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CarL1 Potomac Nationals

P-Nats Announce 2015 Opening Day Roster

April 7, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


Woodbridge, VA- The Washington Nationals have finalized the 25-man 2015 Opening Day Roster for the Class-A Advanced Potomac Nationals.

The 38th class in the history of the Potomac Baseball franchise features seven 2015 Baseball America Top 30 Washington Nationals Prospects, 17 players who previously wore a P-Nats jersey, and eight farmhands who have graduated to Potomac for the first time in their professional career.

The defending Carolina League Champions are led by second-year Field Manager, Tripp Keister, who skippered the Class-A Hagerstown Suns to the South Atlantic League Championship Series in 2013 before capturing the Carolina League crown in 2014 courtesy of a (78-58) regular season record and a (5-1) post-season mark. The reigning circuit Manager of the Year guided his '14 club to First-Half and Second-Half Carolina League titles.

The highest ranked prospect on Potomac's roster according to Baseball America is IF Wilmer Difo (#7), who is coming off a campaign in the South Atlantic League with the Class-A Hagerstown Suns in which the switch-hitter was tabbed as the league's Most Valuable Player. The durable Difo led the Sally League in games played (136), at-bats (559), and base hits (176) while finishing 2nd in total bases (263) and stolen bases (49), 3rd in extra-base hits (52) and runs scored (91), 4th in runs batted in (90), and 6th in batting average (.315). Difo belted 31 doubles and seven triples in the SAL last year while leading the Hagerstown clubhouse with 14 home runs. Difo's 49 swipes were tied for 7th-most in all of Minor League Baseball last season. Difo received mid-season and post-season SAL all-star nods.

The Dominican-born phenom from Santiago de los Caballeros, who signed with Washington in 2011, Difo previously got a brief taste of the Carolina League with Potomac in 2013 going 4-for-18 with two runs scored, one double, one RBI, and two walks.

Difo received the "Best Defensive Infielder" citation from Baseball America entering the 2015 season. Last year, Difo maintained a .965 fielding percentage in 70 games at shortstop and a .976 defensive clip at second base in 66 contests.

3B Drew Ward (#8) is summoned to the Carolina League after clobbering 26 doubles (3rd-most on team), three triples, and 10 home runs to complement 73 RBIs (2nd-most on club) for Hagerstown in 2014. Ward, hailing from Oklahoma, was drafted by Washington in the 3rd round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Leedey High School (Leedey, OK). Ward's slash line in 2014 was .269/.341/.413/.754. At 20 years old, Ward is the youngest player on the Potomac Nationals' 2015 roster.

RHP Nick Pivetta (#10), a Canadian Junior National Team standout in 2009 and 2010, signed with the Nationals in 2013 out of New Mexico Junior College (Hobbs, NM) after being drafted in the 4th round. A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Pivetta ranked 3rd in the SAL in wins (13) last season with Hagerstown while registering a 4.22 earned run average in 26 appearances (25 starts). Pivetta struck out 98 batters and walked 39 men in 132.1 innings pitched in addition to holding opposing hitters to a .277 batting average. Pivetta's 13 wins were also tied for the most in the Washington Nationals' Minor League system. Pivetta was stellar at home inside the confines of Municipal Stadium (Hagerstown, MD) in 2014 going (8-3) with a 3.63 ERA over 14 games (13 starts). Pivetta was a SAL mid-season All-Star in '14.

RHP Jake Johansen (#17) began his 2014 season as a starting hurler in the Hagerstown Suns' rotation and shifted to the bullpen at the end of July. Johansen slung to an overall (5-6) record and a 5.19 ERA. As a starter, Johansen went (5-5) with a 4.92 ERA before pitching to an (0-1) record and a 6.38 ERA as a reliever. The power righty held left-handed batters to just a .253 batting average and one home run over the course of 186 at-bats. When the sunshine was out, Johansen shined going (1-0) with a 3.15 ERA in four day starts. Johansen was selected by the Nationals in the 2nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Dallas Baptist University (TX). Johansen, a Dallas native, is the highest drafted player on the 2015 Potomac roster. Listed at 6'6", 235 pounds, Johansen is also the most physically imposing pitcher in the Nationals' 2015 stable.

OF Rafael Bautista (#20) led the SAL and ranked 2nd in the Minors in stolen bases (69) as a perennial speed demon for Hagerstown in 2014. Bautista, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, submitted a .290 batting average along with a .341 on-base percentage for the Suns while playing in the 2nd-most contests in the league (134) and finishing 1st in the SAL in runs scored (97). Bautista turned in 40 multi-hit games in 2014. Bautista's lifetime career MiLB slash line is .306/.374/.387/.761. Bautista was named a 2014 SAL mid-season and post-season all-star.

