Former REX Baseball outfielder, Tony Rosselli, has signed with the 2020 Champions of the American Association of Professional Baseball, the Milwaukee Milkmen. Milkmen Manager, Anthony Barone, said of the Rosselli signing, “The biggest thing is Tony’s American Association experience. Being in the league for the past three seasons, he really brings a lot of value as the guy that has untapped potential and I think coming to Milwaukee and surrounding himself with the type of club we have, he could really have a break out year for us. We’re really excited about the type of guy he is, too. He’s a great leader and a great clubhouse guy. So, he checked all the boxes when we went out to sign a guy.”
Rosselli, a four year starter for Terre Haute North High School, played five years at Indiana State University for the Sycamores. During his time with the Sycamores, he had a .290 batting average (BA), 16 doubles, 8 triples, 22 home runs, and 86 runs batted in (RBIs). His batting average greatly improved in his final season for the Sycamores. He had a .328 BA in 2017 compared to .281 in 2016. Of his 22 home runs, he hit 10 in the 2016 season and 10 again in the 2017 season. In his final year with Indiana State, he had eight stolen bases and a perfect fielding percentage as well.
Rosselli played in the 2014 and 2017 seasons with the REX. In 2014, Rosselli had a BA of .287, 9 two-baggers, and 3 triples. During that first year, he also set the record for most REX home runs in a season with 7. His play in 2014 earned him All-Star status in the Prospect League. He was also named MVP for the second half of the 2014 season. Milkmen Manager Barone spoke on how summer leagues help develop players for the professional level, “It prepares all the college guys with using the wood bat and the daily grind of playing every day. So, I think it really prepares guys for the professional baseball world. Just playing high level baseball everyday and understanding how to take care of your body and mentally prepare yourself for the daily grind.”
Halfway through the 2017 REX season, Rosselli signed with the Utica Unicorns of the United Shore Professional Baseball League. During his time with the Unicorns, he had a BA of .202 with five dingers, and 17 RBIs. In 2018, Rosselli signed with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He has spent the past three seasons with the Dogs. In those three campaigns he hit .253, swatted 21 big flies, 24 two-base shots, 73 RBIs, and crossed the plate himself 79 times.
Rosselli has been working hard this offseason. He is currently in Arizona where he trains at Push Performance, an all-baseball training facility where both minor league and major league players go to train. Manager Barone spoke highly of Rosselli’s offseason training regimen stating, “I spoke with him in depth about his offseason training regimen, and I know he has, put a lot of work in and, you know, any time somebody puts the work in, obviously they’re going to come to camp ready to go and we know that he has the potential and the ability. So, you pair that with the training regimen that he has and we’re looking for a breakout year from Tony.”
Below you can watch the young outfielder hit a home run for the Dogs against the Milkmen.
Video Courtesy of the Milwaukee Milkmen.
This will be Rosselli’s first season with the Milwaukee Milkmen. Rosselli’s former REX Manager, Tyler Wampler, who still works out with him in the offseason, had this to say about Rosselli joining the Milkmen, “I am happy and excited for Tony on his signing with the Milwaukee Milkmen! Everything Tony has achieved in his career has been earned through hard work and perseverance. As a friend and former coach of Tony, it’s awesome to see how much better and more physical he is than he was just a year ago. He has surrounded himself with elite players in baseball, along with great strength and conditioning coaches this offseason. I look for him to have a breakout season with the Milkmen.” REX Baseball wishes the best of luck to Rosselli in the upcoming season.