Program 6 Issue 2

Thank you for joining us for a Columbia Fireflies game, and we hope that you will have a world class experience at Segra Park. Please come back and visit us again soon for another Fireflies game or one of the numerous events that are hosted at Segra Park every year. This ballpark was built by the community, for the community, and we can’t wait to welcome you back!

table of contents Fan Code of Conduct & Map.................. 4-5

K9 Klub and Kids Club Info.....................

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Concession Map..........................................

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Kansas City Royals System.....................

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Carolina League...........................................

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Fireflies Coaching Staff............................

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Fireflies Roster.............................................

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Wood Ducks Roster..................................

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Ticket Information.......................................

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Meet the Team.............................................

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HomestandHighlights...............................

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Upcoming Homestand..............................

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Catch the Soda Cap Connector to Segra Park Leave the parking and driving to us Shuttles available every Columbia Fireflies home game The Soda Cap Connector is Columbia’s premier downtown shuttle that takes you to restaurants, attractions and entertainment for only $1.00 to ride. Shuttles begin one hour before the game, continue until one hour after the game and run every 25-30 minutes. Masks are required on all vehicles until further notice.

CATCHTHECOMET.ORG | 803-255-7100 |

Fan code of conduct The Columbia Fireflies are committed to creating a family-friendly and welcoming environment at the ballpark for all guests. As part of that commitment, we have adopted this written policy addressing fan behavior. The policy includes a Fan Code of Conduct, which is fan- facing and describes how fans are expected to behave. Fan Code of Conduct: In order to provide a welcoming experience for all, the Columbia Fireflies have implemented a Fan Code of Conduct. Out of respect for fellow guests, players, coaches, and ballpark staff, all guests are prohibited from: • Trespassing on the playing field at any time; • Interfering with baseballs that are in play; • Throwing or tossing objects; • Using foul, obscene or derogatory language (see below) or gestures; • Misusing or overconsuming alcohol, including, underage consumption; • Behaving in a manner that is disruptive, unruly, or abusive; • Accessing areas of the ballpark without a proper ticket, pass, or credential; • Misusing tickets, passes, or credentials in any way; or • Bringing prohibited items into the ballpark. • Only service dogs are allowed (outside of “Dog Days”) Derogatory language is defined as offensive language concerning a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, or national origin, and anyone using such language is subject to automatic ejection from the ballpark. Violations of the Fan Code of Conduct will not be tolerated and may lead to ejection from the ballpark, a ban on attending future games, or other consequences. Guests who are found to have used derogatory language will be ejected from the ballpark. Guests are encouraged to report violations of the Fan Code of Conduct to the nearest ballpark staff member. This can be done in person, at the nearest Guest Services location, directly with Ballpark Security or by venuesafety@columbiafireflies.com .

CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION

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segra park map

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concession map

A: LOW N' SLOW BBQ B: POP! / HEALTHY CART C: FUNNEL VISION D: SCOOPS!

1. CONCESSION STAND 2. CONCESSION STAND 3. CONCESSION STAND 4. CONCESSION STAND 5. SWEETWATER BAR 6. BUDWEISER BOWTIE BAR

E: DIPPIN’ DOTS F: SUPER GYRO G: SWEET CAROLINA’S / OREO CHURROS H: SCOOPS! I: PINEAPPLE CART SQUEEZE & FREEZE J: JUANATHANS K CRAFT CORNER L: SCOOPS! M: BOILED PEANUTS/PRETZELS N: PHILLY CART O: POP! P: DIPPIN’ DOTS Q: EL TORO MEXICAN

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kansas city royals minor league system

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carolina league

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Special Events

Located in the heart of Columbia’s Bull Street District, Segra Park is a year round event venue. Our venue is perfect for corporate meetings, galas, weddings, holiday parties and more. It’s a multi-purpose venue that provides a unique backdrop for your next event. CLUB LOUNGE

CONTACT SPECIAL EVENTS 803.888.3023 EVENTS@COLUMBIAFIREFLIES.COM SEGRAPARK.COM

CONFERENCE ROOM

BROAD RIVER BALCONY

THE MASON JAR C O L U M B I A F I R E F L I E S T E A M S T O R E

store hours

Mon.-Fri 10:00am-5:00pm Sat. & Sun. Closed

2022 fireflies coaching staff

Jesus Azuaje

Tony Peña Jr.

