A’s Announce Early Signees

Veterans Ben Stanczyk, Harry Steldt and Trevor Theissen are back for
another year for the A’s. The three are among nine who the A’s have signed for the upcoming season.

Stanczyk is back for his sixth season, Steldt his fifth and Theissen his fourth.

Stanczyk
has been relegated to part time duty because of pressing work and
family obligations, but the A’s can live with that. “He comes when he
can and we give him the baseball,” General Manager Denny Moyer said.
“He’s earned that consideration.”

The former Milwaukee Brewers farm hand is 22-3 with a 1.60 ERA in his five seasons with the A’s. He was 3-0 and 1.35 last year.

Steldt
brings a .313 career average and 120 runs batted in back to manager
Chad Langley’s line-up this year. Steldt is a corner infielder and
catcher, who played college baseball at Concordia before finishing out
his last two seasons at UW-Stevens Point. Steldt hit .285 last year, a
slight fall-off in average, but his run production was again at the top
of the charts, leading the club in runs scored and ranking second in
runs batted in.

Theissen, currently the starting shortstop at
North Carolina Central, hit .320 last year and holds a .296 career
average. His duties as an assistant coach at New Berlin Eisenhower,
limited his participation to 16 games last year.

Outfielder David
“Cole” Miklavcic, whose hustle and all-out play quickly turned him into a
fan favorite, is back for his second season. Miklavcic, a resident of
Florida, plays at Marian University. He hit .333 in 43 games with the A’s
last season. He is currently at .367 a Marian.

Also back for their
second seasons are pitchers Rob Hagedorn (Cardinal Stritch), who was
4-1 with a 4.45 ERA with the A’s last season, and A.J. Alessi (Marian),
2-2, 6.68.

Carter Amundsen, a Sheboygan South grad, currently
playing at Augustana College, will join the club full time this year after
coming up from the Legion team at the end of last season. Amundsen, an
all-conference high school and Legion player, hit .410 last year for
South.

Other first year players are catchers Taylor Grimm and Hayden Fenner.

Currently
playing at Lewis College, Grimm was an all-conference catcher while at
Cedarburg High School, where he hit .352 in his senior season. Fenner is
from Ripon and is playing at UW- Whitewater. He was going to join the
club last year, but a late-spring automobile accident ended those hopes.
He was an all-conference and all-state high school player.

The club launches its 60-game
schedule at West Bend May 27 and will play its Project G.R.I.L.L. home
opener on Friday Night, May 29, when West Allis invades. The game will
be preceded by the unveiling of the grills and the awards presentations.
Season tickets range from $40 for general admission to $100 for Bud
Backstop field level seats. Fans can visit SheboyganBaseball.org for information or to order.