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SAL1 Greenville Drive

Red Sox Prospects Set To Begin 2009 With The Drive

April 6, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release


Greenville, S.C. - The Greenville Drive will kick-off the 2009 season on Thursday, April 9th with an abundance of exciting young talent. Manager Kevin Boles, Pitching Coach Bob Kipper and Hitting Coach Billy McMillon will have several of the organization's top young prospects at their disposal as the Drive's roster has been announced.

Highlighting the Drive roster will be eight players who saw action in Greenville during the 2008 season - outfielders David Mailman and David Marks; infielders Michael Almanzar, Anthony Rizzo, and Oscar Tejeda; pitchers Brock Huntzinger, Lance McClain, and Felix Ventura - and eight players who were selected in last season's First-Year Player Draft including the Red Sox top two selections, Casey Kelly (1st Round, 30th overall) and Bryan Price (Supplemental Round, 45th overall).

Drive General Manager, Mike deMaine noted, "The Red Sox are among the best in the game at scouting, drafting and developing fresh major league talent, like Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, and Kevin Youkilis. The 2009 Drive roster will feature some of the organization's brightest prospects that our fans will enjoy cheering on."

"The Boston Red Sox continue to demonstrate the importance of the amateur draft and the overall quality of their minor league system which is recognized as one the strongest player development systems in all of baseball," added Co-Owner and Team President, Craig Brown. "The 2009 Drive roster will feature some of the organization's top prospects who will jump start their careers here in Greenville before someday helping the Red Sox contend for World Championships."

Kelly, the Red Sox top draft selection in 2008 and ranked as the sixth best prospect in Boston's farm system according to Baseball America, as well as Stolmy Pimental, a 19-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic who is ranked as the 10th best prospect in the organization, will anchor the Drive's strong pitching staff.

Ranked as the ninth best prospect in the Red Sox system, Almanzar returns to the Drive after being the youngest player in the South Atlantic League last season. Almanzar joined the Drive on July 20th after batting .353 in 29 games with the GCL Red Sox.

Joining Huntzinger, Kelly, McClain, Pimental, Price, and Ventura on the Drive pitching staff will be Yeiper Castillo, Caleb Clay, Hunter Strickland, Fabian Williamson and Armando Zerpa. Ventura, who finished first in the Red Sox farm system and fifth in the South Atlantic League with 19 saves in 2008, will once again be the team's go-to pitcher in the ninth inning.

Assuming the catching duties will be Tim Federowicz and Ryan Lavarnway. Federowicz, a 7th round selection in the 2008 draft from the University of North Carolina, batted .244 with a home run and 12 RBI in 36 games with the Lowell Spinners last season. The former Tar Heel was a Freshman All-American and posted a .320 average with 21 home runs and 175 RBI in three collegiate seasons. A 6th round selection in 2008 out of Yale where he was a 3rd Team All-American in 2007, Lavarnway batted .211 with two homers and nine RBI in 21 games with the Spinners.

Along with Almanzar, Rizzo, and Tejeda, the remainder of Drive infield will be comprised of Ryan Dent, Zach Gentile, and Jonathan Hee. At 18-years-old in 2008, Rizzo was batting .373 through 21 games with the Drive before being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma on May 28th, cutting his professional debut short. After receiving chemotherapy treatment, Rizzo was declared cancer-free in November. Tejeda spent all of last season with the Drive, ending the year by batting .283 with 17 RBI in his final 29 games.

In the outfield, Mailman and Marks will be joined by newcomers Mitch Dening, Pete Hissey, and Kade Keowen. Mailman led all Greenville batters in 2008 with 106 hits, tied for the team-lead with 22 doubles, and finished third with 51 RBI. Marks finished second with 10 home runs and tied for third with 18 doubles. Dening posted a .321 batting average for the Spinners in 2008, the second best in the Red Sox farm system and fifth in the New York-Penn League and was also a mid-season All-Star. In addition, the 20-year-old participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Australia.

Opening Day at Fluor Field at the West End is Monday, April 13th, as the Drive host the Hickory Crawdads at 7:05 PM. Drive ticket plans, luxury accommodations, group outings, and single-game tickets can be purchased by calling (864) 240-4500 or by visiting www.GreenvilleDrive.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 6, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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