C Spencer Kieboom (#21), a product of Clemson University (SC) drafted by Washington in the 5th round of the 2012 MLB Draft, spent his '14 journey as the starting human backstop for Hagerstown. Kieboom cranked 28 doubles (2nd-most in Suns' clubhouse), four three-baggers, and nine round-trippers. Kieboom earned mid-season SAL all-star honors and completed the season with a .309 batting clip to go with a .352 OBP, a .500 slugging percentage, and a .852 OPS. Kieboom, of Mount Pleasant, SC, caught 40.5% of potential basestealers in 2014 (34 CS in 84 steal attempts) which was the 2nd-best caught-stealing percentage in the league. Kieboom was chosen to represent the Nationals in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League following the 2014 regular season and hit .324 in 10 games with three runs scored, two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs, and five walks.

LHP Nick Lee (#30) will look to revive his efficiency from the 2013 season when the southpaw was very effective for the Hagerstown starting pitching carousel (6-4 record, 3.96 ERA). Lee, a San Antonio, TX native, made just five appearances (four starts) for Potomac in 2014 before being sidelined with an elbow strain for most of the season. Lee was electric at times for the P-Nats in his small sample in the Carolina League garnering 23 strikeouts in 14.0 IP but struggled with his control. Lee made five bullpen appearances for both the Gulf Coast League Nationals and Hagerstown in '14 amid his return from injury fanning a total of 12 batters in 16.0 frames. Lee played collegiately at Weatherford Junior College (TX) and was taken by Washington in the 18th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

RHP Wander Suero (#31), although not cracking Washington's Baseball America Top 30 Prospect radar, was granted the "31st Prospect" designation. Suero jockeyed between Hagerstown and Potomac in 2014 working to a (6-2) overall record and a combined 3.62 ERA through 29 games (six starts). In 99.1 innings pitched, Suero struck out 83 hitters but hit 13 men. Suero was signed by Washington out of Sabana Larga, DR as an international free agent in 2010. Suero formerly paced the Gulf Coast League in wins (eight) and ERA (1.65) in his first domestic season back in 2013 with the GCL Nationals.

In addition to Pivetta, Johansen, Lee, and Suero, the P-Nats will also have in their pitching arsenal returning arms, RHP Dakota Bacus, RHP Cody Davis, RHP Brian Dupra, RHP Brian Rauh, RHP Manny Rodriguez, RHP Blake Schwartz, LHP Justin Thomas, and LHP Matthew Spann plus newcomer, LHP David Napoli.

Bacus (9th round, 2012 by Oakland Athletics; Indiana State) was acquired by the Washington Nationals via trade with Oakland when C Kurt Suzuki was sent back to the A's in August of 2013. Bacus of Moline, IL pitched primarily as a starter in 2014 going (7-6) with a 4.42 ERA (27 appearances, 20 starts) plus one save over a staff-high 128.1 innings (89 SO, 40 BB). Bacus was tied for the 2nd-most wins among all P-Nats' slingers.

Davis (non-drafted free agent, 2011 by Washington; University of Tampa-FL) was a perfect (2-0) in 11 relief appearances for Potomac in 2014. Davis held opposing bats to an anemic .222 batting average and earned a stellar 2.70 ERA. The crafty right-hander has a career MiLB record of (10-5) and a 3.18 ERA in 86 bullpen outings.

Dupra (7th round, 2011 by Washington; University of Notre Dame-IN) from Rochester, NY, is back with Potomac for his third season. Dupra was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators in early May, 2014 after pitching to a flawless (3-0) record to complement a tiny 1.25 ERA in six bullpen trips to the mound. Dupra struck out a whopping 26 hitters and walked just a duo. In the Eastern League, Dupra pitched to a (2-6) record and a 5.60 ERA in 24 appearances (12 starts) while finishing two games. Dupra also received a promotion to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs for one matchup.

Rauh (11th round, 2012 by Washington; Chapman University-CA) was a swingman in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons in the sense he pitched for multiple Washington affiliates and saw action as a starter and reliever. Rauh pitched for Double-A Harrisburg (one appearance, one start), Hagerstown (14 appearances, 0 starts) and Potomac (16 appearances, 12 starts) in 2013 before hurling exclusively in the Carolina League in 2014. Rauh worked out of the bullpen and as a starter for the P-Nats in '14 (17 games, 12 starts) registering a (2-4) record and a 4.39 ERA. The veteran served as a groundball machine (1.86 GO/AO ratio) in 2014 which is commonplace for the Anaheim, CA native who owns a career MiLB groundball-to-flyball ratio of 1.84.

