As folks have noted in the comments, the Potomac roster has been released to the (mainstream) media.
For the newbies, this is home base for me (disclosure: I’m a season ticket holder, and have been since 2006) so when the P-Nats are home, I’ll do a gamer entitled “Last Night In Woodbridge” and let you know what I saw and/or am seeing. Though I mostly play it straight, I’ve been known to go off on a tangent or sometimes try a new angle.
This I offer in advance even if my tagline above or my bio below ought to explain it. My favorites are pretty easy to spot and I’ve been influenced to go a little easier on the players when they’re struggling, but I’m sure it can happen again. This is a blog, after all.
Without further ado…
PITCHERS
Alex Caldera
Mitchell Clegg
Ryan Demmin
Paul Demny
Marcos Frias
Trevor Holder
Pat Lehman
Carlos Martinez
Kyle Morrison
Adam Olbrychowski
Danny Rosenbaum
Josh Smoker
Rob Wort
CATCHERS
Brian Peacock
Sandy Leon
INFIELDERS
Cutter Dykstra
Rick Hague
Stephen King
Jeff Kobernus
Francisco Soriano
Steven Souza
OUTFIELDERS
Chris Curran
Destin Hood
Eury Perez
J.P. Ramirez
This is the inverse of what I’m used to. Usually, Potomac opens with just two or three guys 22 or younger and nine or ten guys 25 or older. This year, just three guys are 25 or older and twelve are 22 or younger. And while not all of our watchlist players are full-fledged prospects, there are still 19 20 of them here. Seven guys from the BA Top 30 and John Sickels’s book are here.
The biggest surprises we already knew: Rosenbaum and Holder are back, and are likely the first two in the rotation. The other three are going to be the tough to guess, with five guys that have mostly been starters. Josh Smoker and Rob Wort have both been late-inning guys, but one has to think that Demmin making the jump from Vermont has to mean he’s in the running to finish games, too.
Most of the other surprises are mild or have ready explanations (e.g. Sammy Solis is nursing a groin injury, per Adam Kilgore). Justin Bloxom is not here, which means that either someone’s been converted (Souza, King, Ramirez) or we’re likely to see a carousel at both first base and DH in order to balance offense and defense.
In any case, this may be the best roster on paper we’ve ever seen in Potomac. Like all teams in baseball, the question will be whether or not the pitching will be there, particularly in the second half. Opening Day is this Friday against the Lynchburg Hillcats.