John Habyan

Hitting Coach

Manager

Pitching Coach

Joe Pedulla

Glenn Hubbard

Chris Nelson

Strength and Conditioning Coach

Bench Coach

Assistant Hitting Coach

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2022 fireflies roster pitchers

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6' 3" 195 R-R 08-21-2001 P - Luinder Avila

P - Luis Barroso

P - Jack Aldrich

6' 4" 230 R-R 11-03-1999 P - Wander Arias

6' 3" 165 R-R 09-07-1998

5' 11" 204 L-L 06-12-1999

Caracas, VZ

David, Panama

Oak Park, CA

Sabana Grande de Palenquie, D.R.

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6' 5" 225 R-R 05-02-2000 P - Eric Cerantola Montreal, QC, CAN

6' 2" 175 L-L 02-13-1999 P - Shane Connolly

6' 3" 200 L-L 07-17-1999 P - Noah Cameron

6' 1" 167 R-R 12-06-1998 P - Delvin Capellan

Huntersville, NC

St. Joseph, MO

Guayubin, DR

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6' 4" 225 L-L 06-23-1999 P - Rylan Kaufman

6' 0" 220 R-R 10-02-1999 P - Heribert Garcia

6' 6" 230 R-R 10-04-1999 P - Patrick Halligan

P - Ben Hernandez

6' 2" 205 R-R 07-01-2001

Galveston, TX

Chicago, IL

Boliver, VZ

Vienna, VA

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6' 4" 230 R-R 10-08-2001 P - Samuel Valerio Santo Domingo, DR

6' 2" 195 R-R 11-13-1998 P - Chase Wallace

P - Marlin Willis

6' 3" 230 L-R 01-27-1998 P - John McMillon

6' 4" 190 L-L 06-05-1998

Sevierville, TN

Decatur, GA

Lufkin, TX

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catchers

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5'11" 170 R-R 12-10-2001 C - Omar Hernandez

6' 2" 205 R-R 10-14-1998 C - Felix Familia Santo Domingo, D.R.

6' 1" 210 L-R 07-03-2003 C - Carter Jensen

La Habana, CU

Kansas City, MO

infielders

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5' 10" 185 S-R 10-13-2000 IF - Francis Grullon Santo Domingo, DR

IF - Wilmin Candelario

5' 10" 180 R-R 02-14-2001 IF - Edgar Martinez

5' 11" 195 S-R 09-11-2001

Peravia, DR

Navarette, DR

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IF - Josh Rivera

P - Enrique Valdez

IF - Guillermo Quintana

5' 11" 185 R-R 01-30-1999

6' 0" 185 L-R 05-15-2001 San Pedro de Macoris, DR

6' 1" 180 R-R 03-16-2001

San Juan, PR

Cartagena, COL

outfielders

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6' 2" 185 L-r 09-16-2001 OF - Darryl Collins

OF - Erick Pena

OF - River Town

OF - Jaswel De Los Santos

6' 3" 205 L-R 02-20-2003 Santo Domingo, D.R.

5' 11" 181

L-R

6' 1" 180 L-R 01-28-2002 Santo Domingo, DR

07-08-1999 Zachary, LA

Spijkenisse, NL

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2022 down east wood ducks Pitchers: 12 Robby Ahlstrom 32 Michael Brewer Infielders: 1

Jose Acosta 23 Maximo Acosta 8 Derwin Barreto 16 Abimelec Ortiz 11 Junior Paniagua 3 Yenci Pena Outfielders: 28 Yosy Galan 20 Daniel Mateo 18 Alejandro Osuna

44 Gavin Collyer 24 Jose Corniell 35 Destin Dotson 40

Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa

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Larson Kindreich

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Nick Lockhart

Dylan Maclean 36 Theo McDowell 25 Damian Mendoza 19 Teodoro Ortega 45 Winston Santos 30 Josh Stephan 31 Leury Tejada 15 Emiliano Teodo 46 Bradford Webb Catchers: 4 Tucker Mitchell 33 Efrenyer Narvaez 9 Brady Smith

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Jose Rodriguez Marcus Smith

CLICK FOR ROSTER DETAILS

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fireflies tickets

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ALL-STAR (SEC 102-110)

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KIDS ZONE

BOWTIE BAR

Individual Game Tickets

$5/seat

$10/seat

$8/seat (Quantities of 4 or 6)

$14/seat

$10/seat

$16/seat

$11/seat

$56/box (4 seats)

$12/seat

$60/table (4 seats)

Group Tickets

COLa

Attendees of groups of 20 or more in the Palmetto Picnic Pavilion, Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union All-Star or Reserved seating will take home a souvenir Fireflies group hat.

