Kreis going to Nationals’ NY-Penn League team

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JAMESTOWN — Alex Kreis knows where he’ll be pitching next.

Five days after being selected in the 35th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Washington Nationals, the team told Kreis he’d begin his pro career as a Doubleday, as in the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays — the Nationals’ short-season Class A minor league team in the New York-Penn League.

“It’s exciting to know where I’m going,” Kreis said Tuesday, sporting a new Nationals cap and Jimmie T-shirt. “It’s a great opportunity. I’m excited to get out there and get started.”

The former Jamestown College pitcher will fly out of Grand Forks, his hometown, today to Auburn, which is in upstate New York, 35 miles southwest of Syracuse.

The Doubledays begin playing games on Friday and continue through the first week in September.

The short-season leagues are generally for college players like Kreis, who have already put in full seasons. Kreis and the Jimmies began practice way back on Feb. 1. Still, clubs want to get their new draftees playing against other pros, and for Kreis that starts soon.

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