News

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks have signed six players to contacts as the club continues to build the roster for the 2015 season. Signed are RHP Bryan Blough UTL Michael Garcia, RHP Michael Noteware, RHP Alex Powers, RHP Steven Thompson and C/1B Charlie Valerio.

Blough, 25, was 3-6 with a 3.70 ERA and four saves between the Winston-Salem Dash of the Carolina League (High-A) and the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League (AA). He was 1-2 with a 1.96 ERA with the Dash and struck out 20 batters in 18.1 innings pitched. Blough was 2-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 18 games (seven starts) with Birmingham.

Blough was originally selected by the White Sox in the 18th round of the 2011 draft out of Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He is 19-24 with a 4.07 ERA in four professional seasons with 247 strikeouts in 362.2 innings pitched.

Garcia, 25, played for the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings of the United Baseball League in 2013, where he batted .247 with ten doubles, two triples, one home run, 13 RBIs and 28 runs scored in 52 games. He signed with Rio Grande Valley after playing college baseball at Eastern Kentucky University.

Noteware, 24, joins the RedHawks after spending last year in the New York Yankees organization. He was 3-0 with a 3.23 ERA and five saves for the Yankees’ Gulf Coast League affiliate and also appeared in one game with the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League (High-A). In 30.2 inning pitched, Noteware allowed 13 runs (11 earned) on 31 hits while striking out 30 batters. He joined the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent out of Lewis & Clark State College in Idaho.

Powers, 23, comes to Fargo after spending two seasons in the Chicago White Sox organization. He was 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA and three saves between Great Falls (Mont.) Voyagers of the Pioneer League (Rookie) and Kannapolis (N.C.) Intimidators of the South Atlantic League (A). He was selected by the White Sox in the 25th round of the 2013 draft out of Southern New Hampshire University and is 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA and six saves in two professional seasons.

Thompson, 22, will begin his professional career with the RedHawks after spending the last two years at Lewis & Clark State College. He was 11-6 with a 2.71 ERA and three saves in 30 games (17 starts) with the Warriors. He struck out 88 batters and allowed 130 hits in 129.1 innings pitched in his two years at Lewis & Clark, and was a teammate of Noteware.

Valerio, 24, split time last season between the Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League (High-A) and Akron Aeros of the Eastern League (AA) in the Cleveland Indians organization. He appeared in 26 games and batted .250 with four doubles, one triple, five RBIs and 12 runs scored.

Valerio was signed by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2010 and has batted .259 with 44 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 124 RBIs and 118 runs scored in 240 games. He has thrown out 40% of would-be base-stealers in 129 games behind the plate and has also played 85 games at first base.

The RedHawks have also released three players from the 2014 roster: RHP Kevin Fuqua, OF Brandon Tripp and RHP Coty Woods.