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Full Season Tickets

$3,300/table

$735/seat*

$2,995/table

$630/seat

$1,050/seat*

$540/seat

$540/seat*

$330/seat

*Multi-year commitment required

Half Season (33 Games) Half Season Tickets

$330/seat

$299/seat

7 th Inning All-Star Seating Stretch Plans 7 Game Plans $77/seat 14 Game Plans $154/seat 21 Game Plans $220/seat

click for more information

Individual Tickets

Groups Tickets

Season Tickets

Interested in Group Outings or Memberships? Call 803-726-4487 ext 2 or email sales@columbiafireflies.com

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Upcoming Community Organizations of the Game Please stop by their kiosks during the game and learn more about these important local organizations!

4/20 - EmmanuWheel 4/21 - VETEES 4/23 - Pathways to Healing 4/24 - Goodwill

The Fireflies strive to give back to the community in which we all live. If you are interested in being a Community Organization of the Game, please contact Halle Wade at 803-888-3007.

By: John Kocsis Jr. A new year in Minor League Baseball typically means an entirely new roster. Fresh faces, new stories and a brand-new learning curve to be created for young players who may see a year of professional baseball or who may spend their next 20 years playing underneath the bright lights of America’s favorite summer nights. The COVID-19 pandemic and the contraction of short season baseball from 160 teams to 120 teams has created a little bit of a log-jam that has at least temporarily changed the sport though. Most minor leaguers lost out on a year of development in 2020 and a lot of draftees never left the Spring Training complexes in the 2021 season as a result of not having those short season teams around any longer. What does this mean for the Columbia Fireflies though? Where each year, a Class-A team may have three or four returning players in years past, this season, the Columbia Fireflies are seeing 16 members of their 2021 roster returning to start of the 2022 campaign. This gives us an excellent base of knowledge as we go through a deep-dive to introduce you to our 2022 roster. An Inside Look at the 2022 Columbia Fireflies

Jack Aldrich #33 pitchers

A southpaw, who saw major success while starting at Tulane his junior season, Aldrich will primarily be used from the bullpen while in a Fireflies uniform. He was picked up in the 20th round of the 2021 Draft and also hosts his own podcast, The Jack Aldrich Show, which is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

pitchers Wander Arias #28

Last year, Arias got called up to Columbia in the middle of August after posting some high strikeout numbers in the Arizona Complex League (38K/34IP). In only his second full professional season, Arias used command of four pitches to break into the Carolina League. This year, he’ll try to refine his four-seam fastball, slider, change and curveball mix to eat innings for Columbia.

Luinder Avila

#25

Avila started six games for the Fireflies in 2021, and the numbers show up pretty average. The 6’3” righty had a 4.10 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. What’s behind the numbers is how unhittable he was in his first few starts for the team. In his first 10 innings of the year—all of which were against the League Champions, the Charleston RiverDogs, he allowed only four hits and no earned runs. If he can make some adjustments and find an extra pitch, Avila can be the ace of this team.

Luis Barroso #32

A big righty out of David, Panama, Barroso has only thrown 12 pitches since the 2019 season. He began the 2021 season on the 60-day injured list and made only a single rehab appearance before the end of the year. In 2019, he found his most success in July where he fanned 21 hitters in 20.1 innings across five appearances.

pitchers

Noah Cameron #29

Out of St. Joseph, Missouri, Cameron is another pitcher with high upside who did not pitch in 2021. Despite recovering from surgery, he was still selected in the 7th round of the draft after a Freshman All-American season in 2019 and a strong showing in the abbreviated 2020 collegiate season. Finished with a 2.86 ERA in college and 122 punchouts in 122.2 innings.

Delvin Capellan #27 After starting the season in Columbia’s rotation in 2021, Capellan ended up on the injured list around June and didn’t find his way to a rehab start until near the end of the year. He’s been in the Royals system for a long time, and in 2017, he recorded the Royals’ lowest ERA for a farm- hand in a complete season, a ridiculous 0.48 ERA in the DSL. This year he’s moving into the bullpen and will likely compete for a lot of high- leverage innings. It’ll be exciting to see if he can add some speed to his fastball knowing he’s only going out for an inning or two.

