CRUSHERS BRING BACK SAMMY TAVAREZ, ALL-STAR JACK EISENBARGER
AVON, OH - Two key pieces from the 2024 pitching staff - LHP Jack Eisenbarger and RHP Sammy Tavarez - will be returning to the squad in 2025 after re-signing with Lake Erie.
Jack Eisenbarger had an incredible season with Crushers last year and had plenty of Frontier League accolades to show for. In his first year with Lake Erie, Eisenbarger sported a 2.91 ERA in 111 ⅓ innings. His ERA was 7th best in the Frontier League and his 111 strikeouts placed him 9th in the league with his 8-4 record in 19 starts. Personally, he’s coming off a historic season as well. The lefty was named to the Frontier League All-Star Game last summer and no-hit the Trois-Rivieres Aigles in June, the second of his career (first professionally), making him the first pitcher in Lake Erie Crushers history to toss a no-hitter.
Eisenbarger's quiet demeanor and consistency was an asset at the top of the rotation last year, and his return is a welcome sight for the pitching staff as a unit looking to build off of a strong 2024. He is returning from abroad after a stint in the Colombian Professional Baseball League this winter with a 2.90 ERA in nine starts for Vaqueros de Monteria.
Sammy Tavarez, the 6’7” right-handed Dominican flamethrower and set-up man in 2024, is back and ready to light up the radar gun again this season with his upper 90’s fastball. The 26 year-old pitched for three seasons in the New York Mets organization between Low-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn, and AA Binghamton before joining Lake Erie in 2024. In 44 appearances Tavarez posted a 3.32 ERA with a whopping 59 strikeouts in 40 ⅔ innings (13.1 K/9) at the back end of the bullpen.
While Tavarez was tasked with pitching in high leverage relief situations with the Crushers in 2024, his recent stint with Venados de Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific Winter League makes his role for 2025 a curious prospect. While previously coming exclusively out of the bullpen in his professional career, Tavarez made four starts (in eight appearances) this winter with a 3.42 ERA. Skipper Jared Lemieux has the option to convert Tavarez into a starter this season, but the option is still there to allow him to be a high-leverage reliever once again in 2025.
