Ballers Sign Three Players from Open Tryouts Including Team’s First Female Player

The Oakland Ballers agreed to terms on contracts with three players who attended the open tryout last  Saturday at Laney College. Infielder Andrew Martinez, right-handed pitcher Connor Caporale, and right handed pitcher Kelsie Whitmore all signed contracts and will attend the team's Spring Training in May. 

Kelsie Whitmore, from Temecula, CA, made history in 2022 as the first woman to sign a professional  contract with an MLB Partner League team as a member of the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic  League. Whitmore's first ever professional baseball appearances came in Northern California as a player  for the Sonoma Stompers in 2016-2017. 

Martinez, who is from San Francisco and went to St. Francis HS, was twice drafted out of UC Santa  Barbara - first by Miami in the 33rd Round of the 2018 MLB Draft and then by Baltimore in the 24th  Round in 2019. He spent three years in the Baltimore system, reaching as high as High-A Aberdeen,  before spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons in independent leagues. 

Caporale is a pitcher from Vacaville who spent his college career at Simpson University in Redding, CA.  After three seasons at Simpson, Caporale spent the summer of 2023 in the Coastal Plain League with  the Wilson Tobs in North Carolina, before getting his first professional experience with the Westside  Woolly Mammoths of the United Shores League in Michigan. 

"Well first off, the club was extremely happy with how the tryout went, and for us to come away with three players to bring to camp underscores the success of it. Andrew stood out with his abilities in the field and can really offer us experience up the middle. Anytime you get someone like Connor who takes the mound and throws 95 mph your ears perk up and he had a great showing overall. With Kelsie we had heard a lot about her coming into the day and she impressed our coaches when she got her opportunity. Her pitches offer a different look to hitters, similar to how a knuckleballer or submariner would,"  said Tyler Petersen, Assistant General Manager, Baseball Operations.

The Ballers now have 31 players under contract going into the club's Spring Training. The Pioneer League  will hold one more league tryout camp from April 16-18 in Scottsdale, AZ. All 12 PBL teams will be in  attendance and the Ballers hold the first overall pick in the camp's draft. For more information on the  camp, visit www.pioneerleague.com and for more information on the Oakland Ballers visit our website at  www.oaklandballers.com.