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MWL1 Quad Cities River Bandits

Bandits Roster Filled With Familiar Faces

April 3, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Quad Cities River Bandits News Release


When the Quad Cities River Bandits take the field for Sunday's exhibition game against the Double-A Springfield Cardinals, both rosters will be full of familiar faces. While the visiting Springfield squad will feature almost exclusively former QC'ers, the River Bandits initial roster - officially announced on Friday - includes 10 players that called Modern Woodmen Park home in 2008.

"The Cardinals have an outstanding farm system, one of the very best in baseball, and they've given us a very competitive team," said River Bandits owner Dave Heller. "Year-in year-out, they send us a great group of major league prospects. All you have to do is look into the Springfield dugout on Sunday to see so many former River Bandits on the cusp of the big leagues."

The highest-rated prospect that will open the season with the River Bandits is 20-year-old shortstop Niko Vasquez, who finished the 2008 season with 11 games in the Quad Cities after being selected by St. Louis in the third round out of Durango High School in Las Vegas. He is already rated by Baseball America as the No. 18 prospect in the Cardinals organization thanks to the "first-round bat" he showed while hitting .317 for Johnson City last year.

He will be joined in the infield by 19-year-old Domnit Bolivar, who hit .307 after the All-Star break for Quad Cities in 2008, and powerful Rice-product Aaron Luna, who is making the transition from the outfield to second base.

Even with such a talented infield, the strength of the squad may very well be on the mound. Teenage right-hander Deryk Hooker is back after posting a 1.61 ERA with 18 strikeouts over four starts for Quad Cities late in the 2008 season. Sinkerballer Chuckie Fick will also be in the starting rotation, as will 2006 third-round pick Gary Daley.

Midwest Leaguers will also need to look out for a pair of talented young foreign-born pitchers. Arquidemes Nieto may be just 19-years-old, but the Panamanian right-hander went 6-1 with a 2.95 ERA during his US debut in 2008 to help lead the Batavia Muckdogs to a New York-Penn League championship. The Muckdogs bullpen was anchored by 22-year-old Dominican Hector Caredenas, who went 5-0 with a 1.83 ERA in 15 appearances. Both will be opening the season in the River Bandits starting rotation.

"We're quite excited about the makeup of the 2009 River Bandits club," said St. Louis Cardinals Director of Minor League Operations, John Vuch. "Ultimately this may have been the toughest club for us to assemble, mainly due to the competitive camp we had in Jupiter and the large number of players who showed the ability to contribute at this level."

The outfield will feature slugging 21-year-old Jon Edwards, who showed off his power stroke with the River Bandits over the final month of the 2008 season. He will be playing alongside Cuban-born Ryde Rodriguez, who .329 in the Gulf Coast League last year in his first professional experience.

Starting behind the plate will be Charles Cutler, a 14th-round pick in 2008 out of the University of California who hit .303 for Batavia after the draft.

"We feel that we ended up with a nice blend of key players from last season's championship club in Batavia and our first winning club in several years at Johnson City," added Vuch. "We've got a great deal of confidence in this talented group of players, and we feel the young men who earned their roster spot will do a fine job of representing their team, their organization and themselves - on and off the field."

"This season is going to be a fun ride," said River Bandits Vice President and General Manager Kirk Goodman. "The exhibition game against Springfield on Sunday is a great way to kick it off, and then fans will be able to take advantage great promotions like Economic Stimulus Tuesdays with 2-for-1 tickets and Kids Eat Free, drink specials on Thursdays, fireworks on Fridays and post-game concerts on Saturdays. We're going to show people that now more than ever, there is something for everybody at Modern Woodmen Park."

UP NEXT: The River Bandits will kick off the 2009 season early on Sunday, April 5, welcoming in the Double-A Springfield Cardinals in an exhibition game at Modern Woodmen Park. On Tuesday, April 21, the park will play host to NCAA Division I baseball for the first time with a match-up between the University of Iowa and Western Illinois. The River Bandits' regular season home-opener will take place on April 13 against the Beloit Snappers. Tickets for the 2009 regular season as well as the exhibition and college game are available by calling (563) 3-BANDIT, going to www.RiverBandits.com or stopping by the Modern Woodmen Park box office.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: Under new ownership and management in 2008, the Quad Cities River Bandits topped 207,000 fans for only the sixth time in team history and the first time in 12 years. Having recently completed one of the most successful seasons in the history of the franchise, the club has stayed busy over the off-season as a popular venue for holiday parties and other special events. With a renewed dedication to fans, sponsors and the Quad Cities community, the return of the River Bandits has brought a resurgence of support for the team. BanditWear, season tickets and mini-plans are on sale for the 2009 season by calling (563) 3-BANDIT or heading to www.RiverBandits.com. But hurry - good seats are going fast!

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