Tennessee Smokies Announce 2022 Initial Roster
April 7, 2022 - Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release
SEVIERVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Smokies, in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs, have announced the initial 2022 season roster. The team features numerous top 30 prospects in the Chicago Cubs organization, and returning faces to Tennessee. The roster is comprised of 15 pitchers and 13 position players to begin the 2022 campaign.
Infielders for the Smokies are headlined by Cubs' #26 prospect Chase Strumpf, who had 45 hits and 29 RBI in 62 games with the Smokies last year. Christopher Morel, Cubs' #21 prospect and fan-favorite in Kodak, is coming off of a 81 hit, 64 RBI, and 17 home run season in 2021. Joining him will be Bryce Ball, Christian Donahue, Nelson Maldonado, Luis Vazquez, and Delvin Zinn.
In the outfield will be the reining Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player Nelson Velazquez. The 2017 fifth round pick hit .290 last year with 72 total bases, 27 RBI, and 8 home runs in just 34 games for the Smokies. Other outfielders will be Darius Hill and Yonathan Perlaza.
Catchers for Tennessee will be returners Cam Balego and Harrison Wenson, in addition to Bryce Windham.
The pitching staff is highlighted by Cubs' #17 prospect Ryan Jensen. In four games started for the Smokies, Jensen went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 15 strikeouts. Javier Assad, Burl Carraway, Anderson Espinoza, Bryan Hudson, Brandon Hughes, Scott Kobos, Graham Lawson, Brandon Leibrandt, Eury Ramos, Peyton Remy, Cam Sanders, Riley Thompson, Dauris Valdez, and Blake Whitney round out the staff.
The Smokies will commence their 2022 home campaign against the Chattanooga Lookouts on Friday, April 8. The full schedule for this season and season ticket information can be found online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.
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