Starting pitcher Will Perkowski of New Boston is set to return to the Silver Knights this summer. He can also see time at DH or first base. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Take a look around the city, and it almost seems like you might be hard pressed to find someone who is not on the Nashua Silver Knights 2024 roster.

That’s because as it stands today, it totals a whopping 51 players. Who knows how much it may grow in the coming weeks?

Knights general manager Cam Cook had to chuckle.

“There’s an element of randomness on how the team performs ever year,” he said, talking about how players may struggle here but then thrive during their collegiate seasons down the road. “You know what you’re getting, but guys live away from home, using wood bats, it’s just a different environment so you never really know what you’re going to get.”

Example: From May 1 to May 24, the Silver Knights last year lost 16 players off their anticipated roster, the majority of them pitchers. “And we just lost a pitcher this week,” Cook said. “It’s a 40 man roster, and we have 51 guys right now. That’s completely by design.”

Why? Because, as one Futures League executive once said, teams have to formulate three rosters: one for the start of the season, the other for the bulk of it, and then one down the stretch for the post season. Everything is in a state of flux.

“We know a ton of guys are going to show up late, some are going to show up super late,” Cook said. “We know we have guys for the front end of the season, and we know if we have 28 pitchers, we might get down to 22 before the season even starts.”

So the feeling was that, as Cook said his conversation went last year with Kyle Jackson, “We know we’re going to lose guys, so why not grab everyone we want on the team?”

That way, there aren’t many temporary contracts handed out. The problem for Nashua last season was they did some of that but still got off to a horrendous start during a very tough season.

Here’s a look at the Knights by position group:

PITCHERS (27)

POTENTIAL STARTERS

Back is Andrew Chenevert, a righty out of Saint Anselm, and had a 1.96 ERA for the Knights last year. He was 2-4, but in two of those losses the teams scored zero runs while he was in. Pace has picked up as a school the team has connected with, and lefty Vinny Civitella has a 3.26 ERA through 19 innings.

Braydon Gray, who was with Nashua last summer and is now seeing mound time in his freshman year at Stonehill, will be in the rotation. “He and Chenevert were two guys who held it down for us most of last summer so it’s great we’ve got those two guys back,” Cook said.

Alvirne alum Jake Hobart is a junior at Western New England, and starts conferenc games so he will likely be another rotation piece. There is another local who may start – current Rivier hurler Nolan Mederos, who was the ace of the Nashua South staff in 2022. “He’s not going to strike a lot of guys out but he’ll spin ground balls,” Cook said of Mederos, who as of this writing had won two of his first three starts at Riv.

The Knights added a former Worcester Bravehearts pitcher, Stonehill righty Frankie Melendez out of Lowell. Melendez is also an ROTC cadet. He could be a starter or a long reliever, and he opted to sign with Nashua to be just a tad closer to home.

Returning is Penn State righty and former Goffstown standout Will Perkowski, who at last look had a 3.18 ERA for the Nittany Lions, with opponents hitting .211 against. That’s as a reliever, but he will likey be a Knights starter. He can also play the field (first base) or DH. Cook said the team will check with Penn State how they’d like to see him used.

Returning is last year’s Opening Night starter, Erik Sibbach, who in six starts for Stevens Institute has a 1.35 ERA with 31 strikeouts and nine walks in 26 innings. He had to be shut down last season (innings limit), so he may be moved to the pen after a couple of early starts, depending on what Jackson & Co. think, Cook said.

Remember the name Zeke Swartz, a lefty junior for Division III Piedmont University, who at last look had a 3.67 ERA with opponents hitting .216 against him, plus 36 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Another rotation possibility is 6-6, 220-pound righty John Milewski, a freshman at Lafayette. There’s also Keene State righty Phil Nichols, who the team signed last year but was hurt and still has yet to throw this spring.

LIKELY RELIEVERS

Amherst and Souhegan alum lefty Kyan Bagshaw (Endicott) should be in the bullpen, but in key spots — the team likes his ability to go more than one inning. “He is lights out for two innings every time,” Cook said. Stiles Begnaud, a righty out of Brown, struggled with control here last year but when he was good he was very good. Possibly in the back end.

One who should also be in the back end will be righty Anderson Cuello Batista out of Manchester, a junior who is the current closer for American International (AIC)

Lefty Mike Crowley of Londonderry (Assumption, currently a freshman) will be in the pen. So will be Jake Cullen, an incoming freshman for the University of Rhode Island who is playing high school ball in Westford, Mass. Weslley De Oliveira (righty) is a current freshman at Amherst College for former Knights manager/pitching coach J.P. Pyne. Monadnock Regional’s Ben Dean, headed for Dayton, should bring it at 6-3, 210. Rob Gilcrest, a sophomore at Pace, is expected to be, Cook said, “a go-to arm”.

Another high school senior, Cam Keaveney of Exeter, is bound for Northeastern. “Incoming Northeastern guys are always good,” Cook said.

Cook made a move he doesn’t usually make, signing a junior college player in Jason Libby (righty) out of Southern Maine Community College. He is a power pitcher with 24 strikeouts in 19 innings, but Cook was impressed with the fact that in high school in Maine he struck out all but two hitters while tossing a no-hitter.

