THREE HURLERS RETURN

Shuman, Anderson, Lakind Back in Barn

Three members of the 2018 Lancaster pitching staff have re-signed for the 2019 campaign, it was announced today by manager Ross Peeples.

All-Star right-hander Scott Shuman along with left-handers John Anderson and Jared Lakind have inked contracts for their return to the Red Rose City. Anderson will be spending his third season with the Barnstormers and in the Atlantic League. The upcoming campaign will mark Lakind’s second in the league while Shuman will be playing his third year with the ‘Stormers and his fifth overall in the Atlantic League.

Shuman, who turns 31 in March, has put together a pair of All-Star campaigns as Lancaster’s setup reliever. The Valdosta, GA native was 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in 29 appearances last summer before his contract was purchased by Oaxaca of the Mexican League in early August. The right-hander returned for the playoffs, making appearances in the third and fifth games of the Division Series against Sugar Land. During the 2017 season, Shuman was 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA over 62 appearances. As a Barnstormer, the former Tampa Bay and San Francisco farmhand has whiffed 125 batters in 86.1 innings while allowing only 60 hits and 31 walks. He has been reached for only four home runs.

This winter, he spent time in both Venezuela and Australia. In Australia, he began a conversion into a starting role, and Peeples plans to give him that opportunity to start in 2019.

“Shuman has been very valuable in the back end of our bullpen the last couple years,” Peeples said. “This year we are going to give him the chance to start. We had several good reports on him starting, so we are going to give him that opportunity.”

Anderson, 30, was 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA in 34 games, of which 12 were starts, in the 2018 season. After converting to the starting rotation in July, the Pleasanton, CA native won six of his final seven decisions of the season. The prior year, the southpaw was 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 56 appearances with the Barnstormers. He previously spent nine years with the Toronto Blue Jays system, reaching Class AAA Buffalo.

“Anderson had a good year last year,” said Peeples. “He is a very valuable man on our staff that we can use in the middle, to start, or in the back end of our bullpen.”

Lakind, who will turn 27 in March, entered 41 games in relief during the 2018 season. He went 2-3 with a 3.83 ERA while walking only 13 and yielding just two home runs in his 42.1 innings of work. He struck out 38. This past winter, Lakind pitched for Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific League, going 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in 18 games.

The converted first baseman spent more than seven seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization before joining the Miami Marlins in 2017. He reached Class AA Altoona, where he was 5-1 with seven saves and a 2.59 ERA in 47 games in 2016.

“Jared is a lefty that can be very valuable to us in the pen,” said Peeples. “We will probably use him in several different situations this year. We’re excited to see what he can do in 2019.”

The signings bring the total of players under contract for the upcoming season to five.