Rodriguez (10th round, 2011 by Washington; Barry University-FL), born in Havana, Cuba, received a call-up to Potomac down the homestretch of the 2014 campaign at the end of August. Rodriguez was lights out across four Nationals' farm teams. Although winless with an (0-2) record, Rodriguez's ERA was a terrific 1.99 mark in 10 trips to the bump and two starts after pitching for the GCL Nationals, the Short-Season A Auburn Doubledays, Hagerstown, and Potomac in 2014. Rodriguez tossed 2.0 scoreless relief innings in the 2014 Game Four Mills Cup Championship Series clincher that netted the P-Nats their fifth Mills Cup Championship in franchise history.

Schwartz (17th round, 2012 by Washington; Oklahoma City University & Minnesota State-Mankato) from Rosemount, MN returns to Potomac for the third time in his professional career. Schwartz was a mid-season Carolina League All-Star in 2013 after earning a (5-2) record and a 2.47 ERA in the first half of that ledger. Schwartz struggled in Harrisburg last season and was re-assigned to Potomac where he was effective through eight appearances and six starts. Schwartz totaled a (2-1) record with a 4.40 ERA in his second stint with the P-Nats. Away from home in the Carolina League, Schwartz went (2-0) with a 1.69 ERA in 2014.

Thomas (21st round, 2013 by Washington; Southern Arkansas University), a native of White Oak, TX, pitched primarily with Hagerstown last season garnering a (3-5) win/loss ledger next to a 2.78 ERA in 34 bullpen outings. Thomas was four-for-nine in save opportunities (3rd-most saves in bullpen). Against lefty-handed batters, Thomas stymied the opposition to a .150 batting average and only one home run. Thomas received a cameo in Potomac back in 2013 during a season in which he appeared for a quartet of clubs (GCL Nationals, Auburn, Hagerstown, and Potomac). Thomas previously pitched 1.0 scoreless inning in the Carolina League in which he allowed one base hit and two walks.

Spann (25th round, 2010 by Tampa Bay Rays; Columbia Central High School-TN) was acquired by the Nationals as the player to be named later in the trade that sent IF/OF David DeJesus to Tampa Bay in September of 2013. Spann, a Columbia, TN native, was arguably the ace of the Potomac pitching staff in 2014 leading all arms with nine wins. Spann's nine victories also ranked tied for 3rd in the Nationals' farm system. Spann tossed to a staff-best 3.81 ERA while giving up just four home runs in 106.0 innings (23 appearances, 18 starts) after beginning the '14 campaign as a Hagerstown Sun (2-0 record, 1.20 ERA in the SAL). Spann held lefty hitters to a .228 clip and rightys did not fare much better at .278.

Napoli (8th round, 2013 by Washington; Tulane University-LA), who reaches the Carolina League for the first time, was a successful fireman for Hagerstown a year ago. Napoli, of New Orleans, LA, saved seven games in eight opportunities for the Suns after converting his only save opportunity with Auburn. Napoli was (2-0) in the SAL owning a 2.53 ERA over 18 bullpen outings. Napoli fanned 31 men and walked 15 in 32.0 innings for the Suns. Southpaws hit .186 and right-handed sticks only reached the .162 mark against Napoli. A 2013 New York-Penn League All-Star, Napoli could be ticketed for the P-Nats' closer role in 2015.

C Craig Manuel of Rockville, MD will be tasked with serving as the backup catcher for the Nationals in 2015 after appearing with the P-Nats in parts of the last two seasons. Manuel went 6-for-15 in the box with Potomac in 2013 logging two runs scored and one walk before going 14-for-69 (.203) at the plate in 2014 with four runs scored, a pair of doubles, five RBIs, and 11 walks while catching nine of 24 would-be basestealers (37.5%) in the Carolina League. Manuel, who played his NCAA Baseball at Rice University (TX) was taken by the Nationals in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB Draft.

It will be an all-new infield look for the red, white, and blue in 2015. With Difo likely to serve as the everyday starting shortstop and Ward set to man the hot corner, the rest of the infield will be made up of former Hagerstown Suns.