Eric Cerantola #38

The Montreal native might be the best all-around athlete on the Fireflies roster this season. Not only did he pitch for the College World Series- winning Mississippi State BullDogs in 2021, but he also was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 Ontario Hockey League Draft by the Owen Sound Attack. It was Adam Stern, the Royals Canadian Supervisor who saw him at age 15 and convinced him to stick with baseball, so it was only appropriate he started his professional career with Kansas City.

pitchers Shane Connolly #45

Dayton Moore once said that collecting left- handed pitching is like playing the lottery, you need to stockpile arms and develop and hope for success, so Connolly is another 2021 draftee lefty. He played at the Citadel for two seasons before transferring to Virginia Tech where he proved that the swing and miss stuff translated with 81 strikeouts in 63 innings. He’ll be a fun guy to watch develop in the pen and see if he can keep those high strikeout rates as he climbs the professional ranks.

Heribert Garcia #31 Garcia will trot out his four-pitch mix to

Columbia for a second season. With a bit of a roster crunch for the Fireflies in August of last year, Garcia was rushed to this level, and it showed. He finished the year 0-4 with an 8.75 ERA. He allowed 36 hits in 23.2 innings as he just was not ready for the League, but the potential was there. He notched 27 strikeouts in that time, showing that the stuff is good enough. He earned the win in his first relief outing of the year April 13, allowing a single run in five innings. He may be ready.

Patrick Halligan #35

Halligan was an irresistible, huge (6’6”) righty out of Pensacola State Junior College. Last year he had a 2.57 ERA in the ACL before moving up to Columbia. He has a huge swing-and-miss combo with his high velocity heater and slider, and that worked for 109 punchouts his senior season in college. This year he’s transitioning to the bullpen to harness that stuff. It should be a lot of fun to see him let it fly.

pitchers

Ben Hernandez #16

Hernandez was picked up in the second round of the 2020 draft fresh out of high school with perhaps the best change-up in that year’s draft class. While 2021 had its ups and downs for Hernandez, he was stellar at Segra Park, spinning a 2.37 ERA in five games (19.1 innings) before finishing the season on the injured list. We’ll see how quickly he can put everything together in 2022.

Rylan Kaufman #51

Kaufman had a lot of highs and lows with the Fireflies in 2021. Here’s the deal though, he ate innings for the team and finished with the second-most strikeouts on the roster. Now he’s staying stretched out for longer outings, but beginning the year as that extra starter or long- relief guy. Control was the big factor for the Texas lefty last year. If he can consistently find it this year, look out.

John McMillon #22

McMillon played two-ways at Texas Tech before signing as an undrafted free agent. This 6’3” righty throws in the mid-upper 90s and has developed a slurve that keeps hitters off balance. So far this season, his stuff has been working, as he has gone through three scoreless innings in as many appearances.

pitchers Samuel Valerio #34

A toolsy 6’4” righty, the Royals Reporter ranked him as Kansas City’s 37th-best prospect after being clocked at 101 MPH at just 18-years-old. Worked only 20 innings in 2019 and 10.2 innings in 2021, so this will be the first extended look that fans and the Royals will get at their prized International Signee.

Chase Wallace #18

We saw the potential that Wallace had last August. The Sevierville, Tennessee native recorded a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings across seven games during the month. If that weren’t enough, he held opponents to a .164 ERA while striking out around 30% of the hitters he faced. His first outing in 2022? 2.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs. Let’s see if he can harness what he found in 2021.

Marlin Willis #19

Willis is the biggest lefty project on the Fireflies. The kid has AMAZING stuff. The problem is finding that control. When he is on, you can see why the Royals used a big over-slot bonus to lure him away from Georgia Tech, as always with young guys though, the question is, will the consistency be there. In 2022, he’s allowed five earned runs in 1.1 innings April 9 and zero earned runs in two innings April 15. The jury is still out.

catchers

Felix Familia #24 Familia is one of the bigger surprises to be returning to Columbia. Last year he showed that he could handle the level. He transitioned to playing mostly first base, while still keeping the catching gear and showed that he could hit, with a .260 average that finished at the top of the team’s board across the season. Some younger catching prospects got the call up to Quad Cities instead, and that might be so Familia can continue to mentor Omar Hernandez and keep Carter Jensen close as he teaches the young catchers his approach to the game.

