athletic kid. When he hits the ball, it jumps off his bat.”

Ijames is one of four hitters on the roster with no professional experience. The others are catchers Maxx Garrett (Gonzaga) and Mike Perez (Millersville) and infielder Michael August (Millersville).

Zeller said outfielder Rogelio Noris, who is still in Mexico because of a visa issue, could be placed on the suspended or disabled lists. Noris was third in the league in home runs (21) last year. He was acquired by Washington during the offseason in a trade with Gateway. … Lake Erie is managed this year by Jeff Isom, who has replaced John Massarelli. Isom (2002-03) and Massarelli (2004-07) were the first two managers in Wild Things history.