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Hagerstown Announces Its 2011 Roster

Fifteen watchlist players make up the 25-man roster, including you-know-who

The last of the full-season rosters has been announced (thanks again to our commenters for tipping me off).

It’s still another 10 days until the Suns’ home opener (and not uncoincidentally, single-game tickets don’t go on sale until that morning). If I’m able to go, we’ll have a “Last Night in Hagerstown” next weekend. But fret not, we’ve got some eyes out there if I can’t.

Without further ado…

PITCHERS
Paul Applebee
Sam Brown
Wilson Eusebio
Matt Grace
Ben Graham
Bobby Hansen
Chad Jenkins
Taylor Jordan
Christopher Manno
Shane McCatty
Christopher McKenzie
Cameron Selik
Matt Swynenberg

CATCHERS
David Freitas
Cole Leonida
Sam Palace (On disabled list)

INFIELDERS
Blake Kelso
Jason Martinson
Brett Newsome
Sean Nicol
Mills Rogers
Adrian Sanchez

OUTFIELDERS
Bryce Harper
Wade Moore
Randolph Oduber
Michael Taylor

Led by some Bryce Harper kid, there are 15 of our watchlist players — not as “loaded” as Potomac seems, but in a trend that started last year, younger and closer to the ideal age for the league.

Almost the entire Vermont rotation, the one that faded badly last August, made the jump. But joining them from the GCL are Matt Grace and Christopher Manno (can the minions get a holla? OK, sorry. That sounded more on the Cape than outta Compton) so who will start and who will relieve will be a much bigger question than in Potomac.

Who’s missing? Justin Bloxom, J.R. Higley, Dean Weaver and Evan Bronson are the most notable over-22 names that we might have expected back. Now the question is who’s hurt or who’s been released. As of this writing, at roughly 8:15 p.m., neither the Hagerstown roster nor the Auburn roster on MiLB.com has been updated, so like last week, we await the transactions news to find out the answers.

We’re now less than 72 hours from the “other” Opening Day

25 Commments

  1. There’s so many potential great stories here, just don’t know where to start.

    As a charter member of ‘Manno’s Minion’s’, I hope his stay in Hagerstown is short and he spends the summer in Woodbrige.

    Hope the front office fixed all that went wrong with the rotation in Vermont.
    The lineup looks solid, and potentially very exciting.

  2. Guys this seems like a strong roster, and also as a member of the Manno Minions I say well done. Listen guys we kid around alot on this Blog and the people that give their input are awesome, but this Manno Kid is a great story and great for our organization

  3. Posted a query on some of the missing players to Bryon Kerr … he seems to have the best farm insider sources at this point.

    Suggest that others post similar queries on his blog. He did post an article on Jhonotan Solano in Syracuse. It seems the 3 catcher set up is indeed intentional. The Post-Standard’s Tom Leo SYR roster is indeed official. Starting pitching corroborated by Adam Kilgore’s minors post.

  4. Where the heck is Tanner Roark? I know he was just a 25th round draft pick, but his stats aren’t bad. Are we really holding a roster slot for the Pitching Coach’s kid ahead of a guy who might actually contribute someday on the big league roster? That would really send a crappy message about this franchise.

  5. Roster looks good other than Harper it’ll be interesting to see if A. Sanchez and Frietas can build upon their strong seasons last year.

    Anyone know what happened to Brandon King or Nathan Karns two pitchers we signed a couple years ago for above slot?

  6. Wondering about the acquisition of Dykstra. Apparently, he is a poor defensive player. So why would Rizzo want him. Am I missing something here? I realize the Nats weren’t going to get much for Morgan, but….

    1. Its Dykstra’s makeup. As the UTIL in Potomac he will likely be a ‘spark plug’ for that team. Then promote Bryce Harper with his type A “I’ll see you guys in July” attitude and it should make for a very, very interesting year in Potomac. Potomac could be a monster team with a lot of intensity this year?

      I suspect that “Last Night in Woodbridge” could end up being far more interesting reading as opposed to Riggleman’s excuses when his veterans screw the pooch.

  7. I like this roster….outfield should be great, infield pretty good. Pitching will be the big question. Anyone know what happened to Moldenhauer?

    1. Looks like SpringfieldFan is pretty confused or he isn’t sure what to believe … the Big Board doesn’t yet reflect all the announced roster makeups at least beyond Harrisburg.

      Can’t really blame him … its pretty muddled due to the missing players … at least AK identified some of the key prospects that were missing and explained what is going on … hopefully one or more of the beat writers will provide some more insights?

      1. I’m not sure what you’re seeing, as everything is updated down to Auburn.

    2. Besides this one? No.

      Baseball America does a weekly roundup and the team websites tend to be very slow in acknowledging moves. I’ve made multiple media requests but the response has been uneven. The local media for each of the affiliates tends to be about as good as one can expect from the size of the market, which means when push comes to shove, the smaller papers have to focus their coverage on the preps, not the pros.

  10. Thanks for posting the roster since Hagerstown, despite having a media day yesterday, despite having an exhibition game today, can’t post it on their website.

  11. WEnt to Suns meet and greet last night. It was handled very well. You know I thought people would show up with 15 things to sign but everyone was very respectful. Season ticket and plan holders for the suns are terrrific. Sure everyone wanted to get Bryce’s Autograph but it wasn’t over the top like you see at the ballpark. All the players interacted with the kids wonderfully. The young men made eye contact and were very polite. Noone B-lined it straight to Harper and the fans seemed savy enough to know that there are some other great prospects on the team.

  12. Now somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but all the Auburn & GCL rostered players are still in Viera under extended Spring Training until their seasons begin, along with some DSL invitees & suspended players, right?

    1. Plus DL candidates … long-term like McGreary, Ramirez and Strasburg … shorter like Severino, HRod, and Solis.

  13. Any guess on A.J. Cole’s ETA? A recent BA article suggested he was under consideration for an opening day Hagerstown spot.

    1. Both Cole & Ray are likely headed to Auburn. Adam Kilgore said that it’s because the team wants to keep their innings down as HS arms, but one has to think that the decision was aided by the ripple effect caused by Balester, Detwiler and Maya starting at Syracuse instead of Washington.

      1. It might have something to do with that. I also think the org. is just being much more careful with these two young arms after what they went through being aggressive with Smoker and McGeary.

      2. That could change pretty quickly … especially if the big club finishes with only a two or three wins for April, plus Gaudin with a 50.00 ERA. I think we may see some moves sooner than later. The big club and its veterans for the most part look like they are going to be terrible.

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