Omar Hernandez #12

Fans will remember the 20-year-old catcher from last season. He carried the bulk of the Fireflies catching duties despite being 2.5 years younger than the average player in the league. He also saw his batting average dip each month of the year after not playing at all in 2020. This year, he has one year of experience and has added around 10 lbs to help keep his legs under him for the length of the season as his body continues to mature.

Carter Jensen #11

The top prep catcher in the draft fell into his hometown team’s lap in the third round of the draft, and passed up a commitment from LSU to play pro ball. He is a bat first player with a ton of pop, which the Royals saw in his start to his professional career, where he hit .458 in August with three extra-base hits, five RBI and six walks in 10 professional games.

infielders Wilmin Candelario #2

Candelario had a lot of acclaim early in his career after being signed in 2018 as a

16-year-old, Baseball America called him that International Signing Class’s top shortstop prospect. It didn’t stop there. Following the 2019 season, FanGraphs hailed Candelario as the 18th- best Royals’ prospect. In that season, he crushed the ball with runners in scoring position, slashing .321/.412/.518 and hit .340 from the left side of the plate.

Francis Grullon #4

While Grullon is listed as a shortstop, he has played more games on the other side of the pillow at second. He hits left-handed pitching well, hitting .350 in his career against southpaws, which will certainly play a role for a lefty-loaded Fireflies lineup this season.

Edgar Martinez #0

Martinez knows how to make a great first impression. He was named a Dominican Summer League All-Star in 2019 after hitting .333 in 36 games in the first-half of the campaign. He found his way on-base .37% of the time in July 2019, drawing seven walks in the month while hitting .256.

infielders

Guillermo Quintana

#6

Quintana is a rare breed. A player with a lot of pop who does not strike out a lot. Because the Royals’ catching room is loaded, particularly in the lower levels, he’s making the transition on the infield dirt at first base this year, but in a pinch, he could catch four games per week if needed. In 2021, he excelled at beating starters, averaging .444 against the first man out and because of those hot starts to games, he was named the 2021 ACL Royals Player of the Year.

Josh Rivera #1

Rivera has one of the more interesting paths to make it to Columbia. He was originally signed by the White Sox, but was cut without playing a full season due to the Minor League team contraction. He got a second chance with Chicago’s division-rival, Kansas City. In 15 games through July and August last year, he crushed the ball, slashing .364/.447/.758 in the ACL. His ISO was .394 in that stretch. If Rivera can consistently put it together, he could be a dangerous middle infielder for years to come.

Enrique Valdez #8

The Fireflies got to see a bit of Enrique last season, and he really started to put things together at the end of the year. He finished a career-high five-game hitting streak on the penultimate game of the season. All five of his career homers were hit after July 2021 when he unlocked a new power stroke. His continued growth and move to the hot corner could provide him a lot of upside for the future.

outfielders Darryl Collins #23

Collins gave the Columbia Fireflies their most exciting moment of the 2021 season, a walk- off grand slam in the 10th inning of their Independence Day game, which took place June 26 due to some scheduling oddities. By the end of the year, Collins lost track of who he was though and got a little pull happy, sacrificing some of his all-world contact to try to get a few more homers. This season, he’s started off with a better approach and is showing that his bat is enough to pace the League Leaders in hits if he stays in Columbia.

Jaswel De Los Santos #9 De Los Santos is another young player getting a taste of full season ball early. He turned 20 in January, but showed that he was ready to leave the Arizona Complex League in 2021. He led the ACL Royals Gold in homers (6), games played (41) and average among players who appeared in at least 70% of the ACL Royals Gold’s games (.266). He excelled in the lead-off role where he slashed .313/.389/.563 in 2021. Like Hernandez and Collins last year, he’ll have to adjust to full season baseball, but watch out when he catches on to the older players in the Carolina League.

Erick Peña #21

Peña is this year’s top prospect on the team, according to MLB.com, but he’s used to being a guy who people gush over. He said scouts started telling him he had big league potential when he was about 11 years old. He was the top-ranked International Prospect in the Royals 2019 signing class and is routinely compared to Carlos Beltran. He hit a walk-off homer in the Fireflies season opener, so the sky is the limit for the 19-year-old.

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