Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK BULLOCK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Avalanche opens a four-game series against the Prince William Cannons with a team Hayes said will be ``solid defensively,'' has ``an abundance'' of pitching and should ``be competitive'' in the chase for the Southern Division pennant.
The starting pitcher tonight will be Matt Pool, a 21-year-old right-hander pitching coach Bill Champion said has ``good control, a good sinker and a good slider.''
Pool compiled a 5-4 record last season with a 2.79 earned run average. He will be followed in the rotation by Doug Walls (6-10, 111 strikeouts), Jamey Wright (7-14, 103 strikeouts), Keith Barnes (8-9, 96 strikeouts) and Doug Million (6-3, 94 strikeouts).
Much has been said about that pitching staff, which includes two No.1 draft choices of the parent Colorado Rockies in Wright and Million, but Hayes said the lineup will feature some good hitters, too.
``We have some guys who can swing the bat,'' Hayes said Wednesday. Most notable among them are designated hitter Brian Culp, who batted better than .300 last season in two leagues; right fielder John Giudice, who batted .290 for Asheville, N.C., in the South Atlantic League; and first baseman Nate Holdren, who slugged 28 home runs for Asheville to lead the Rockies' organization.
Shortstop Keith Grunewald is a switch hitter who had 109 hits and 10 home runs for Asheville, and 19-year-old center fielder Edgard Velazquez had 106 hits and 22 doubles.
Other starters for the Avalanche are expected to be Vincente Garcia at second base (.219 last season), Mark Wells in left field (.264, 11 homers), Mike Higgins at catcher (.268, 14 doubles) and Forry Wells at third base (.256).
``If we don't beat ourselves and we give our starters a chance to stay in the game, we'll have a good chance to win some games,'' Hayes said. According to Champion, all the starters should provide quality innings. Walls, he said, has a ``major-league'' change-up, Wright has a ``good-moving fastball,'' Barnes has ``good movement'' on his pitches and Million possesses a ``power arm, but needs to learn how to change speeds and hit spots.''
The strength of the club, Hayes said, should be pitching. The weakness is a lack of speed.
``We are not gifted in that area,'' Hayes said. ``I don't see any guys who can steal 40 to 50 bases. We are going to have to be good at going from first to third, second to home and reading balls in the dirt to get the extra base. Otherwise, we'll let guys swing the bat and see how many runs we get.''
Many of those runs are expected to be produced by Holdren, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound free swinger who drove in 74 runs for Asheville but also struck out 129 times. Giudice has ``power to all fields,'' Hayes said, and Culp is ``the best pure hitter'' on the roster.
Following the series at Prince William in Woodbridge, the Avalanche heads to Kinston, N.C., for a three-game series with the Indians. The home opener is April 14 at Salem Municipal Field.
by CNB