1B James Yezzo (7th round, 2013 by Washington; University of Delaware) is looking to build off a successful 2014 season with Hagerstown in which the lefty stick blasted 22 doubles, one triple, and 13 home runs (2nd on club) while stashing 56 RBIs and a .712 OPS. The Cherry Hill, NJ native earned a SAL Player of the Week Award on 9/2/14 and was formerly one of the 30 finalists for the Golden Spikes Nationals Player of the Year Award.

2B Christopher Bostick (44th round, 2011 by Oakland Athletics; Aquinas Institute-Rochester, NY) was acquired by Washington in an off-season trade with the Texas Rangers that sent former Potomac Nationals LHP Ross Detwiler (2007, 2008, 2010, 2013) to Texas in exchange for Bostick and RHP Abel De Los Santos. Bostick, of Rochester, NY, was a member of the Class-A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans (then-Texas Rangers) in 2014 and competed against Potomac in the Mills Cup Championship Series. Bostick, who terrorized P-Nats pitching in '14 with a .321 batting average, 10 doubles, one triple, nine RBIs, five walks, and five stolen bases off Nationals' offerings, will replay the circuit in 2015. Bostick, a key cog for the 2014 Carolina League Southern Division Champion, Pelicans collected a slash line of .251/.322/.412/.734 over 130 games to go with 81 runs scored, 31 doubles, eight triples, 11 homers, and 62 RBIs plus 24 stolen bases and 47 walks in 2014. Bostick, after originally being drafted by Oakland, was picked up by Texas along with OF Michael Choice in a 2013 swap for OF Craig Gentry and RHP Josh Lindblom.

2014 Mills Cup Champions, IF Khayyan Norfork and IF/OF John Wooten will return to Woodbridge, VA in utility roles for the Nationals in 2015.

Norfork (23rd round, 2011 by Washington; University of Tennessee) is back with the P-Nats for the third straight season. In 2013, Norfork hit .200 in 11 games for the Nationals with five runs scored, one home run, and two RBIs. Last season, Norfork, who hails from Ripley, TN, saw time at second base, third base, and on the mound in emergency relief duty in addition to nods as the designated hitter, ripped at a .264 pace in 102 games while picking up 52 runs scored, 20 doubles, five triples, a pair of longballs, 38 RBIs, 31 walks, and 13 swipes. Norfork owned a .333 OBP while being tied for the 2nd-most sacrifice flies (four) and the 3rd-most sac bunts (five) on the club. Norfork finished the year with a .976 fielding percentage over the course of 294 total chances and he committed only seven errors all season long.

Wooten (37th round, 2012 by Oakland Athletics; East Carolina University-NC) was acquired by Washington from Oakland in the trade that shipped LHP Fernando Abad to the west coast. Wooten, the hero of the 2014 Carolina League Playoffs for the Potomac Nationals, was a mid-season All-Star in the SAL after submitting a first-half slash line for Hagerstown of .288/.329/.454/.783 to complement 16 doubles, two triples, and six deep flies, and 39 RBIs. Following a promotion to Potomac in late July, Wooten of Goldsboro, NC recorded 10 extra-base hits and drove in 17 runs before going on a tear in the postseason. Wooten hit .458 (11-for-24) with four runs scored, two doubles, three home runs, and eight RBIs to amass a gigantic 1.417 OPS in the 2014 postseason. Wooten came through huge in Game Three of the Mills Cup Championship Series with a pair of homers to propel the P-Nats to a comeback 12-7 victory that would give them the momentum to finish off the Myrtle Beach Pelicans the following night at Pfitzner Stadium.

In the outfield grass, the P-Nats will welcome back three familiar faces to complement Bautista.

OF Isaac Ballou (15th round, 2013 by Washington; Marshall University-WV) from Germantown, MD joined Potomac in the fourth quarter of the 2014 season and excelled. Ballou hit .271 in 100 games for Hagerstown while pounding 20 doubles, nine triples, six homers, and 53 RBIs before being promoted to the Carolina League at the end of July. Ballou swung to the tune of a .260 average and a .768 OPS stashing 13 extra-bag knocks. Ballou hit .250 (5-for-20) with six runs scored, one three-sacker, one four-bag blast, four RBIs, four walks, and one stolen base in the 2014 Carolina League Playoffs.

OF Estarlin Martinez (international free agent, 2009 by Washington), who was signed out of Bani, DR, recorded the longest hitting streak (12 games) of the 2014 season for the P-Nats in a hot streak from 7/1014 vs. the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals) at Pfitzner Stadium through 7/27/14 at BB&T Ballpark, home of the Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox). Martinez earned his graduation from the SAL in mid-May after logging a .304 batting clip, a .401 OBP, a .391 SLG%, and a .793 OPS with Hagerstown. As a member of the P-Nats, Martinez in 73 games swung to a slash line of .269/.307/.336/.643 playing first base, left field, and right field plus serving as the designated hitter. Martinez competed in the Dominican Winter League with the Tigres del Licey this past winter playing in just two games (one hit in seven at-bats).

