The Fort Wayne Tincaps, the Midwest League affiliate of the San Diego Padres, have announced their Opening Day roster for the 2015 season. The team will open up with 10 players who suited up for the team last year. The roster announcement was released by the organization, via Twitter.
Last season the Tincaps went 63-76, but they made the playoffs for the seventh straight year despite the losing record. Fort Wayne will open up with 13 pitchers and 12 position players. Here is a look at the roster:
Coaching staff:
Manager Francisco Morales (1st year with team), hitting coach Lance Burkhart, pitching coach Bert Hooton
Pitchers:
LHP Taylor Aikenhead, LHP Payton Baskette, RHP Jimmy Brasoban. LHP Taylor Cox, LHP Thomas Dorminy, RHP Dinelson Lamet, RHP Walker Lockett, RHP Seth Lucio, LHP Kyle McGrath, RHP Ernesto Montas, RHP Wilson Santos, RHP Bryan Verbitsky, RHP T.J. Weir
Analysis: Padres beat writer Corey Brock reported that the Tincaps rotation will feature Thomas Dorminy, Taylor Cox, Ernesto Montas and Walker Lockett. Dinelson Lamet and Taylor Aikenhead will piggyback each other.
None of the pitchers on the roster rank in the Padres top-30 prospects, but many of the young arms have shown promise in their careers.
Thomas Dorminy, 22, pitched to a 3.72 ERA in Eugene last season in his pro debut. Payton Baskette made 20 appearances (12 starts) last season for the Tincaps and pitched to a 5.29 ERA. Dinelson Lamet will make his stateside debut for Fort Wayne. The 22-year-old pitched briefly with the Padres Dominican Summer League affiliate in 2014.
Bryan Verbitsky is the highest draft pick on the Tincaps staff. He was drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft out of Hofstra University. He spent most of last season in short-season ball, where he posted a 1.67 ERA in 23 games for the Eugene Emeralds.
Catchers:
Miguel Del Castillo, Jose Ruiz
Analysis: Del Castillo, 23, has been in the Padres organization since 2009, since being signed out of the Dominican Republic. Del Castillo has played in 630 games in the Minors, and he has a career slash line of .230/.319/.294, with two home runs.
Ruiz, 20, hails from Venezuela. Last season he played in Eugene and hit just .191 in 55 games.
Infielders:
3B Felipe Blanco, SS Franchy Cordero, 1B Duanel Jones, 1B Trae Santos, SS Josh VanMeter
Analysis: This group features some intriguing names, headlined by Cordero. Cordero is the #8 ranked prospect in the Padres system, according to MLB.com.
Cordero, 20, started with Fort Wayne last season and got off to a miserable start. He hit just .188 in 22 games in addition to making 18 errors, good for a .793 fielding percentage. Cordero played much better after a demotion to Eugene, where he posted a .279/.329/.458 slash line, with nine homers in 61 games.
Jones, 21, has actually spent the last two seasons at High-A Lake Elsinore. He played in 113 games for Fort Wayne way back in 2012. Jones hit .234 with 10 homers last season.
VanMeter, 20, was with Fort Wayne last season. He was the Padres’ fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft, and he ranks as the Padres’ 30th best prospect according to MLB.com. He hit .254 in 116 games last season.
Outfielders:
Henry Charles, Michael Gettys, Edwin Moreno, Franmil Reyes, Nick Torres.
Analysis: Gettys is the headlining name in this group, although Franmil Reyes is an intriguing name as well.
Gettys, the sixth-best prospect in the Padres’ system according to MLB.com, will be making his full season debut. Gettys, 19, was the Padres' second-round pick in last year’s draft. Gettys hit .310 in his professional debut.
Franmil Reyes, 19, is the one of the largest humans in the Padres' farm system. At 6’5 and 240lbs, he certainly packs power potential. He spent all of last year in Fort Wayne and hit 10 home runs, certainly holding his own against players much older than he. He could also see some playing time at first base.
Nick Torres, 21, was the Padres’ fourth-round pick last year. He hit .253 with Eugene in his professional debut.