Erie SeaWolves 2026 Team Preview

Erie SeaWolves 2026 Preview

The Erie SeaWolves enter the 2026 season looking to extend the longest stretch of success in franchise history. Four consecutive playoff appearances. Four straight trips to the Eastern League Championship Series. And two championship rings.

But 2026 brings a lot of change, on and off the field. The SeaWolves have a new skipper in Tony Cappuccilli, who led the West Michigan Whitecaps to one of the greatest minor-league seasons ever last year. He’ll be joined by pitching coach Nick Green, who was also in West Michigan last year, and hitting coach Kyle MacKinnon, who served in that role with the Quad Cities River Bandits (Royals High-A) in 2025.

There are big changes outside of the dugout, too. UPMC Park was upgraded with new LED lights over the offseason. That should allow Erie fans to enjoy the sort of spectacular light displays seen in MLB ballparks. And best of all, it means the incessant hum of the old stadium lights is no more.

And there are even changes in the broadcast booth. Longtime SeaWolves play-by-play man and Assistant General Manager Greg Gania has moved into a role with the Detroit Tigers after two decades in Erie. Fellow broadcaster Sam Lebowitz has also moved on, with new play-by-play man Zach Surdenik stepping up from Low-A, where he broadcast games for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2025.

The on-field product is a mix of the new and the old. Let’s take a look at the roster ahead of Erie’s first game this Friday:

Erie Pitching Staff (16)

We aren’t entirely sure on the starting rotation yet, but there are a handful of options. Lefty Joe Miller may be the biggest name here after his standout performance at the Spring Breakout. Fans love asking about knuckleballer Kenny Serwa, so they should be happy to know he is returning to Erie.

The rest of the staff figures to be rounded out by three of the following players. Lefty Carlos Pena and righty Eric Silva, both of whom have pitched for the SeaWolves before. And minor-league free agent signings Dylan File and Sean Hunley. Noticeably absent from this list are starters Andrew Sears and Jaden Hamm, who will both begin the year on the injured list. 

The bullpen also features a mix of new and returning faces. Colin Fields, Dariel Fregio, Trevin Michael, and Moises Rodriguez all handled high-leverage innings for Cappuccilli in 2025. Tanner Kohlhepp and Yosber Sachez spent most of their 2025 seasons in Erie, though Sanchez dealt with injuries for much of the season.

Johan Simon, who has a lively left arm, was the trade return for Chase Lee. And John Stankiewicz and Luke Taggart are new to the organization. Conspicuously missing from this relief corps is Marco Jimenez, who impressed this spring. He is now dealing with a sore shoulder.

Joe Miller strikes out 5 batters in a row — including MLB’s No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin! — during a dominant Spring Breakout appearance 😤@tigers | @RoadtoDetroit pic.twitter.com/cIZmVZ1y2o

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 21, 2026

SeaWolves Position Players (12)

Injuries to both Josue Briceno and Thayron Liranzo have led to an unexpected trio of backstops in Erie. Bennett Lee is a strong defender who should work well with the pitching staff, but he’s a career .149/.291/.230 hitter in 140 minor-league games. He is joined by minor-league free agent signings Aaron Antonini and Joe Campagna, both of whom spent the majority of 2025 in independent baseball.

The infield is headlined by spring standout John Peck, who spent 25 games in Erie in 2025. Joining him is Izaac Pacheco, who finally gets a crack at Double-A after spending parts of the last four seasons in High-A West Michigan. Also moving up from the Whitecaps is first baseman Andrew Jenkins, who posted a .757 OPS over 95 games in West Michigan. 

Peyton Graham returns to Erie, where he played in one game in 2024, before spending all of 2025 in West Michigan. And the newest name here is E.J. Exposito, who spent the past four seasons in the Atlanta Braves system. Expositio shows an interesting mix of power, speed, and defensive versatility, but he’s also a career .228 hitter with a 26% strikeout rate. One infielder we thought we might see in Erie is Jack Penney, but he broke his hamate bone just before the season began.

And finally we finish with the outfield. Erie is getting awfully familiar to Justice Bigbie and Chris Meyers, who have both spent most of the last three years with the SeaWolves. They are joined by the speedy Seth Stephenson, who saw 21 games at Double-A last year. The one newcomer is Brett Callahan, who had a very loud spring training (4-for-8, 2 HR, 2B) despite only getting a few at-bats. No sign of Roberto Campos, though, who spent all of 2025 in Erie.

Brett Callahan launches a homer to dead center in his first plate appearance of the spring. Left his bat at 107.5 MPH and went an estimated 405 feet. pic.twitter.com/bPEqMwoASI

— Tigers ML Report (@tigersMLreport) February 25, 2026

So that’s the roster. It is light on prospects, with just seven members of our Top-50 list (though we are likely to add Joe Miller soon) and no one in our top 20. But there’s plenty of experience here, and Tony Cappuccilli has a strong track record of winning.

The SeaWolves begin pursuing their fifth consecutive playoff appearance Friday, April 3rd at 6:05 ET.