Two players who'll lend local flavor to Kane County Cougars this season
South Elgin resident Ryan Weiss wasted no time making the Kane County clubhouse feel like home this week.
"The first thing he asked about was can we get a Ping-Pong table in here," new Cougars manager Vince Harrison said Tuesday, cracking a smile.
The request is under consideration.
"We will be getting a Ping-Pong table," Weiss later told reporters. "That will happen."
Table tennis or not, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-handed pitcher already feels at home because he is home. The Kane County native spent the offseason two towns up the Fox River from Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva, where the Class-A Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate opens the season against Clinton on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
While most of Weiss' teammates are staying with host families, he is sleeping in the same bed he slept in this winter, when he was not traveling to the Dominican Republic with the D'Backs or training in Arizona or Hillsboro, Ore.
A sizable South Elgin fan contingent is expected Friday at noon, when Weiss starts Game 2 of the Clinton series. Family members have rented a suite to watch him pitch.
"He's all excited," Harrison said. "He said a bunch of people are taking off work. I'm excited for him to be in this situation where he can have some support and be close to home where it's real familiar."
While it is a unique opportunity to play near home in a ballpark where Weiss attended games growing up, he hopes the stay is short. The No. 18-ranked prospect in the Arizona minor league system, according to MLB Pipeline, intends to improve on last year's 3.86 earned-run average in 30⅓ innings at short-season Hillsboro. A promotion to high-Class-A Visalia or beyond is the immediate goal.
That is why Weiss plans to live out of a suitcase while living at home. He said he wants to be ready when news of a promotion comes. Not if. When.
"I love this area. I'm happy to be playing here," he said, "but, obviously, this isn't the overall goal."
Alek Thomas is another Cougar with local ties. The son of Allen Thomas, White Sox director of strength and conditioning, will patrol the outfield. The younger Thomas hit a home run against dad's team in spring training, a shot he called the previous night.
"I told my dad 'Hey, you better believe I'm hitting a home run tomorrow,'" Alek recalled Tuesday.
"He was like 'You better.'"
Arizona's No. 7-ranked prospect, Thomas (5-11, 175) bats left handed and can play any outfield position. He graduated from Mt. Carmel last spring and was drafted in the second round with the 63rd overall pick.
In two Rookie League stops after he received a $1.2 million signing bonus, he batted .333 (82-for-246) with 14 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs and 27 RBI.
He turns 19 on April 28.
"I think if they didn't believe he was able or capable of handling this, then he wouldn't be here," said Harrison, whose brother, Josh, plays for the Detroit Tigers.
Six players who finished last season with the Cougars return: pitchers Franklyn Soriano and Bryan Valdez; catcher Jose Herrera; and outfielders Eduardo Diaz, Tra Holmes and Jorge Perez.
Jackson Pollard gets the starting nod on the mound in Thursday's opener. The right-hander was drafted in the third round out of Kansas in 2018.
The team hasn't been together long but Harrison likes the vibe from his players so far.
"I think it's a fun, energy group but young as far as experience," he said. "I've started to develop some relationships with some of the guys and try to pick their brain and get to know them. Some of them actually have pretty old-school minds. I've got guys talking about 'Yeah, I loved to help my teammates when I was in college.' Things like that. It's like a young but mature group at the same time."