Woodpeckers 2024 Watchlist
The 2024 season is fast approaching and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers roster will soon be finalized ahead of Opening Day on April 5th in Myrtle Beach. The Woodpeckers Watchlist is a projection of players that could be on the diamond for 2024, featuring three position players and three pitchers to watch
The 2024 season is fast approaching and the Fayetteville Woodpeckers roster will soon be finalized ahead of Opening Day on April 5th in Myrtle Beach. The Woodpeckers Watchlist is a projection of players that could be on the diamond for 2024, featuring three position players and three pitchers to watch for early in the season.
Luis Baez - OF
The 20-year-old Baez enters the season as the #2 overall rated prospect in the Astros system, according to MLB.com and could slot as the top power threat in the heart of the Woodpeckers lineup to begin 2024. Baez slugged .413 over 41 games with Fayetteville last season as a teenager, totaling 13 doubles, 4 HR and 23 RBI. Originally from Bani, Dominican Republic, Baez signed the largest international bonus in Houston’s 2022 international class at $1.3 million.
Will Bush - C
The Astros selected catcher Will Bush in the 16th round of the 2023 Draft following a huge college season at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He batted .357 with 8 HR, 40 RBI, 38 runs scored and 50 walks over his freshman season and carried the plate prowess onto the pro level, slashing an impressive .304/.500/.522 with 1 HR, 7 RBI over 9 games in the Florida Complex League. Bush is originally from North Richland Hills, Texas where he attended Birdville High School.
Chase Jaworsky - INF
One of the youngest players on the Fayetteville roster to begin the season could be 19-year-old Chase Jaworsky, a shortstop selected in the 5th round in 2023 out of Rock Canyon High School in Highlands Ranch, CO. He made his professional debut at the Florida Complex League in 2023 and batted .281 with nine hits and six walks over nine games. Over his final high-school season, the lefty Jaworsky batted .444 and was ranked as the sixth best player in Colorado, according to Perfect Game.
Joey Dixon - RHP
Dixon was drafted in the 7th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Stanford and made his pro debut with a scoreless inning in the Florida Complex last summer. He is a two-time Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention who worked both as a starter and reliever for the Cardinal during 71 career college games. Stanford went 20-5 in his 25 career starts and he closed his junior year in 2023 going 7-0 with a 4.73 ERA over 21 games. Dixon is originally from South Jordan, Utah where he was a two-time team captain at Bingham High School.
Ethan Pecko - RHP
Pecko made his pro debut during the 2023 summer after being selected in the 6th round of the 2023 MLB draft out of Towson University. He tallied 14 strikeouts across 12.0 total innings in Fayetteville and could be a weekly piece to the Woodpeckers starting rotation in 2024. While at Towson Pecko was the primary Saturday starter and finished the year with a 2-2 record and 3.21 ERA. The 21-year-old grew up in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania and attended Ridley High School where he was also team captain for the golf team for three seasons.
James Hicks - RHP
Hicks pitched down in Columbia, South Carolina for the South Carolina Gamecocks during the 2023 college season and was selected by Houston in the 13th round of the MLB Draft. The Conway, Arkansas native made 25 appearances and went 8-1 with two saves, a 3.48 ERA and 56 strikeouts over his final college season. He went on to make his professional debut in the Florida Complex league later in the summer, allowing one earned run and striking out six across 5.2 innings of work.