OF Brandon Miller (4th round, 2012 by Washington; Georgia Tech University and Samford University-AL) of Atlanta, GA turned in a career season in 2013 that culminated with a call-up to Potomac in early August. Miller formerly led Hagerstown in home runs (18), RBIs (72), and sacrifice flies (7) that year. Miller hit .300 on the nose in '13 with the Nationals in 30 games and yielded 11 extra-base knocks, 16 RBIs, and 51 total bases en route to helping the P-Nats to a '13 Mills Cup Championship Series run. In 2014, Miller cranked 13 home runs (2nd-most on club) despite being limited to just 60 games due to injury. Miller yielded a .178 batting average, 28 runs scored, seven doubles, 31 RBIs, and 28 walks when the dust settled. Miller embarks on his third season in Woodbridge, VA motivated to extrapolate his production over a full season.

Minor League Baseball coaching veterans, Franklin Bravo (Pitching Coach) and former Nationals Field Manager from the 2012 season, Brian Rupp (Hitting Coach) round out the Potomac coaching staff along with Assistant Coach, Andruth Ramirez, who is a former Minor League catcher in the Washington Nationals system.

Bravo enters his 13th season in the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals organization. Bravo tutored a P-Nats pitching staff in '14 that tossed six shutouts, fanned 928 batters in 1,167.2 IP, and won the second-most games in the Carolina League (78).

Bravo's previous coaching assignments have included pitching mentor duties for the Dominican Summer League Expos (2003), Short-season A Vermont Expos (2004-2005) which became the Vermont Lake Monsters (2006-2010), Short-season A Auburn Doubledays (2011), and most recently Hagerstown (2012-2013).

Rupp, in his third overall season with Potomac, spent twelve seasons at the helm as a manager in the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Washington farm systems. Rupp witnessed Potomac hitters submit a .258 collective batting clip in 2014, good for a tie of 4th place in the circuit while Nationals sluggers lifted 82 home runs over the duration of the season, a figure that registered as 3rd-most in the league. Rupp notably instructed former Potomac Nationals IF Tony Renda to a 2014 Carolina League Batting Championship (.307 batting average).

Ramirez played part-time for Auburn and Hagerstown in 2013 totaling 10 hits, two runs, two doubles, and two RBIs in 23 games.

T.D. Swinford will serve as the Nationals Head Athletic Trainer for the second straight season and Mike Warren will be Potomac's strength and conditioning coach for the third consecutive campaign.

Justin Clift will handle the Potomac Nationals' Home Clubhouse Manager duties and is in his first season with the team.

The 2015 P-Nats will be made up of 13 pitchers including nine right-handed arms and four left-handers and 12 positions players (seven right-handed swingers, four southpaw sticks, and one switch-hitter). The position breakdown is two catchers, six infielders, and four outfielders.

The Nationals are comprised of 20 players drafted domestically and five players who hail from international destinations.

The average age of the 2015 Potomac Nationals Opening Day Roster is 24.9 years old.

2015 Potomac Nationals Opening Day Roster

(Alphabetical by Position)

PITCHERS (13)

RHP Dakota Bacus

RHP Cody Davis

RHP Brian Dupra

RHP Jake Johansen

LHP Nick Lee

LHP David Napoli

RHP Nick Pivetta

RHP Brian Rauh

RHP Manny Rodriguez

RHP Blake Schwartz

LHP Matthew Spann

RHP Wander Suero

LHP Justin Thomas

CATCHERS (2)

C Spencer Kieboom

C Craig Manuel

INFIELDERS (6)

IF Christopher Bostick

IF Wilmer Difo

IF Khayyan Norfork

3B Drew Ward

IF/OF John Wooten

1B James Yezzo

OUTFIELDERS (4)

OF Isaac Ballou

OF Rafael Bautista

OF Estarlin Martinez

OF Brandon Miller

Opening Day 2015 at Pfitzner Stadium is set for Thursday, April 9th as the Nationals host the Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Indians) with first pitch scheduled to be thrown at 7:05pm.

For Potomac Nationals 2015 season tickets, mini plans, group tickets, picnic outings, and corporate partnerships, call the Potomac Nationals Ticket Office at 703-590-2311 or head to www.potomacnationals.com for more information.

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