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IL1 Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Preliminary 2016 IronPigs Roster Announced

April 2, 2016 - International League (IL1)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs News Release


(Allentown, Pa.) -- Manager Dave Brundage begins his fourth season in the Lehigh Valley with a roster that features 19 first-time IronPigs as well as four of the Top 10 prospects in the Phillies system and three of the Top 100 prospects in all of Minor League Baseball, according to Baseball America.

Among the featured prospects are RHP Mark Appel, C Andrew Knapp, RHP Jake Thompson and OF Nick Williams. There are also six returnees on the 25-man roster, including RHP David Buchanan, LHP Adam Morgan and 2014 International League Midseason All-Star, RHP Luis Garcia. There is also a two-time American League All-Star in RHP Andrew Bailey, who won the 2009 A.L. Rookie of the Year Award with the Oakland Athletics, and a former National League All-Star in RHP Edward Mujica, who was selected in 2013 while with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Additionally, the roster is highlighted by seven members of Philadelphia's 40-Man Roster: LHP Elvis Araujo, INF Taylor Featherston, RHP Colton Murray and INF/OF Darnell Sweeney along with Buchanan, Garcia and Morgan.

First-year pitching coach David Lundquist will guide a starting rotation that is as talented as any in the IronPigs' nine-year history.

RHP Mark Appel enters the season ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Phillies system according to BA. Acquired as part of the trade that sent Ken Giles to Houston in December, the right-hander was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 Draft by the Astros out of Stanford University. Appel, 24, split the 2015 season between Double-A Corpus Christi (5-1, 4.26 in 13 GS) and Triple-A Fresno (5-2, 4.48 in 12 GS).

RHP Zach Eflin - the youngest player on the roster -- is another highly touted prospect. Acquired by the Phillies as part of the Jimmy Rollins trade with the Dodgers in December 2014, the 21-year-old was selected as a 2015 Eastern League (AA) Midseason All-Star and finished 8-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 23 starts for the Fightin Phils.

RHP Aaron Thompson represents yet another young asset that was acquired via trade by the Phillies front office. The Dallas native joined the organization as part of the six-player haul from Texas in exchange for LHP Cole Hamels and LHP Jake Diekman last summer. Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Phillies system (75th overall) by BA, Thompson spent most of the 2015 season with Frisco (AA), going 6-6 with a 4.72 ERA in 17 starts. Following the trade, the 22-year-old went 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts for Reading (AA).

RHP David Buchanan, 26, shuttled back and forth between Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia in 2015, going 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA in 10 starts with the Pigs and 2-9 with a 6.99 ERA in 15 starts for the Phillies. Over parts of three seasons with the IronPigs, Buchanan is a combined 14-6 with a 3.29 ERA in 28 starts.

LHP Adam Morgan, 26, began the 2015 season with Lehigh Valley and was 0-6 with a 4.74 ERA in 13 starts before earning his first call to the big leagues on Father's Day. The southpaw then posted a 5-7 mark and a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts over the remainder of the season with the Phillies.

The IronPigs bullpen should also be a strength of the team.

RHP Andrew Bailey joined the Phillies organization after signing as a minor league free agent in December. The 31-year-old right-hander spent 2015 in the Yankees organization and pitched at each level of the system, including the majors. In 10 games with the Yankees, Bailey was 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA. The Haddon Heights, N.J., native did not record a decision in nine games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA), but posted four saves to go along with a 2.19 ERA.

RHP Edward Mujica, 31, began the 2015 season with Boston and pitched in 11 games before being traded to Oakland in early May. Between the two stops, the former NL All-Star was 3-5 with a 4.75 ERA and one save in 49 games. Mujica has spent parts of ten seasons in the majors with Cleveland, San Diego, Florida/Miami, St. Louis, Boston and Oakland.

