Washington Adds Two, Places Medina on Suspended List Saturday

The Wild Things have announced three transactions, including two players being signed. The team has placed first baseman Reydel Medina on the suspended list and signed first baseman Conner Simonetti and pitcher Taylor Bloom. Bloom will start tonight on the mound, while Simonetti is in the lineup at first base. Simonetti spent the first part of 2018 with the Lake Erie Crushers, while Bloom just finished a career at the University of Maryland.

Simonetti has twice been selected in the MLB draft, first in 2013 when the Cincinnati Reds picked him in the 35th round out of Fairport High School, and then in 2016 when the Washington Nationals drafted him in the 13th round after three years at Kent State University. Simonetti began his professional career in the Gulf Coast League with the Gulf Coast Nationals.

He played 42 games in the rookie league, hitting .280 with six home runs and 24 RBI. Simonetti moved to the Frontier League in 2017, hitting .303 in 46 games with Lake Erie, and ended the season in the low-A New York Penn League, appearing in six games with the Auburn Doubledays. He rejoined Lake Erie for the 2018 season and hit .215 in 21 games.

“We took a hard look at Conner last summer when he was made available by the Nationals, but we simply did not have a role," said assistant general manager of baseball operations Tony Buccilli. "With the untimely departure of [Reydel] Medina, we appreciate Conner’s efforts and eagerness to join us. We have seen him produce in this league and are encouraging him to play with a chip on his shoulder.”

In his last two seasons at Kent State, Simonetti emerged as the Golden Flashes' biggest power threat. He led the team with 11 home runs in 2015 and 17 more in 2016. His junior season was his best, as he hit .311 had a .599 slugging percentage, earning second-team all-MAC honors.

Bloom spent the past four seasons throwing in the Big 10 with the Maryland Terripans.

A native of Crofton, Maryland, Bloom didn't have to travel far to continue his baseball career in College Park. As a freshman, he started five games for the Terps but most of his action came in relief, where he made 10 of his 15 appearances. He went 2-3 with a 4.01 ERA over 33.2 innings in 2015 and started the Big 10 championship game against Michigan, giving up an earned run over 3.1 innings in a 4-3. The Terps wound up making it to the NCAA Super Regionals, where they fell in two games to eventual national-runner up Virginia.

Bloom's best season at Maryland came his sophomore year. Now a fixture in the starting rotation, Bloom pitched a career-high 102 innings over 14 starts, going 6-5 with a 2.46 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07. Bloom struck out 60 batters in 2016 and walked just nine. His 6.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the fifth best in the Big 10 and ranked in the top 15 nationally, and his five complete games topped the conference and were eighth best in the country. Bloom's performance as a sophomore earned him third-team All-Big 10 honors.

He remained a fixture in Maryland's rotation as a junior and senior, going 7-2 with a 3.83 ERA over 89 innings in 2017 and struggling to a 3-8 record and a 4.99 ERA this past season.

"Taylor was another one of our tryout participants that we saw some potential in," said assistant general manager of baseball operations Tony Buccili. "He has had success in a major conference, playing in the Big 10, and is predicated on inducing groundouts. We look to have our catchers assist with getting Taylor acclimated to our level of professional baseball and aid in the process of replicating his college production."

At Riverside Baptist High School, Bloom developed into one of Maryland's best, going 8-1 with a 0.89 ERA as a senior and being ranked as the ninth best player in the state by Perfect Game USA.

Medina played 39 games for the Wild Things this season, and will remain under team control on the suspended list. He hit three home runs and drove in 20 runs while sporting a .303 batting average.

Bloom will start tonight's game against the Schaumburg Boomers at 7:05 p.m. on Black Out Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Wild Things Park, presented by the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Simonetti will also make his Wild Things' debut tonight, playing first base and batting eighth.