Other Teams' Rosters

I'm watching the Badger hockey game while putting off writing a few of the articles that are due tomorrow. But -- since it's the second intermission -- a few items popped into the inbox that call for at least a post.

The Beloit Snappers, Lansing Lugnuts, and Quad Cities River Bandits have released their Opening Day rosters.

From the Snapper website:

The Beloit Snappers first official active roster has some familiar faces on it from last season’s Midwest League Western Division Championship team. Eleven players from the 2007 squad have been assigned by the Minnesota Twins to return to the Snappers for the start of the ’08 season. Beloit will also sport somewhat of a younger team, having twelve players from the 2007 draft.

Highly touted prospects Chris Parmelee (2006 1st rounder) and Joe Benson (2006 2nd rounder) will return to roam the outfield for the Snappers. Last season Parmelee led Beloit with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs while sporting a .414 slugging percentage. Benson, Baseball America’s #2 rated prospect in the Twins’ organization, was the team leader last year in hits (110), runs (73), walks (49), stolen bases (18) and triples (8).

The entire roster appears to be here. Yes, Jair Fernandez (WI, '07) is listed as one of the catchers for Beloit. The Rattlers are in Beloit April 18-20 and the Snappers visit Appleton April 25-27.

From the Lugnut website:

Kevin Ahrens, the Blue Jays top pick in the 2007 draft, will make his full-season debut with the Lugnuts. Ahrens, 18, was drafted 16th overall out of Memorial High School in Houston, Texas. The switch hitting third sacker made his professional debut last season in the rookie level Gulf Coast League and is the second consecutive top pick of the Blue Jays to start in Lansing.

Joining Ahrens will be fellow first rounders Justin Jackson and Trystan Magnuson, along with the second round selection John Tolisano.

The Lugnuts also have nine players who have suited up with the Lugnuts in the past. The entire Lansing roster is available in PDF form. The Lugnut roster may look a bit different when they come to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium July 29-31.

From the River Bandits website:

The initial River Bandits roster is loaded with young talent and high-ceiling prospects, headed by the Cardinals' first-round pick in the 2007 draft, 19-year-old shortstop Pete Kozma. The Oklahoma native hit .491 during his high school career, registering a school-record .553 average as a Junior and leading Owasso High School to a state championship as a Senior. In his final season he was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma, while receiving national honors as the Rawlings High School Gold Glove shortstop and a second-team Louisville Slugger High School All-American on his way to becoming the 18th overall pick in the draft and the No. 7 prospect in the Cardinals organization according to Baseball America.

Kozma is one of five teenagers on the River Bandits roster. Fellow 19-year-old Beau Riportella, a 10th-round pick in last year's draft, was one of the true stars for the Cardinals' short-season affiliate in Johnson City. He hit .315 with 10 stolen bases during his 48-game professional debut with the Johnson City Cardinals last season. The River Bandits will also have a pair of 18-year-olds on the roster in third baseman Domnit Bolivar, who split the 2007 season between Johnson City and Batavia, and catcher Luis De La Cruz, who hit .281 in the Gulf Coast League last year.

Great news, everyone! The tandem starter system is back in Davenport!

Utilizing the tandem starter system for the second consecutive season, there will be a number of power arms in the Quad Cities rotation. Fifth-round pick Thomas Eager is the most high profile of the bunch, drawing comparisons by Baseball America to former Cincinnati Reds' closer and member of the "Nasty Boys," Rob Dibble.

The starting rotation will include a pair of returning players in 20-year-olds Blake King and Shaun Garceau. King, the great-nephew of Mickey Mantle, is considered by Baseball America to be the No. 26 prospect in the Cardinals organization. He is a flame-throwing right-hander who enters this season with 201 strikeouts over 173 professional innings. Garceau, who spent the entire season in the Midwest League in 2007, showed flashes of brilliance in striking out nearly a batter per inning, including a spectacular win on June 2 in which he struck out nine over four innings against Wisconsin.

The entire roster is here. The Rattlers open the season against the Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park this Thursday.