Tacoma Rainiers Opening Day Roster Revealed
April 3, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Tacoma Rainiers News Release
TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma Rainiers today revealed the club's initial player roster in advance of their season opener scheduled for this Thursday, April 4 at the Fresno Grizzlies.
The 25-man squad features four of the top five prospects in the Mariners farm system as ranked by Baseball America, with catcher Mike Zunino (No. 1), pitchers Danny Hultzen (No. 3) and James Paxton (No. 4), and infielder Nick Franklin (No. 5) all set to start the season with Tacoma.
Zunino's 2013 campaign will be his first full professional season after he was selected as the third overall pick by Seattle in the 2012 draft out of the University of Florida. The 22-year-old combined to bat .360 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI over 44 games with short-season Everett and Double-A Jackson last season.
Hultzen and Franklin each made their Tacoma debuts in mid-June of 2012 after earning Mid-Season All-Star selections with Double-A Jackson. Paxton will make his first jump to Triple-A coming off a season where he went 9-4 with 3.05 ERA through 21 starts with the Generals.
Along with left-handers Hultzen and Paxton, the remainder of the Rainiers rotation is filled out by returning right-handers Andrew Carraway and D.J. Mitchell, as well as Major League veteran Jeremy Bonderman. A first round selection by Oakland in the 2001 draft, Bonderman signed a minor league contract with the Mariners this offseason. The Pasco, WA native has appeared in more than 200 MLB games over eight seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
The Rainiers relief staff features Danny Farquhar, Steven Hensley, Bobby LaFromboise, Yoervis Medina, Brian Moran, and Brian Sweeney, all of whom are making return stints with the Rainiers in 2013. Logan Bawcom and Jhonny Nunez round out the rest of the bullpen in what will be the right-handers' first playing time at Tacoma.
Alex Liddi, Scott Savastano and Carlos Triunfel are set to rejoin the club, alongside fellow infielders and Tacoma newcomers Rich Poythress and Nate Tenbrink. Tacoma veteran Carlos Peguero will front an outfield comprised of first-time Rainiers Denny Almonte, Endy Chavez and Eric Thames.
Daren Brown returns for his seventh season as the Rainiers manager. He will be joined by Pitching Coach Dwight Bernard, first-year Hitting Coach Howard Johnson, Athletic Trainers Tom Newberg and B.J. Downie, and Performance Coach Rob Fumagelli.
The Rainiers officially begin the 2013 season on the road this Thursday, April 4 at Fresno before opening the club's first homestand on Friday, April 12th at 7 p.m. To purchase tickets to Opening Weekend, season ticket packages or a group outing, please call (253) 752-7707 or email tickets@tacomarainiers.com.
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