Other pitchers on the Opening Day roster include LHP Elvis Araujo (2-1, 3.38 in 40 G with the Phillies), RHP Ernesto Frieri (1-0, 4.63, 2 SV in 22 G with Tampa Bay), RHP Luis Garcia (4-6, 3.51, 2 SV in 72 G with the Phillies), LHP Bobby LaFromboise (1-2, 2.98 in 54 G with Indianapolis) and RHP Colton Murray (2-2, 2.79, 2 SV in 31 G with Lehigh Valley).

Offensively, fifth-year hitting coach Sal Rende will boast several top prospects with Knapp, Williams, Sweeney and 2015 Eastern League MVP Brock Stassi to go along with a pair of major league veterans with C/1B J.P. Arencibia and OF Will Venable.

C Andrew Knapp, ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Philadelphia system (96th overall) by BA, split the 2015 season between Clearwater (A+) and Reading (AA). In 63 games with the Threshers, the 24-year-old backstop hit .262-2-28. Following his promotion to Reading, Knapp caught the attention of many with a blistering .360-11-56 line in just 55 games. The Roseville, Calif., native was a second round pick of the Phillies in 2013 out of University of California, Berkeley.

OF Nick Williams, ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Philadelphia system (27th overall) according to BA, was acquired by the Phillies as part of the Cole Hamels trade last July. The 22-year-old hit .299-13-45 and stole 10 bases in 97 games with Frisco (AA) prior to the trade. Over the remainder of the season, Williams hit .320-4-10 in 22 games with Reading.

OF Darnell Sweeney, 25, spent the majority of the 2015 season with Oklahoma City (AAA) and hit .271-9-49 to go along with 30 doubles and 32 stolen bases in 116 games. The Hollywood, Fla., native was acquired by the Phillies as part of the deal that sent Chase Utley to the Dodgers last August. Following the deal, Sweeney hit .176-3-11 in 37 games with the Phillies.

1B Brock Stassi, 26, was named the 2015 Eastern League MVP after hitting .300-15-90 in 133 games with Reading. The University of Nevada product led the EL in RBI, OPS (.863) and tied for the league lead in 2B (32). Stassi was originally selected by the Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft.

C/1B J.P. Arencibia, 30, spent the majority of the 2015 season with Durham (AAA) where he hit .227-22-65 in 99 games. The 22 home runs ranked second in the International League. After a late season promotion to Tampa Bay, the Miami native hit .310-6-17 in just 24 games with the Rays. Arencibia has spent parts of six seasons in the majors with Toronto, Texas and Tampa Bay, and appeared at Coca-Cola Park representing Las Vegas (AAA) in both the 2010 Home Run Derby and 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game.

OF Will Venable, 33, is the newest member of the Phillies organization after being signed by the team as a minor league free agent earlier this week. The veteran outfielder spent the majority of the 2015 season with San Diego and hit .258-6-30 in 98 games before being traded to the Rangers in August. In 37 games with Texas, Venable hit .182-0-3. His father, Max, had a 12-year career in MLB - during which the outfielder hit .241-18-128 in 727 games with San Francisco, Montreal, Cincinnati and California from 1979-91.

The rest of the position players are INF Carlos Alonso (.262-0-6 in 12 G with Reading), INF Taylor Featherston (.162-2-9 in 101 G with the Angels), INF Ryan Jackson (.295-2-28 in 104 G with Salt Lake City & Omaha-AAA), 1B Tommy Joseph (.193-3-18 in 45 G with Lehigh Valley), OF David Lough (.201-4-12 in 84 G with Baltimore), INF Angelys Nina (.300-4-50, 18 SB in 114 G with Albuquerque-AAA) and OF Cameron Perkins (.252-11-51, 25 2B in 100 G with Reading).

The IronPigs will take on the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils in the 9th annual "222 Showcase" on Tuesday, April 5. First pitch from FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading is set for 6:35 p.m. The IronPigs will open the 2016 season on the road against the Syracuse Chiefs on Thursday, April 7, at 2:05 p.m. at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse. They will return to start a six-game homestand with Opening Night at Coca-Cola Park against the Pawtucket Red Sox on Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m.

Single-game tickets, season tickets, mini plans and group tickets for the 2016 season presented by Capital BlueCross are now on sale.

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