Cam Cotter

July 23, 2022 by Steve Shutt

STATUS
• Signed with the Rockers in March 2023

CAREER NOTES
• Saw limited action during his career at NC State due to two major arm surgeries
• Signed his first pro contract with the Rockers on 7/22/22
• Made his first professional appearance 7/23/22, throwing one scoreless inning and allowing two hits while striking out one
• Made three postseason appearances and took the loss in Game 1 of the League Championship Series vs. Lancaster on 9/27/22

2022
• Went 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA in first professional season
• Appeared in 17 games, all in relief, and recorded three holds
• Struck out 14 and allowed just 12 hits in 16.1 innings
• Took the loss in Game 1 of the League Championship series against Lexington on 9/27/22
2021
• Threw 0.2 innings on March 2 vs. Campbell before suffering a season-ending injury
• Had his second elbow surgery 4/22/21 in Birmingham, Ala.
• Was part of the NC State club that reached the semifinals of the College World Series before being forced to drop out due to Covid-19 protocols
2020
• Did not compete due to injury
• Had back surgery for a herniated disc on 2/5/20
• Received a redshirt from the NCAA with the season’s suspension on March 12 and cancellation due to Covid-19
• Injured his elbow again in October 2020 and
2019
• Made 22 appearances, including three starts on the mound in his first season of competition at NC State
• Compiled a 3.00 ERA and 5-3 record with three saves
• Helped the Wolfpack to a 19-0 start to the season and a No. 1 national ranking
• Threw 2.1 innings in 11-0 shutout win at North Carolina on May 18
• Struck out 36 batters in 39.0 innings of work
• Went a career-long 5.2 innings with five strikeouts in a win on 3/27/19 vs. NC A&T at the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ ballpark
• Tied his career-high with five strikeouts vs. Clemson n 5/12/19
• Picked up the save in a 6-5 win over Wake Forest on 5/24/19 in the ACC Tournament
• Named to the ACC All-Academic baseball team
2018
• Redshirted the season after suffering an injury during the fall
2017
• Named to the 2017 all-state team by the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association
• Was 13-1 with a 0.69 ERA in 15 starts as a senior in 2017, helping to lead Northern Guilford to the North Carolina 3-A state championship
• Struck out 118 and walked 10 in 81 innings
• Graduated among the top eight in his high school class
• Had Tommy John surgery on 11/2/2017 following his freshman year fall workouts at NC State

2016
• Was 6-2 with a 1.20 ERA as a junior at Northern Guilford to earn all-state honors

Joe Geck

April 5, 2022 by Chris Whitesell

Joe Geck, a veteran of sports medicine in professional baseball, returns for his second year with the High Point Rockers.

Geck, who resides in Hickory, N.C. year-round, spent 28 years in the Chicago White Sox organization, serving as the head athletic trainer at Charlotte, Birmingham, Winston-Salem, Kannapolis, Hickory and in the Gulf Coast League. He began is professional career with the Kansas City Royals in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League in 1990.

Geck is a graduate of the University of South Florida and holds membership in the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) and is licensed as an athletic trainer in North Carolina.

Dr. Jordan Case

March 29, 2022 by Chris Whitesell

“I am passionate about athletes returning to sports after injury, injury prevention and innovative practices in the field.”

Dr. Jordan Case is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. His clinical interests include adult and pediatric sports medicine, cartilage restoration and joint preservation and complex knee, shoulder and hip repair.

Additionally, Dr. Case is an assistant professor in orthopaedic surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

He received his medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed residency in orthopaedic surgery at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Health and a fellowship in sports medicine at Santa Monica Sports Medicine in California.

Dr. Case was a collegiate Division I pitcher at Davidson College and currently serves as a team physician for the High Point Rockers and several area high schools. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, hiking and spending time with his family.

Frank Viola

March 29, 2022 by Chris Whitesell

Former American League Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP Frank Viola will enter his fifth season as the pitching coach for the High Point Rockers. During his 15-year Major League career from 1982-96, the lefthander won 176 games and was named to three All-Star teams while leading the Minnesota Twins to the 1987 World Series Championship.

His work with the Rockers has been nothing short of amazing. Over the last five seasons, the Rockers have led the Atlantic League in ERA twice, posting a 3.74 mark in 2019 and a league-leading 4.34 ERA in 2023. Viola’s staff has led the Atlantic League in the lowest WHIP (2023, 2021) and fewest walks (2023, 2021).

A native of Long Island, Viola was a 16th round pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1978 MLB Draft out of East Meadow High School but chose to attend St. John’s University. There, Viola teamed with future New York Met John Franco to lead the Red Storm to the 1980 College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The Johnnies opened the CWS with a Viola throwing a complete game four-hitter in a 6-1 win over Arizona and its star player, Terry Francona. But the Red Storm was eliminated following losses to Hawaii and Cal.

