EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Otters will have more returning experience in 2022, as pitcher Polo Portela, pitcher Abraham Almonte, and infielder J.R. Davis will be returning this season.
Portela, from Sacramento, Calif., enters his second season with the Otters. In 2021, he went 10-3 with a 3.69 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 19 starts and 109.2 innings pitched. His 10 wins last season matched an Otters single season record.
While at Cumberland University in 2019, Portela went 6-2 in 13 starts, logging a 4.43 ERA. He also struck out 83 batters in 83.1 innings pitched, and he recorded three complete games.
Almonte, from Danbury, Conn., was 2-0 with a 5.82 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 appearances and 17 innings pitched in his second season with Evansville. He also had one save in 2021.
In 2019 with the Otters, Almonte recorded 13 strikeouts and a 4.38 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched and 14 appearances, missing the middle part of the season due to injury.
Before arriving in Evansville, Almonte spent two years in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization after he was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 26th round of the 2017 MLB June Draft.
Davis, a Vallejo, Calif. Native, batted .316 with 54 runs, 18 doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 56 RBIs, and four stolen bases in 91 games played last season, his first with the Otters and second in the Frontier League. He previously played for the Washington Wild Things before coming to Evansville.
Davis was named a 2021 Frontier League Postseason All-Star, and his 108 hits were fourth-best in franchise single season history.
In affiliated baseball, Davis played in 2019 for the Seattle Mariners organization after spending three seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He was drafted in 2016 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the MLB June Draft.
Portela, Almonte, and Davis are three out of 17 players anticipated to return to Evansville at this time in the summer. The Otters finished second in the West Division last season, finishing with the record of 57 wins and 39 losses. The Otters will strive to win their third Frontier League championship in franchise history this upcoming season with returning experience and several newcomers as well.
