That being prior experience in a wood-bat, college-level summer baseball league. And success at that level, too boot
Dane Nakatsuka, a 6-foot-0, 198-pound outfielder out of Laguna Niguel, Cal., suited up for the Bismark Bull Moose in the Northwoods League during the 2020 campaign, and was one of only a handful of future Express players who saw almost a full season of action during the pandemic summer.
Nakatsuka would play 15 games with the Moose, hitting .344 in that span while knocking in 14 runs and scoring 11 himself to go along with four stolen bases and a .749 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. He finished third on the team in batting average and fifth in RBIs despite playing half the games of some of his teammates.
Nakatsuka’s past two spring seasons were spent at Irvine Valley College of the California Community College Athletic Association. He suited up in 16 games before the pandemic brought things to a halt in the 2019-20 season, hitting .186 and scoring 10 runs while knocking in five. He also had eight walks on the season, bumping his on-base percentage to .340.
In his freshman campaign with the Lazers, Nakatsuka hit .194 through 34 games, recording five doubles, scoring 11 runs and knocking in 10.
You can watch him swing the bat right here.
The Capistrano Valley High School grad is the second signing from Irvine College announced by the Express, joining Lazers and Bull Moose teammate Enrique Morales.
The Moose Jaw Miller Express open their 2021 campaign on May 28 when they take on the Medicine Hat Mavericks at Ross Wells Park.