History, however, was made the following year, in 1981 during the NCAA Northeast Regional at Yale. In what legendary sportswriter and author Roger Angell called one of the greatest baseball games ever played, Viola beat Yale and its star pitcher, Ron Darling, 1-0 in 12 innings with Darling throwing a no-hitter through the first 11 frames.

During his three seasons at St. John’s, Viola compiled a 26-2 record including a 10-1 mark in 1980 and a 10-0 record in 1981. His 0.87 ERA in 1981 remains the third-best in SJU history. Viola was a first team All-American by Baseball America in 1981 and was a second round pick of the Twins in the 1981 MLB Draft, the No. 37 player selected overall.

Viola started his professional career in Orlando in the AA Southern League before moving to AAA Toledo in 1982 and making his Major League debut that same season. He became a fixture in the Twins rotation over the next seven seasons, posting a 17-10 record in 1987 as the Twins reached the World Series and defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Viola defeated Joe Magrane in Game 1, took a loss in Game 4 and earned the Game 7 victory with a 4-2 win over Danny Cox. Viola was named the World Series MVP as he posted a 2-1 record and allowed just eight earned runs over his 19.1 innings pitched while striking out 16.

In 1988, Viola earned the American League Cy Young Award, garnering 27 of the 28 first place votes to easily outdistance Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley. Viola led the Majors with 24 wins (24-7 record) and a .774 winning percentage while his 2.64 ERA and 193 strikeouts each ranked third in the American League. He started and won the 1988 All-Star Game after building a 15-2 record leading into the break. Between May 22, 1987 and July 27, 1988, Viola won 19 consecutive games in the Twins’ home stadium, the Metrodome.

During his Twins career, Viola was twice named American League Pitcher of the Month and was Minnesota’s Pitcher of the Year in 1984, 1987 and 1988. He posted a 3-1 postseason pitching record in five starts with 35 strikeouts and just eight walks in 31.1 innings.

By the age of 28, Viola owned a World Series championship, a Series MVP award and a Cy Young Award.

Viola was traded to his hometown New York Mets on July 31, 1989 where he won 38 games over the next two seasons including a 20-12 mark with a 2.67 ERA in 1990 when he finished third in the National League Cy Young voting. He was a National League All-Star in both 1990 and 1991 before signing with Boston as free agent prior to the 1992 season. Viola won 24 games over the 1992-93 seasons but made just six starts in 1994 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May.

He signed with Cincinnati in 1995 and rehabbed his elbow before returning to the Major Leagues in August. He finished that year with an 0-1 record in three starts and then joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, ending his career after six starts and a 1-3 record. He retired in November 1996.

Following his retirement, Viola worked as a coach and broadcaster before settling as pitching coach of the Mets Class A rookie league team in Brooklyn in 2011. He moved to Class A Savannah in 2012-13 and was named the Coach of the Year in 2013. He spent the 2014-2017 seasons with the Mets’ Class AAA affiliate in Las Vegas. Viola instructed the Mets’ Class AA pitchers at Binghamton in 2018 before joining the Rockers in 2019.

His former pupils in the Mets system include Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndegaard and Steven Matz.

He and his wife Kathy have three children, Frankie, Brittany and Kaley. Brittany was a diver at the University of Miami and won the 2008 and 2011 NCAA platform diving championships and competing at the 2012 London Olympics. Kaley played volleyball at Winthrop College and has coached at Winthrop, Davidson College and Ithaca College. Frankie, a righthanded pitcher, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and also played in the Toronto organization.

Ben Aklinski

March 29, 2022 by Chris Whitesell

8COLLEGE: Phoenix College/Kentucky
HIGH SCHOOL: Greenway HS, Phoenix, Ariz.

See Ben's Stats

CAREER NOTES

Returns to the Rockers for his fourth season and his fifth year in the Atlantic League
Is one of just two players in ALPB history with multiple 100-RBI seasons after driving in 102 in 2023 and 105 with Lexington in 2021
• Was one of just two players in the Atlantic League in 2021 to rank in the top four in home runs, RBI, runs scored and extra base hits
• Holds the Rockers career record with eight grand slams
Enters the 2025 season with 100 career homers and 90 stolen bases during his ALPB career. Will look to become just the third player in league history with 100 homers and 100 stolen bases in a career.

