Round Rock Express Set Roster and Starting Rotation for Pacific Coast League Championship Series
September 10, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Fresh off winning the American Conference Championship, the Round Rock Express are set to do battle with the Sacramento River Cats (San Francisco Giants affiliate) for supremacy in the Pacific Coast League. Round Rock announced the team's 25-man roster and pitching rotation for the best-of-five PCL Championship Series, which begins on Tuesday, September 10 at 8:35 p.m. CDT at Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats.
The series shifts home to Dell Diamond for game three on Friday, September 13 at 7:05 p.m. If necessary, game four would take place on Saturday, September 14 at 7:05 p.m. A winner-take-all game five would be played at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, September 15 if a champion isn't crowned through the first four games. Tickets are on sale now at RRExpress.com/Playoffs .
Round Rock's roster from the American Conference Championship Series remains mostly the same for the PCL Championship Series. Changes from the last round include the removal of RHP Bryan Abreu and INF Myles Straw, who were both recalled by the Houston Astros, and the addition of RHP Colin McKee and INF Anibal Sierra, both of whom were promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday.
The 25-man roster features six players currently listed in the Houston Astros top 30 prospect list, according to MLB.com, including #2 RHP Forrest Whitley, #10 RHP Cristian Javier, #11 RHP Brandon Bielak, #17 OF Ronnie Dawson, #21 RHP Rogelio Armenteros and #28 OF Taylor Jones . Whitley is currently ranked as the #16 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com.
Also remaining the same for the PCL Championship Series is the team's starting rotation. E-Train LHP Kent Emanuel (8-2, 3.90) has been named the team's starter for tonight's game one while the River Cats plan to counter with RHP Ryan Halstead (0-0, 0.00). Game two is scheduled to feature Bielak (8-4, 4.41) up against RHP Chase Johnson (1-2, 7.64).
As the series returns home to Round Rock on Friday, Armenteros (6-7, 4.80) gets the call for game three while the River Cats plan to send RHP Carlos Navas (0-5, 5.08) to the mound. If necessary, game four is scheduled to see Javier (0-0, 1.64) take on RHP Caleb Baragar (0-0, 10.38). Finally, Sunday's game five is set to pit Whitley (0-3, 12.21) up against Sacramento RHP Brandon Lawson (0-0, 0.00).
Round Rock's bullpen consists of RHP Ronel Blanco, RHP Dean Deetz, RHP Riley Ferrell, RHP Ralph Garza, LHP Ryan Hartman, RHP Carson LaRue, RHP Brendan McCurry, McKee and LHP Kit Scheetz .
The team is carrying two catchers into the PCL Championship Series, including Lorenzo Quintana and everyday backstop Jamie Ritchie. Excluding Sierra, the other four members of the infield were on the Opening Day roster and have shouldered the load of Round Rock's offensive output this season: Alex De Goti, Jones, Jack Mayfield and Nick Tanielu. Finally, the outfield features the speedy combination of Dawson, Drew Ferguson, Chas McCormick and Stephen Wrenn.
Round Rock's full roster for the Pacific Coast League Championship Series is below:
Starting Rotation Bullpen Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders
Game 1: Emanuel, Kent
Game 2: Bielak, Brandon
Game 3: Armenteros, Rogelio
Game 4: Javier, Cristian
Game 5: Whitley, Forrest Blanco, Ronel
Deetz, Dean
Ferrell, Riley
Garza, Ralph
Hartman, Ryan
LaRue, Carson
McCurry, Brendan
McKee, Colin
Scheetz, Kit Quintana, Lorenzo
Ritchie, Jamie De Goti, Alex
Jones, Taylor
Mayfield, Jack
Sierra, Anibal
Tanielu, Nick Dawson, Ronnie
Ferguson, Drew
McCormick, Chas
Wrenn, Stephen
The 25-man squad features a wealth of Triple-A experience, with five position players logging over 100 games played with Round Rock this season: De Goti (125), Jones (125), Tanielu (125), Ferguson (115) and Mayfield (100). Additionally, Ritchie (79) and McCormick (57) have spent the bulk of their seasons at the Triple-A level.
The pitching staff is equally as experienced with Hartman (115.2), Emanuel (101.2), Bielak (85.2), Armenteros (84.1), Garza (78.0) and McCurry (55.1) all logging over 50.0 innings pitched in the Pacific Coast League in 2019.
For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the conversation during our historic 20th season using #20STROng.
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