With the Rochester Red Wings kicking off their season tomorrow in Syracuse against the Syracuse Mets, the team just announced its Opening Day roster for the 2024 season under fourth-year Manager Matt LeCroy.
The roster boasts 19 players with prior MLB experience, led by veterans Richard Bleier (335 games played) and Jacob Barnes (265 games).
The team will feature a mix of 15 pitchers and 14 position players, with four newcomers who have never played Triple-A baseball: DJ Herz, Thaddeus Ward, Trey Lipscomb, and James Wood, the 11th-best prospect in the game and the highest-ranked prospect to start the season with Rochester since Armando Benitez.
Interestingly, the Red Wings roster has 23 American players representing 15 states and five international players from the Dominican Republic (4) and Venezuela (1).
The roster includes 12 players on their first Triple-A Opening Day roster and 18 who have previously donned the Red Wings uniform. Two players were a part of last year's Opening Day lineup, including the reigning Most Popular Player, Darren Baker, and Team MVP, Travis Blankenhorn.
Additionally, prospects such as Trey Lipscomb, who led the Grapefruit League with a .400 (20-for-50) batting average, and pitchers like Joan Adon, who's set to make back-to-back Opening Day starts. Adon is the first pitcher to make back-to-back Opening Day starts since PJ Walters back in PJ Walters in 2013.
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