2024

Hit .247 in 2024 with a team-high 29 homers and 92 RBI
Ranks among the ALPB all-time leaders with 100 career home runs
Two-time member of the 20-20 club with 24 homers and 31 stolen bases in 2023 and 29 HR, 29 RBI in 2024
Is one of only two players in league history with a pair of 100 RBI seasons
Among the ALPB elite with four consecutive seasons with 100 or more hits
Has 72 homers over the last three seasons, the second-most among ALPB players during that span
Has 268 RBI over the last three years, topped only by Zander Wiel’s 268
Scored 94 runs and stole 29 bases
Named to the ALPB All-Defensive team in 2024
Drove in a career-high eight runs vs. Lexington on 4/27/24

2023
• Named to the Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star team after hitting .286 with 24 home runs and 102 RBI
• Led the Atlantic League with 114 runs scored, the third-highest total in league history
• Second in the ALPB with 102 RBI
• Set a club record with seven at-bats in a game at Spire City on 7/29/23
• Had a pair of five-hit games vs. Spire City on 7/29/23 and on 5/5/23
• Tied club record with 13 total bases vs. Spire City on 5/5/23 (2 2B, 2 HR, 1B)
• Ranks first in club history, drawing 144 walks in his two seasons
• Set Rockers record with three grand slams (7/9 vs. GAS; 7/29 vs. SPC; 8/1 vs. GAS)
• Led the Rockers in games played (123), at-bats (451), Runs (114), hits (129), walks (71), OPS (.914), sac flies (8) and HBP (17)
• Hit .381 in the postseason (8-for-21) with a homer and seven RBI and two runs scored

2022

• Spent the entire season with the Rockers, hitting .268 with 19 homers and 74 RBI
• Named to the ALPB Ballpark Digest Mid-Season All-Star team
• Ranked fourth in the ALPB in runs, sixth in doubles and sixth in extra base hits (55).
• Led the team in games played (121), at-bats (448), plate appearances (538), runs (93), doubles (33), walks (73), stolen bases (20)
• Led the team with 32 multi-hit games and four walk-off hits
• Tied for the team lead with two grand slams and had one of the Rockers’ two inside-the-park home runs
• Was 5-for-34 (.147) in eight postseason games with a home run, double and three RBI
• Hit an inside-the-park homer vs. Lexington 5/18/22
• Had a pair of walk-off hits vs. Staten Island in a single series including a walk-off single for 3-2 win on 5/20/22 and a 2-run HR on 5/22/22 in a 4-3 win
• Hit a walk-off grand slam 7/24/22 to beat Gastonia 7-6 at Truist Point
• Hit a walk-off sac fly to beat Lexington 5-4 on 8/24/22

2021

Helped the Lexington Legends win the ALPB title in their first season in the league.
Hit .290 with 28 home runs and 105 RBI
Finished fourth in the ALPB in homers, second in RBI, third in total bases and second in runs scored.
Hit 10 homers in 25 August contests and knocked in 38 runs in 30 September games
Hit a three-run homer in the final game of Lexington’s Championship Series win over Long Island
DH and played RF in six postseason games against Charleston (Division series) and Long Island (Championship series)

2019

Promoted to A+ Clearwater (Florida State) and posted a .196 batting average in 51 games while fighting through injuries
Spent time on the injured list and was assigned to multiple rehab assignments.

2018

Taken in the 32nd round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Spent the majority of the season at A-Williamsport (New York-Penn) where he hit .255 with seven homers and 25 RBI.
Member of the New York-Penn League All-Star team.

2017

Named Second-Team All-America and led Phoenix College to a Southwest District championship…Honored as NJCAA Division II Defensive Player of the Year…Named ACCAC Player of the Year…Rawlings Gold Glove winner (OF)…Ranked among nation’s top players in doubles (2nd), total bases (2nd), runs (7th), triples (13th), home runs (13th) and RBI (25th)…Appeared in 64 games, hitting .364 (87-239) with a .448 on-base percentage and .703 slugging percentage…Scored 70 runs while hitting 27 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs and driving in 61….Walked 32 times against just 29 strikeouts with 168 total bases and four steals…NJCAA Division II NJCAA World Series all-tournament team…In 2016, named Second-Team All-ACCAC…Played for Kevin Kimball.

Second-Team JUCO All-American (2017)

NJCAA Division II Defensive PLayer of the Year (2017)
Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year (2017)
Rawlings JUCO Gold Glove (2017)
First-Team All-ACCAC (2017)

2016

Second-Team All-ACCAC (2016)

2015

Earned three letters at Greenway High School in Phoenix…Played for Matthew Denny…Won the state championship in 2014…Greenway was named Medium School National Champion by MaxPreps in 2014…Team tied state record with a 29-game win streak in 2013…Was named Second-Team All-State in 2014.

PERSONAL

Benjamin Tyler Aklinski
Pronounced “Uh-klin-ski”
Son of Laura Ideus…Has an older brother, Joe, and a twin brother, Matt
Also played golf in high school

York Revolution

March 26, 2022 by Chris Whitesell

The York Revolution is an American professional baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent “partner league” of Major League Baseball.