Native St. Louisan Brandon Gutzler was one of three players selected by the Gateway Grizzlies in the 2022 Frontier League Draft on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy: Murray State Athletics)
by DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer
SAUGET, IL — The Gateway Grizzlies added three players to their roster for spring training at the 2022 Frontier League Draft on Tuesday, picking left-handed pitcher Anthony Arias first overall in the first round, while selecting right-handed pitcher Matt Reitz in the second round, and outfielder and St. Louis-native Brandon Gutzler in the third round.
Arias has already seen action in the Frontier League with the Evansville Otters in 2019 and 2021. The southpaw from Fairfield, Calif., made three starts for the Otters last season, striking out 14 batters against 12 walks while also allowing only nine hits in 11 innings.
In 2019, Arias posted a 2-2 record and a 4.56 ERA in nine games (four starts) in his professional debut season, striking out 31 and walking 15 in 25 2/3 innings. A graduate of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, the lefthander went 6-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 12 starts as a senior before joining Evansville, and struck out 80 batters and walked just 26, while surrendering only 46 hits in 64 1/3 innings pitched.
Arias was a First Team All-American in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
Reitz comes to the Grizzlies after pitching in three games last season for Équipe Québec. The Jacksonville, Fla., native played in the Battle of the Bourbon Trail (Florence) and Yinzer League (Washington) during the pandemic in 2020, after beginning his career with the Tucson Saguaros in the Pecos League in 2019, where he posted 15 strikeouts and 10 walks in 18 2/3 innings.
He played collegiately at Covenant College in Georgia, making 14 appearances and 10 starts as a senior with 42 strikeouts and 26 walks in 54 innings pitched in 2019.
Gutzler comes to Sauget after playing for the Saranac Lake Surge in the Empire League in 2021, batting .269 with three homers and 28 RBIs along with 12 doubles in 39 games.
A switch hitter, who played his high school ball at DeSmet, Gutzler played overseas in Germany in 2019, following a standout college career at Murray State University.
He was a Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection as a graduate student in 2018, batting .351 with 10 home runs, 51 RBIs, 12 doubles, and 67 total hits in 46 games.
In 2017, Gutzler was named First Team All-OVC and a Second Team All-American by the NCBWA, after batting .352 with 16 homers, 71 RBIs, 17 doubles, and 84 hits in 58 games.
He also was a standout at St. Louis Community College, where he was the Region 16 Player of the Year in 2015, before transferring to Murray State.
The Grizzlies begin spring training in Sauget on Thursday, April 28, and will play four preseason games against the Evansville Otters – two home and two away — with the two home contests scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, and Saturday, May 7.
The 2022 regular season will begin for Gateway on Friday, May 13, when the Grizzlies will host the Empire State Greys at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
First pitch that night is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.