The Lancaster Stormers have continued to bolster their pitching staff for the 2024 campaign as left-hander Brady Tedesco and right-hander Jackson Rees have been signed to contracts, it has been announced by manager Ross Peeples.
Adding the duo now gives the Barnstormers 17 players under contract for the coming season.
Tedesco, 27, joined the Stormers as one of two players they could sign or obtain via trade following the September 1 deadline last season. After going 6-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 51 innings in the MLB Draft League, the southpaw from Colorado made one regular season start for the Stormers. In that start, he defeated the Long Island Ducks, 3-1, with seven strong innings, yielding only five singles. The win moved the Stormers within one game of the North Division second half title, which they won the following night.
In the playoffs, Tedesco defeated the Ducks again, clinching the North Division Series. He got the Game Three start at Gastonia, but lost, 7-3.
“Tedesco is a guy who came in and did well for us last year,” said Peeples. “We’re hoping he can come in this year and build off those experiences. He works very hard and goes about his business in a professional way.”
Rees, 29, spent the last six years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization after being signed from the University of Hawaii. In his first full season as a professional, the California native went 5-2 with a 0.73 ERA between Lansing and Dunedin, Toronto’s two Class A affiliates.
Following the missed pandemic year, Rees advanced to Class AAA Buffalo, appearing in 32 games at that level over the past three seasons. He struck out 51 batters and walked 30 and struck out 39 in 32.2 innings at Class AAA.
“Jackson is a veteran bullpen guy who will probably end up in the back end of our pen,” said Peeples. “He is a sinker-slider guy that can change shapes with his slider and is not scared to throw it at any time.”
The Stormers open their title defense Thursday, April 25 at Long Island. They will return home April 30