Friday, January 26, 2024

Fargo, ND – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks announce the re-signing of two members of their starting pitching rotation from last season, bringing back lefthander Tyler Grauer and righthander Colten Davis. The team is also adding more pitching depth by coming to terms with Noah McBride and Braydon Nelson, as well as depth behind the plate with the signing of Henderson Perez.

This will be Tyler Grauer’s fourth season in a RedHawks uniform. Taking the ball every fifth day, Grauer has become one of the team’s most reliable and consistent starters in his time with Fargo-Moorhead. The “Big Sycamore” out of Indiana State University (Terre Haute, IN) was 6-4 last season with a 4.38 ERA, tossing 115 innings while striking out 78 and walking 25. His best season was 2022 going 10-5 with a sparkling 3.51 earned run average. Grauer struck out 103 and walked just 32 batters over 125 innings. He was an American Association all-star selection in both 2022 and 2023.

Grauer played his entire collegiate career at Indiana State. The 6’5” lefty was 9-7 over five seasons and appeared in 76 games mostly in relief. He struck out 144 while walking just 27. Grauer averaged 10.2 K’s per nine innings of work in college. Upon finishing at Indiana State, Grauer spent the summer of 2021 with West Virginia of the Major League Draft League and later with the RedHawks appearing in nine games with Fargo-Moorhead and making one start. The 26-year-old Grauer is a native of Shawnee, KS.

Colten Davis joined the RedHawks on July 22nd of last season after completing his college career at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX) of the Western Athletic Conference. Davis was outstanding last season, finishing a perfect 7-0 with an ERA of 2.15 over nine appearances, five of them starts. He allowed just 29 hits over 46 innings of work.

The righthander out of Brownsville, TX made 36 starts during his four-year career at Texas-Rio Grande Valley going 12-9 with a 4.79 ERA. Davis struck out 182 over 197.2 innings while walking 68. He averaged 8.3 K’s per nine innings in college. His best season was his senior year when he started 14 games while pitching a total of 75.2 innings, striking out 82, walking 23, and finishing with a 4-3 record and 4.04 ERA. He averaged nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings his senior season.

Noah McBride comes to the RedHawks after spending the past two seasons with the independent Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League. The hard-throwing lefthander looks to be part of the F-M bullpen this year having made 77 appearances for Boise, striking out 116 batters over 90.1 innings. McBride is averaging 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings in his professional career.

McBride began his collegiate career first at NAIA-level Northwestern College (Orange City, IA) where he went 6-3 his freshman season over 12 starts and tossing 4 complete games. He transferred to Concordia University (Irvine, CA) for his final three college seasons. His best year was his final year in 2022 where he made 19 appearances in relief. McBride was 5-0 out of the bullpen in 32.2 innings, allowing just 14 runs and 27 hits. He struck out 44 and walked 29.

The RedHawks are bolstering their pitching staff even more with the signing of righthander Braydon Nelson. Nelson has spent the past six seasons between college and collegiate summer league teams. The 6’5” native of Brecksville, OH pitched his freshman and sophomore years at St. Bonaventure (St. Bonaventure, NY) in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He transferred to the University of Tampa (Tampa, FL) where he went a combined 17-2 over his final four seasons of college ball.

Nelson seemingly found his groove as a relief specialist. He appeared in 24 games in 2022, finishing with a 6-1 record, 11 saves, and an ERA of just 1.79. He struck out 63 in 60.1 innings of work. He was just as solid the next season as Nelson went 5-0 out of the bullpen with 47 K’s over 39 innings, walking just 14 while collecting two saves.

Fargo-Moorhead is adding to its bench with catcher/designated hitter Henderson Perez. The 24-year-old Perez, a native of Libertador, Venezuela, began his pro career in 2016. He spent four seasons with the Chicago Cubs organization splitting time with the Cubs’ Dominican League team and Rookie League team in Arizona, mostly behind the plate but making several appearances at first base. He played a combined 105 games hitting .240 with three homers and 61 RBI. Defensively, Perez threw out 33% of base runners attempting to steal over his affiliated career.

Perez signed with Grand Junction (CO) of the independent Pioneer League in 2021, batting .262 in just 11 games with the Rockies. He moved to Missoula (MT) of the Pioneer League in 2022, hit .257 for the Paddleheads in 31 games, then finished the year playing 14 games with the Lexington (KY) Legends of the independent Atlantic League batting .235 in limited action. Perez spent the 2023 season overseas playing for Unipolsai Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian Serie A, batting a career-best .270 in 13 games.

The RedHawks open the 2024 American Association season at home Friday, May 10^th against the Lincoln Saltdogs, part of a six-game homestand.

For the full 2024 RedHawks schedule and for ticket information, call 701-235-6161 or go to www.fmredhawks.com.