HICKORY – The Texas Rangers – the Major League Baseball parent club of the Hickory Crawdads – announced Tuesday morning the opening-day roster for the Crawdads.
The list is dotted with several highly-touted prospects, including the consensus top prospect in the Rangers system.
Outfielder Leody Taveras highlights the selection of players that will start the season at Hickory. The 18-year-old outfielder has been tabbed the number one Rangers prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America.
The native of Tenares, D.R. signed with the Rangers in 2015 and played across three minor league levels in 2016. He left both the rookie-level Arizona Summer League and the short-season Northwest League as Baseball America’s top prospect at each league.
A talented group of outfielders will join Taveras at Hickory. Yanio Perez, a Rangers signee out of Cuba in 2016, and returnee Jose Almonte are expected to bring a bevy of skills to the field. Formerly a member of Cuba’s 18-and-under team in international play, lMLB.com named Perez as the Rangers No. 15 prospect, while Baseball America has him at No. 27. Almonte, who suffered a pair of shoulder injuries, comes back to L.P. Frans Stadium. He is the Rangers 29th best prospect according to MLB.com.
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Half the Crawdads starting infield from 2016 will suit up again for Hickory to start this season. Third baseman Ti’Quan Forbes and shortstop Yeyson Yrizarri will anchor the club on the left side of the infield. Both Forbes and Yrizarri (No. 17 prospect MLB.com) led the South Atlantic League in fielding last year. Yrizarri was the starting shortstop for the Northern Division at last season’s SAL All-Star Game.
Joining them is another highly-touted prospect Anderson Tejada. Signed by the Rangers in 2014, the Bani, D.R. native is ranked by MLB.com as the Rangers No. 8 prospect, while Baseball America has him at No.16. Despite playing at a short-season levels, Tejada led all Rangers minor leaguers with ten triples in just 66 games.
Four pitchers return to the mound at L.P. Frans Stadium, including 2016 starter Jonathan Hernandez. The 20-year-old gained rave reviews for his stamina and his improving repertoire last year. He is the 17th best Rangers prospect according to Baseball America, while MLB.com has him at No. 18. Also coming back are pitchers Tyler Ferguson and Luke Lanphere – both of who were late-season roster additions in 2016, as well as Emerson Martinez.
The Crawdads will be managed by former major-league infielder Spike Owen in his first season with Hickory. Owen was originally schedule to manage the Crawdads in 2016, but was named as the Rangers interim third-base coach.
Hickory opens the season Thursday, April 6 at Greensboro. The first home game is scheduled for April 13 at L.P. Frans Stadium where the Crawdads will host Kannapolis.
