New Gateway Grizzlies signee Dondrei Hubbard is a power-hitting, outfield prospect who played in the San Diego Padres organization in 2020. (Photo courtesy Mayfield State athletics)
by Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
The Gateway Grizzlies made a number of moves in the last week looking to finalize out its roster for spring training, which will begin at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in just a few weeks. The Grizzlies signed a power-hitting outfielder and a power-pitching reliever, and also traded away two players that weren’t likely to crack the starting lineup this season.
The most recent of the signings, and perhaps the most intriguing of all of Gateway’s transactions this offseason, came over the weekend, when the Grizzlies signed 25-year old outfield prospect Dondrei Hubbard.
A 6-foot, 220-lb power hitter from Houston, Hubbard is primarily a centerfielder, but can and has played all three outfield spots during his pro career.
He played his college ball at NAIA Mayfield State before signing with the Melbourne Aces of Baseball Australia in 2018. After one season overseas, Hubbard came back to the US and played for the Sonoma Stompers of the Pacific Association in 2019, where he hit .364 and blasted 16 home runs with 55 RBIs in 41 games.
Near the end of that season, Hubbard was traded to the Lake Erie Crushers, who were in the midst of a late season postseason run, and he hit two homers in 19 games while mostly coming off the bench for a team that won the Frontier League East Division that year.
In the following offseason, Hubbard signed by the San Diego Padres organization, but he only got to play a few games with the Padres’ developmental league team before everything was shut down due to the nation’s covid pandemic. Hubbard had hoped to re-sign with the Padres this past offseason, but he was left on the outside looking in when MLB announced it would be requiring each organization to reduce its number of minor league teams and programs for the 2021 season.
The Grizzlies believe Hubbard has strong potential and that’s why they signed him as quick as they could and hope to have him ready to go when the season begins in late May.
The other signing Gateway did most recently, was the re-signing of pitcher Justin Watts, a 6-foot-3, 215-lb. righthander from Bryan, OH.
Watts played his college ball at Division I Northern Kentucky, before transferring to Division II Southern Indiana for his senior season. He was then selected in the 37th round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft and played for the Blue Jays’ rookie league team that summer and fall. He did well, mostly pitching in relief and posting a 3.62 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched and only one home run allowed.
The Blue Jays moved Watts up to their single-A club in 2018 and it turned out to be his best season as a pro. Watts went 5-0 with a 2.45 ERA, with 52 Ks in only 36 innings pitched and once again only allowing one home run. In 2019, the Jays moved Watts up to their high-level single-A team and things didn’t go so well. He had a 5.21 ERA after giving up 9 runs in 11 games and was cut midway through that season.
The Grizzlies signed Watts prior to the 2020 season, but nobody played a single pitch because of the pandemic, so Grizzlie fans never got to see him in action. They will this year though, thanks to a new contract that means Gateway will be bringing the power-pitching righty back for 2021.
Gateway’s other most recent transaction was a trade. The Grizzlies sent outfield Aaron Bond and first baseman Matt Warkenstein to the Missoula PaddleHeads of the Pioneer League for players to be named later.
Those moves leave the Grizzlies with a roster of 44 players heading into next month’s spring training workouts. Gateway will then have to trim its roster to 28 players before the start of the 2021 season, which will begin with the Grizzlies’ home opener against the Florence Y’alls on May 27.