Seth Simmons Named To USA Baseball Premier12 Roster
October 21, 2015 | Baseball
Complete Release and U.S. Roster
DURHAM, N.C. - East Carolina alum and current Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Seth Simmons is one of 27 players named to the 2015 U.S. Premier12â„¢ Baseball Team roster according to an announcement by USA Baseball Wednesday afternoon.
The team will compete in the WBSC Premier12â„¢ Tournament in Taipei, Taiwan (with semifinals and finals to be held in Tokyo, Japan), Nov. 9 to 21. The U.S. roster features 27 players not currently on Major League Baseball 40-man rosters.
"This is a great and deserving honor for Seth after the work and time he has put in playing professional baseball," ECU Head Baseball Coach Cliff Godwin said. "Anytime an East Carolina alum can get this type of recognition and opportunity, its obviously special for the program."
A 40th-round selection in 2011 by Arizona, Simmons recently completed his fifth season in the Diamondbacks organization splitting time between the Mobile BayBears (Double-A) and Reno Aces (Triple-A) where he appeared in 53 games. The right-hander posted a 6-3 record with one save, sported a 2.99 ERA and struck out 89 batters while walking 29 in 75.1 innings.
Since making his professional debut back in 2011, Simmons owns a 21-15 overall record with seven saves and a 2.78 ERA. He has appeared in 228 games - all in relief - racking up 430 strikeouts to just 145 walks in 323. 2 innings.
A four-year letterwinner for the Pirates (2008-11), Simmons left the program as the all-time career leader in saves (26), appearances (117) and relief appearances (117). He was a key contributor to the 2009 club that won the Conference USA regular season title, hosted a NCAA Regional at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium as a No. 1 seed and advanced to the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
"This is an unbelievable opportunity and I'm really excited for Seth," said ECU Pitching Coach Dan Roszel who worked with Simmons for two years (2010-11). "He has worked his tail off and put up great stats that look like PlayStation numbers when you look at his ERA and strikeouts within the Diamondbacks organization. He has really grinded his way up to Triple-A and had another great season in 2015. We hope this opportunity helps him take the next step, which is playing Major League Baseball."
Seth Simmons - 2011 Senior Biographical Sketch
Named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper-of-the-Year Watch List ... Appeared in 29 games (all out of the bullpen) where he posted a 6-2 record with six saves (team leader) ... Struck out 50, walked 23 and sported a 2.78 ERA in 35.2 innings ... Notched saves against No. 10 Virginia, Pepperdine, Monmouth, Rutgers, UCF and Tulane ... Became ECU's all-time saves leader on Mar. 19 against Rutgers after closing the final two-thirds of an inning with a strikeout ... Did not allow an earn run in 22 of 29 outings including his first 15 games of the season ... Fanned two or more batters 16 times ... Tied career-high with six punch outs against Campbell (Mar. 8) when he entered the game in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and struck out the side to get ECU out of a jam ... Did not issue a walk in 16 of 29 games ... Stuck out five against Houston (Apr. 21) after working three scoreless inning where he allowed one run in ECU's 5-4 win in 12 innings ... Worked at least one inning of relief in 22 games and tossed a season-high three innings of relief three times (Campbell, Houston and Virginia) ... Posted wins against Campbell, Elon, Memphis, UAB, Houston and Tulane ... Ranked among the league leaders (all games) in games finished (t-2nd), games in relief (t-3rd) and saves (sixth) ... Career Notes: Two-time NCBWA Stopper-of-the-Year nominee ... ECU's all-time career leader in saves (26), appearances (117) and relief appearances (117) ... Holds the second (26 in '09), third (23 in '10) and fourth (21 in '11) spots on ECU's single-season charts in game finished ... His 26 career saves is tied for sixth all-time Conference USA history ... Career Numbers: 13-8, 3.91 ERA, 117 games, 26 saves, 149.2 IP, 140 Hs, 77 Rs, 65 ERs, 85 BBs and 187 Ks ... Career-Highs - innings pitched: 5.2 vs. Southern Miss (5/9/10); strikeouts: 6 (twice, last vs. Campbell 3/8/11); walks: 4 vs. Rice (4/9/11); hits: 6 vs. Southern Miss (5/9/10); runs: 5 vs. Rice (4/10/09); earned runs: 4 (twice, last vs. Marshall 5/2/10).
The Premier12â„¢ team will first gather in Phoenix, Ariz., where it will train from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. The squad has scheduled three exhibition games from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 against Canada, while in Phoenix. The U.S. will then depart for Taipei for the Premier12â„¢ where it will look to win gold in the inaugural event. Pool play kicks off on Nov. 10, against the Dominican Republic at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium.
