Erie SeaWolves Announce Opening Day Roster
March 30, 2018 - Eastern League (EL1)
Erie SeaWolves News Release
(Erie, PA) - The Erie SeaWolves, in collaboration with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, have released the club's 2018 Opening Day roster.
The starting rotation features four right-handers and one lefty. Four of the five have experience at the Double-A level with the SeaWolves. Tigers number four prospect Beau Burrows makes his return to Erie. Joining Burrows are righties Sandy Baez (Tigers #20 prospect), Spencer Turnbull and Kyle Funkhouser (Tigers #6 prospect). Tyler Alexander (Tigers #19 prospect) is the lone left-hander in the rotation. Baez, Turnbull and Alexander have all spent time in Erie while Funkhouser is making his Double-A debut in 2018.
The eight-man bullpen features a mix of both youth and experience. Lefty Matt Hall (Tigers #24 prospect), who has spent the first three seasons of his professional career as a starter, transitions to the pen in 2018. The other left-hander out of the Erie bullpen is knuckleballer Josh Turley, who has spent parts of the last four seasons with the SeaWolves. Turley is second all-time in SeaWolves history with 23 wins. RHP Adam Ravenelle, RHP Mark Ecker and RHP Jeff Thompson all return to the Erie bullpen while RHP Kyle Dowdy, RHP Fernando Perez and RHP John Schreiber join the team as Double-A rookies.
Catching duties will be handled by Jake Rogers (Tigers #5 prospect) and Arvicent Perez. Rogers, who is the #5 catching prospect in MiLB, came to the Tigers organization in the Justin Verlander trade in August of 2017. Perez spent all of 2017 with Lakeland.
The outfield consists of all new faces in 2018. Troy Montgomery (Tigers #26 prospect) joins the organization after coming over in the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to the Angels. Joining Montgomery are Jake Robson, who spent 2017 with both West Michigan and Lakeland, Herlis Rodriguez, a free agent signing who spent last season in the Phillies system, and Kenny Wilson, a free agent signing who spent 2017 in the Athletics organization.
The infield features four returning players including 2017 Eastern League All-Stars Dominic Ficociello and Gabriel Quintana. Will Maddox and A.J. Simcox also return to the team in 2018. Sergio Alcantara, who came to the Tigers organization in the J.D. Martinez trade, and Josh Lester, who spent 2017 between West Michigan and Lakeland, round out the infield.
The SeaWolves open their 24th season on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies). The 2018 home opener at UPMC Park, presented by Plyler Entry Systems, is Friday, April 13 against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates). Single-game tickets are on sale now. For ticket packages, group outings, or marketing and promotional opportunities at UPMC Park, contact the SeaWolves at 814-456-1300.
# PITCHERS B T HT WT DOB AGE RESIDES ACQ 2017 CLUB(S)
15 Alexander, Tyler R L 6-2 200 7/14/1994 23 Southlake, TX 2nd - '15 Erie (AA)
30 Baez, Sandy (40) R R 6-2 180 11/25/1993 24 San Cristobal, DR NDFA - '11 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
33 Burrows, Beau R R 6-2 200 9/18/1996 21 Weatherford, TX 1st - '15 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
12 Dowdy, Kyle R R 6-1 194 2/3/1993 25 Houston, TX 12th - '15 Lakeland (A+)
26 Ecker, Mark R R 6-1 200 5/27/1995 22 Helotes, TX 5th - '16 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
36 Funkhouser, Kyle R R 6-3 225 2/16/1994 24 Oak Forest, IL 4th - '16 West Mich (A-) Lakeland (A+)
21 Hall, Matt L L 6-0 200 7/23/1993 24 Lee's Summitt, MO 6th - '15 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
29 Perez, Fernando R R 6-2 225 12/17/1993 24 Santo Domingo, DR NDFA - '11 West Mich (A-) Lakeland (A+)
23 Ravenelle, Adam R R 6-3 195 10/5/1992 25 Nashville, TN 4th - '14 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
35 Schreiber, John R R 6-2 210 3/5/1994 24 Rockwood, MI 15th - '16 West Michigan (A-)
40 Thompson, Jeff R R 6-6 245 9/23/1991 26 Greenville, IN 3rd - '13 Lakeland (A+)
14 Turley, Josh L L 6-0 198 8/26/1990 27 Midland, TX 16th - '12 Lak (A+) Erie (AA) Tol (AAA)
32 Turnbull, Spencer (40) R R 6-3 230 9/18/1992 25 Madison, MS 2nd - '14 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
# CATCHERS B T HT WT DOB AGE RESIDES ACQ 2017 CLUB(S)
11 Perez, Arvicent R R 5-10 170 1/14/1994 24 Bolivar, VZ NDFA - '11 Lakeland
7 Rogers, Jake R R 6-1 192 4/18/1995 22 Canyon, TX TR - '14 Houston (A-, A+) Lakeland (A+)
# INFIELDERS B T HT WT DOB AGE RESIDES ACQ 2017 CLUB(S)
1 Alcantara, Sergio (40) S R 5-9 151 7/10/1996 21 Santo Domingo, DR TR - 17 Visalia (A+) Lakeland (A+)
25 Ficociello, Dominic S R 6-4 200 4/10/1992 25 Fayetteville, AR 12th - '13 Erie (AA) Toledo (AAA)
44 Lester, Josh L R 6-3 225 7/17/1994 23 Columbus, GA 13th - '15 West Mich (A-) Lakeland (A+)
31 Maddox, Will L R 5-10 185 6/11/1992 25 Gainesville, GA 18th - '14 Lakeland (A+) Erie (AA)
24 Quintana, Gabriel R R 6-3 215 9/7/1992 25 Azua, DR FA - '17 Erie (AA)
18 Simcox, A.J. R R 6-3 185 6/22/1994 23 Knoxville, TN 14th - '15 Erie (AA)
# OUTFIELDERS B T HT WT DOB AGE RESIDES ACQ 2017 CLUB(S)
8 Montgomery, Troy L L 5-8 188 8/13/1994 23 Cumberland, IN TR - '17 LAA (A-, A+, AA)
37 Robson, Jake L R 5-10 182 11/20/1994 23 Starkville, MS 8th - '16 West Mich (A-) Lakeland (A+)
37 Rodriguez, Herlis L L 6-0 170 6/10/1994 23 Carabobo, VZ FA - '18 Philadelphia (A+, AA, AAA)
22 Wilson, Kenny R R 6-0 204 1/30/1990 28 Tampa, FL FA - '18 Oakland (AA, AAA)
Disabled List: Gerson Moreno, Zach Houston, Franklin Perez
# FIELD STAFF RECENT TRANSACTIONS
17 Andrew Graham Manager (1st Season)
27 Mike Hessman Hitting Coach (1st Season)
20 Willie Blair Pitching Coach (3rd Season)
19 Santiago Garrido Coach (1st Season)
T.J. Obergefell Athletic Trainer (1st Season)
Allan Williamson Strength & Conditioning (1st Season)
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