‘I’m excited to see everybody on Wednesday’: Quincy’s new Prospect League team ready for home debut

QUINCY — Tasked with building a roster that will help reintroduce summer baseball to the Gem City, Quincy Doggy Paddlers field manager Brad Gyorkos knew what he needed.

It wasn’t players from high-profile NCAA Division I programs.

It was players hungry for at-bats, innings and the chance to enhance their game.

“We want people to stay here for the entire summer,” Gyorkos said. “We want people to play hard here and care about it.”

So the Doggy Paddlers put together a roster filled with local talent, small-school prospects and junior college players. Their hunger is what the owners, front office personnel and coaches believe will make the Doggy Paddlers’ inaugural Prospect League season a success.

“It’s an opportunity for the guys on our squad,” said Doggy Paddlers general manager Brendan Saak, a Belleville, Ill., native who was a two-sport athlete at Quincy University. “I think this group’s hungry. Most of the guys we have are excited to play, but they’re hungry for the opportunity and hungry to play and are ready to go.

“When people see our team, they are going to play hard. They are going to want to be out there every chance that they get.”

That extends from the local products to the overseas talent.

Infielder Brady Kindhart, a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, had 36 at-bats this spring as a sophomore at Maryville but battled injuries and is looking for everyday innings. Ashton Ertz, an outfielder from Payson Seymour, transferred to Culver-Stockton College after initially signing with a junior college and has yet to have a college at-bat.

Outfielder Harry Oden, pitcher Brady Lowe and pitcher Ethan Rose — all Quincy products — are joined by former Mendon Unity pitcher Cody Shaffer among local products expected to contribute.

“These are kids who have been watching the Gems playing forever,” Gyorkos said.

Add in international flair from Yu Sakamoto, a right-handed pitcher for Pasadena (Calif.) City College who is from Tokyo, Japan, and infielder Jordan Sfyndillis, who plays for Saint Xavier University and is from Toronto, Ontario. Twelve junior college players are on the roster.

“They’re going to play hard,” said Gyorkos, who spent two seasons coaching the Quincy Gems before coaching the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes last summer. “They’re going to show up everyday and play hard. It’s how we were successful my first two years at Quincy. It wasn’t because we were overtalented. It was because we played hard.”

Like everything else, the team is a work in progress.

The Doggy Paddlers opened Tuesday night with a 12-5 loss at Burlington (Iowa) and will face the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in Wednesday’s home debut. Changes have been made to QU Stadium, including new dugouts and new seating, but the work in making this a summer baseball mecca is ongoing.

So far, the reviews of what has happened have been positive.

“For me, it’s been really good,” Gyorkos said. “The fan reaction on social media has been really good. People are talking about it. We’re happy about it for sure.”

Still, it will be a relief to see the first game go off without a hitch.

“I’m excited, but there’s a lot of anxiety,” Saak said. “At the end of the day, it’s baseball. You can’t get too worked up about it. It’s summer baseball. You’re supposed to have fun. We’re excited to have it back in Quincy and bring it back to Quincy.”

Finally, after months of planning, that is about to become a reality.

“It’s nice to be back in Quincy,” Gyorkos said. “I’m excited to see everybody on Wednesday.”