The Blue Claws will compete in the High A East League - North Division. Their entire 120 game schedule will be played against 7 opponents ... Hudson Valley ( Fishkill, NY ), Wilmington, DE, Winston-Salem, NC, Brooklyn, NY, Asheville, NC , Greensboro, NC and Aberdeen, MD.
There are 30 active spots on the roster with an allowance of 2 more players ( inactive ) that will form the squad. There is no requirement to carry the extra two inactive players however if teams chose to do so they are ineligible for games unless activated ... 30 is the maximum allowance for game day activations.
Jersey Shore will be included with Wilmington, Hudson Valley, Brooklyn and Aberdeen to form the five team North division ... the league has 12 members so they will also play games against Asheville and Winston-Salem from the South Division.
The season starts on May 4th .
Manager : Chris Adamson
Pitching Coach : Matt Hockenberry
Hitting Coach : Rafael DeLima
Athletic Trainer : Andrew Dodgson
Strength & Conditioning Coach : Bruce Peditto
Pitchers : 18 - will likely use some piggy back rotation slots
RHP Mike Adams - 26 years old - signed as amateur free agent 1/21 - power arm - mid to upper 90’s fastball
RHP Ben Brown - 21 years old - played in Lakewood - 2019 - injured - TJ surgery - will be part of the starting rotation - throws a heavy ball and has decent velocity to couple it with.
RHP Blake Brown - 22 years old - signed 6/20 as amateur free agent - UNC Asheville - another power arm, if he throws strikes he can dominate.
RHP Kevin Gowdy - 23 years old - played in Lakewood in 2019 - finished camp strong with an outstanding start, best we’ve seen him - will be part of the rotation - has really good stuff.
LHP Josh Hendrickson - 23 years old - played in GCL and Lakewood in 2019 - had an excellent camp - will also be part of the starting rotation - produces a lot of swings and misses.
RHP Jonathan Hughes - 24 years old - signed 6/20 as amateur free agent - Georgia Tech - will be part of the rotation - has a power arsenal to use.
RHP Adam Leverett - 22 years old - played in GCL/Williamsport in 2019 - good mix of pitches - will likely pitch out of the bullpen
LHP Brian Marconi - 23 years old - played in GCL/Williamsport in 2019 - can either start or relieve - good mix of pitches
RHP Tyler McKay - 23 years old - played in Lakewood in 2019 - power arm that will be part of the rotation
LHP Jhordany Mezquita - 22 years old - played at Lakewood in 2019 - looked good in his last start in camp - will be part of the starting rotation
RHP Jack Perkins - 23 years old - played in GCL/Lakewood/Clearwater in 2019 - coming off an injury riddle 2019 campaign - he should be part of the starting rotation
RHP Dominic Pipkin - 21 years old - played in Lakewood in 2019 - was popping the mitt at 97 during camp - will be part of the starting rotation
RHP Mark Potter - 23 years old - played in Lakewood in 2019 - is likely the closer - good mix of stuff - comes right after hitters - big FB and solid slider.
RHP Victor Santos - 20 years old - played in Lakewood in 2019 - returns to Lakewood and will be part of the starting rotation - solid mix of pitches
RHP Noah Skirrow - 22 years old - signed 6/20 as amateur free agent - Liberty - showed swing and miss stuff in camp - solid mix of pitches - will be in the starting rotation.
RHP Billy Sullivan -21 years old - signed 6/20 as amateur free agent - Delaware - power arm that sits mid to upper nineties - he’s slated to be in the starting rotation
RHP Aneurys Zabala - 24 years old - played Advanced A - 2019 - Reds - signed as a free agent - big time arm - has consistently hit the triple digit mark - will be part of the high velocity bullpen
RHP Braden Zarbnisky - 24 years old - signed 6/20 as amateur free agent - West Virginia - he’s slated to be part of the high octane bullpen as well - definitely fits the bill
Catchers : 3
Herbert Iser - 23 years old - played at Williamsport/Lakewood - 2019 - he had a very good camp - strong arm receiver and solid LH hitter - has pop
Logan O’Hoppe - 20 years old - played at Williamsport - 2019 - winner of the Bill Giles Camp Award - was also in big league camp. Good looking young player.
Vito Friscia - 24 years old - played in GCL - 2019 - hits the ball extremely hard - is an imposing figure, great leadership skills.
Infielders : 6
Chris Cornelius - 23 years old - played briefly in GCL in 2019 - injured that year - earned his way on this roster, can play multiple positions - solid defender - smooth glove and quick hands.
Nate Fassnacht -23 years old - played at Williamsport in 2019 - middle infielder who can also play third base ... will likely move around the infield a lot.
Jonathan Guzman - 21 years old - played at Lakewood in 2019 - returns to Lakewood at the higher level, solid player who’s an excellent fielder - will be a nightly starter at either second base or shortstop.
Rudy Rott - 24 years old - played at Williamsport in 2019 - had a great camp, hit the ball extremely well and can also motor on the base paths for a big fella.
Cole Stobbe - 23 years old - played at Lakewood in 2019 - had a very good camp, saw action at multiple spots including the outfield.
Bryson Stott - 23 years old - played at GCL/Williamsport in 2019 - will see everyday action at both shortstop and second base - power bat from the left side. High expectations.
Outfielders : 3
Keaton Greenwalt - 23 years old - played 2019 in GCL - speed to spare and a solid bat - good glove predominately as a center fielder.
Hunter Hearn - 24 years old - played 2019 in Williamsport - power bat who can play all three outfield spots. Had a good spring camp.
Jhailyn Ortiz - 22 years old - played 2019 in Clearwater - will predominantly play right field, finished camp strong with a string of hits.
Hope the team has a great season !
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
Steve Potter is the co-author with Larry Shenk of “Life In The Minors, 5th annual Phillies Minor League Digest” now available on amazon.com. He can be followed on www.PhilliesBaseballFan.com).
