The Erie SeaWolves begin their 2024 season tonight.

The Erie SeaWolves won their first ever Eastern League championship last year. They begin their defense of that crown tonight against the Senators in Harrisburg. And they have a ton of high-octane arms and experience on their side.

This year’s SeaWolves squad features 20 players who saw at least some time in Erie last season. That’s more than 2,000 career Double-A at-bats and over 400 Double-A innings from the pitching staff. And they’ve still managed to roster seven of our top-30 prospects.

Manager Gabe Alvarez returns for his third year at the helm of the SeaWolves. And thus far his tenure has been marked by nothing but success. In 2022 he guided Erie to its first playoff berth since 2007. Then came last year’s championship, and the corresponding Manager of the Year award. So let’s take a closer look at his 2024 crew.

Erie SeaWolves Pitching Staff

RHP – Blair Calvo, Calvin Coker, Wilkel Hernandez, Jackson Jobe, Ty Madden, Troy Melton, Tim Naughton, Joel Peguero, RJ Petit, Bryce Tassin
LHP – Jake Higginbotham, Lael Lockhart, Andrew Magno, PJ Poulin
IL – Tyler Mattison, Nick Starr

Analysis – This is one nasty rotation, with four of the five projected starters landing in our top 30. Jackson Jobe is the biggest name here, and he stands as one of the truly elite pitching prospects in all of baseball. But he’s not getting the nod tonight. That honor goes to Lockhart, who was a revelation last year, posting a 2.69 ERA over 73.2 innings for the SeaWolves. He’s backed up by another Erie veteran in Ty Madden, who compiled a 3.43 ERA and 146 strikeouts over 118 innings for the ‘Wolves last year.

New this year are the two big, hard-throwing righties Troy Melton and Wilkel Hernandez. Melton has as much upside as any non-Jobe starter in the system. And Hernandez, who turns 25 next week, finally makes it to Double-A after spending the last six years in A-ball.

Erie’s bullpen also features plenty of veterans with high-leverage experience. Magno, Naughton, and Petit all threw 50+ innings and picked up at least one save for the SeaWolves in 2023. Meanwhile, Calvo, Higginbotham, Peguero, and Poulin all have some experience at the Triple-A level. Losing Mattison for the season definitely hurts, but Alvarez has a number of solid bullpen options here.

Erie SeaWolves Position Players

C – Eliezer Alfonzo, Christian Molfetta, Stephen Scott
IF – Trei Cruz, Jake Holton, Corey Joyce, Hao-Yu Lee, Chris Meyers, Andrew Navigato, Gage Workman
OF – Brady Allen, Daniel Cabrera, TJ Hopkins, Ben Malgeri
IL – Alonzo Rubalcaba

Analysis – The Erie SeaWolves offense doesn’t feature many of our top prospects, but it’s filled with quality veterans. Eliezer Alfonzo is one of the better pitch-framing catchers in the organization, and he shows a good feel to hit and a terrific approach at the plate. Molfetta is a strong defender while Scott offers left-handed power and some positional versatility.

The only new name on the infield this year is Hao-Yu Lee, our #12 prospect. Acquired at last year’s trade deadline for Michael Lorenzen, Lee offers intriguing offensive potential and can play multiple infield positions. That’s also the case for Cruz, Navigato, and Workman. They’ve all played a little outfield, too. Joyce has bizarre splits, with a career .931 OPS in 61 Triple-A games, but just a .530 OPS in 66 Double-A contests. And Holton and Meyers offer a nice platoon at first base, though they’ve dabbled in the outfield as well. They are both terrific defenders at first, and Holton is an on-base machine, while Meyers offers plus raw power.

The four primary outfielders here also offer plenty of experience. Malgeri is a well-rounded player who hit 16 home runs and stole 15 bases while playing solid defense in 2023. Hopkins has had lots of minor-league success, and he even saw 44 big-league plate appearances last year. Daniel Cabrera was a highly touted prospect coming out of LSU, but he’s yet to find success in pro ball, including in 149 games with the SeaWolves. Allen is the only relative newcomer this year, having seen just eight games with Erie last year. He offers an interesting mix of defense and power, but Double-A will test his contact skills.

What’s Next?

The arm talent and veteran experience on this club makes them a strong contender to win the division again this year, at least in the first half of the season. But these pitchers might dominate their way up to Toledo. And there are a lot of interesting position prospects beginning the season in West Michigan. If they develop as the organization hopes, we may see a vasty different Erie SeaWolves roster by July.

For now the club prepares for their three-game set against the Senators. And then it’s back home next Tuesday to begin a six-game series with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Tuesday’s game will also feature a championship banner raising and ring presentation.

Jackson Jobe works a perfect 9th inning and looks absolutely terrifying in the process. pic.twitter.com/5gNwSEhcuU

— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrown0914) March 12, 2024