Bishop Guertin alum Brandon Metevier struggled a bit last summer as a starter then pitched out of the pen with the Knights. The Nichols sophomore will be a reliever once again. “I think he’s a real good setup guy,” Cook said. “Even when he started games, it was first two innings, awesome; then second time through lineup not.”

Other relievers: Andrew MacDonald (Saint Anselm), Lehigh freshman Liam O’Hearen, Northeastern incoming freshman righty Andrew Rogovic, righty Jake Wiberg of Brentwood (Sacred Heart sophomore) and Derek Woods, who tossed a seven inning no-hitter for the Knights last year as part of a tripleheader at Pittsfield. He’s currently a sophomore at Colby.

“In a perfect world, it might be Metivier, Begnaud, Bagshaw, bang, that’s you’re seven-eight-nine,” Cook said.

But, with a plethora of arms, it likely will be a big mix for Jackson and pitching coach Spencer Bergeron to go through.

“It’s good to be this deep,” Cook said, “because if a guy gets knocked out early, you can go to this staple of a bullpen that you have.”

CATCHERS (3)

Kevin Connolly, a sophomore at Husson, is good defensively, and is a lefty bat; Scott Donahue, a freshman, is seeing limited duty at UMass Lowell, and current Lehigh freshman Andrew Noone, is hitting .296 with a homer in part-time duty.

“Catching hurt us so bad (defensively) at the beginning of the season last year,” Cook said. “If you’re a good catcher, no one knows you exist. If you’re a bad catcher, it gets exposed very fast. Defense is the priority for catching.”

There may be one or two more added to the mix, Cook said.

Nashua North alum Derek Finlay returns to Holman Stadium this summer as a Nashua Silver Knight. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

Nashua North alum Derek Finlay returns to Holman Stadium this summer as a Nashua Silver Knight. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

INFIELDERS (12)

A year ago, Nashua North alum and then Coffey Post shortstop Derek Finlay expressed a desire to be a Silver Knight for the summer of 2024; the current UAlbany redshirt has gotten his wish.

“It stinks to not get the reps but he might be here Opening Day for us which would be awesome,” Cook said. “We expect him to play some short for us.”

And, for the first time since 2022, South alum River Hart will be on the Holman Stadium turf, currently a freshman at UMass-Lowell, playing either first base or corner outfield, per the River Hawks’ input. “He’s got some versatility to him,” Cook said. “He’s big. He’s bench pressed himself into a first base or outfield spot. We’re pumped to have him, Finlay, and Mederos, local guys we know are talented.”

Middle infielder A.J. Aschettino (Northeastern high schooler) is expected late June due to a delayed graduation. Hofstra incoming Jake Harring goes to Austin Prep – son of former UMass Lowell head coach Ken Harring – and should be OK for the first week of the season as a second baseman.

Londonderry’s Nate Kearney is just working himself into the lineup at Stonehill as a freshman first baseman, and was a .400 hitter in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) last summer.

Harvard sophomore Justin King is platooning at Harvard and can play third, first or corner outfield. T.J. Liponis is hitting .379 as sophomore at Endicott and is a good defensive shortstop.

The Knights have a freshman shortstop as well from Central Michigan, and he’s seen spare time (14 at-bats at last look) in Drew Loikits. “He’s really good defensively as well,” Cook said. “I love our trio of shortstops to start the season.”

Ty Normandie from Delta College is a redshirt third baseman so he will be able to arrive on time. Sophomore first baseman Aidan Quinn, a sophomore at Lehigh, is hitting .355 in limited time.

Two others are Ben Tullo, the third Pace player on the roster, a sophomore second baseman who is hitting 286 at last look; and Siena’s Jeff Valdez, a freshman utility infielder out of Boston.

OUTFIELDERS (8)

Tommy Ahers (left or right field) is hitting .380 with 15 RBIs as a sophomore at Keene State. A Salem native, Cook says “That’s the type of (Division) III guy that is awesome to have on Opening Day.”

Londonderry senior Owen Carey, bound for Rutgers, could be a center fielder. Ryan Caufield, a junior at Clark, returns to the Knights and had a good season last here. He came to Nashua last year originally on a temp contract and ended up staying the whole summer.

URI sophomore Will Hindle out of Rye was supposed to be with Nashua last year but was injured; he converted from shortstop and is hitting .286 right now for the Rams.

SNHU junior Anderson Moreno was injured last year and is just returning, and had two homers in the first few games for the Penmen this spring. “He’s a fun guy to watch,” Cook said. “He’s one of those kids who called me directly and said ‘I want to play for Nashua.'”

Northeastern high schooler Anthony Ruggiero out of Mendon, Mass. is a lefty bat; Nater Wachter is a talented freshman at SNHU and brother of Knights coach Noah Wachter. He’s hitting, at last look, 315 with five homers and an OBP of 449. “Noah would always say that ‘I am the least talented baseball player in my family,'” Cook said with a chuckle.

Finally, there’s corner outfielder Aidin Zorn, seeing limited duty at Penn State as a freshman.

HOPING FOR BETTER START

The start is the key for the Knights, who have had bad starts for the last several years. “You look at a roster on paper and it’s phenomenal,” Cook said in general. “But we never have that roster until mid-June. We dug ourselves such a big hole in the beginning of season.

“Of the 51 guys on the roster right now, we know we’ll have 28 definite for Opening Day, and 12 who could go either way.”

They just need the right mix to start, for a better mix down the road. There may be strength in numbers after all.