SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

Power Announce Initial 2013 Roster

Published on April 2, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


CHARLESTON, WV (April 2, 2012) - The West Virginia Power, a Class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are pleased to announce their initial roster for the 2013 campaign. The tentative Opening Day roster features eight players with South Atlantic League experience, 15 players drafted within the last two years, and five players rated in Pittsburgh's Top 30 prospects according to Baseball America.

Michael Ryan returns to the Pirates organization for 2013 and will make his managerial debut with the West Virginia Power. Ryan was a fifth round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 1996 First-Year player draft and spent ten years in the Twins organization. In 2010, Ryan returned to the Majors with the Los Angeles Angels, playing in 22 games before retiring at the end of the season. Ryan made his coaching debut last season with the Altoona Curve.

Several highly touted prospects are slated to see action on the field for the Power in 2013. Catcher Wyatt Mathisen, who was taken in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft out of Corpus Christi High School, is Pittsburgh's 15th best prospect according to Baseball America. Dilson Herrera (20th) will key the middle of the infield after garnering Gulf Coast League Player-of-the-Year honors according to Topps. Pitching prospects Clay Holmes and Tyler Glasnow will also make their full-season debut after spending time with State College. Holmes and Glasnow are the 10th and 19th ranked prospects in the Pirates' organization, respectively.

The initial Power roster also sees the return of several players from the 2012 ballclub. Josh Bell, Pittsburgh's 2nd round selection in 2011, began last year with West Virginia but only played 15 games with the Power before missingthe rest of the year to injury. Infielder Ashley Ponce returns after playing 54 games with the Power in 2012, while Francisco Diaz, Jonathan Schwind, Junior Sosa, and pitchers Orlando Castro, Ryan Hafner, and Pat Ludwig each spent time on the Power roster in 2012 and return for the start of 2013 season.

The regular season begins on Thursday, April 4, as the Power welcome the Asheville Tourists to Appalachian Power Park for a 7:05 matchup.

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