Prospects Abound on 2015 Break Camp Roster

FREDERICK, Md. -The Frederick Keys, Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, are excited to announce their tentative opening day roster for the 2015 season. This group includes seven of the Orioles top 30 prospects according to Baseball America, last year's South Atlantic League batting champion, six 2014 midseason all-star selections and 15 returning Keys. Orlando Gomez, the all-time winningest manager in team history, returns after a two-year hiatus to skipper this year's club. 

Catcher Chance Sisco highlights the Keys opening day roster. The top-ranked catching prospect in the Orioles farm system and the organization's No. 4 overall prospect, the 20-year-old led the South Atlantic League with a .340 batting average, setting a Delmarva Shorebirds single-season club record. A midseason and postseason all-star, Sisco was also named the O's "Minor League Player of the Month" for June after hitting .404 with 19 RBIs in 24 games. He is Baltimore's highest-rated catching prospect, and is viewed as being the "best hitter for average" among O's minor leaguers, according to Baseball America's annual "best tools" survey.  

Some of the Keys other top prospects according to Baseball America include infielders Drew Dosch (No. 15), Adrian Marin (No. 21) and Trey Mancini (No. 30), outfielder Josh Hart (No. 25) and pitchers Jon Keller (No. 13) and David Hess (No. 20).

Making his professional debut in 2014, Dosch hit .314 in 128 games with the Shorebirds, finishing seventh in the South Atlantic League in batting average. A third baseman, Dosch will be joined on the left side of the infield by Marin, the Keys starting shortstop last season. One of the Carolina League's top defenders a year ago, the Miami native led all CL shortstop in fielding percentage (.972) and putouts (179). A SAL midseason all-star, Mancini received a promotion to Frederick at the All-Star break, recording 41 RBIs in 69 games, while Hart makes his Advanced-A debut after being selected 37th overall in the 2013 draft.

On the mound, Keller comes off a tremendous season. A staple of the Delmarva bullpen, the right-hander went 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 24 games with the Shorebirds and was the Orioles minor league "Pitcher of the Month" in June. Called up to Frederick in late-July, Keller pitched only two games before missing the rest of the season with a left intercostal strain. A fifth round pick by Baltimore in last year's draft out of Tennessee Tech, Hess went a combined 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA between Short-Season Aberdeen and Delmarva.

Hess will help make up an experienced starting rotation, consisting of three righties and two lefties. A Shorebirds midseason all-star, Sebastian Vader returns to Frederick after making nine starts with the orange and black. Ending the year on a high note, the 22-year-old recorded a 2.17 ERA in his final five starts, allowing two runs or less in each outing. Despite being new to the Orioles, Jarrett Miller needs no introduction to the Carolina League. A member of the Lynchburg Hillcats from 2013-14, the righty has finished in the top five in innings pitched the last two seasons. In 2014, he tied for the CL lead in starts (28), placed fifth in strikeouts (127) and ninth in ERA (4.04).

Mitch Horacek and Luis Gonzalez round out the rotation. The South Atlantic League strikeout leader last season, Horacek averaged just under 10 punch outs per nine innings and finished ninth among Orioles farmhands in ERA (3.96). The Dartmouth product made one start with the Keys after a late-August promotion. Gonzalez went 6-4 with a 4.86 ERA during his first full pro season and pitched to a 1.65 ERA in July to earn organizational "Pitcher of the Month" honors.  

The Keys bullpen features a number of returners as well. As the team's de-facto closer during the second-half last season, Dennis Torres posted a combined 3.50 ERA between Frederick and Delmarva and finished fifth among Orioles minor leaguers with nine saves. He is joined by 2014 Keys Dylan Rheault, Jimmy Yacabonis and Brady Wager. Rheault and Yacabonis were both midseason South Atlantic League All-Stars before receiving promotions to the Carolina League, while Wager flourished after an August move to the bullpen. Ronan Pacheco begins his first season with the Orioles and fourth in the Carolina League following parts of 2012-14 with Lynchburg. Austin Urban and Williams Louico make their Keys debuts.

Austin Wynns joins Sisco behind the plate. A late-season call-up to Frederick, Wynns played in five Carolina League games to end the year. Called up to the Keys in August, the Californian caught 85 games at Delmarva and hit .343 in 19 July contests.

On the infield, Marin, Dosch and Mancini will be joined by Jeff Kemp, Anthony Caronia and Tucker Nathans. A steady presence at the plate, Nathans has hit .270 or better over two years with the Orioles and has occasionally provided outfield depth. Caronia returns to the Keys after hitting .364 with Delmarva last season. He made a 13-game cameo with the orange and black in 2013, while Bowie, Md. native, Kemp, hit .254 in 108 games with Delmarva in 2014.

Defensively, the club's outfield lines up strong, with Johnny Ruettiger, Gregory Lorenzo and Brenden Webb all scheduled to return. Both Ruettiger and Webb have spent parts of the last three seasons with the Keys. Lorenzo embarks on his first full year at Advanced-A, after suffering an injury in his lone game with Frederick last year. Known for his speed, Lorenzo led all Orioles farmhands in steals (42) a year ago.

Besides Gomez, the Keys coaching staff consists of pitching coach Kennie Steenstra and hitting coach Paco Figueroa. The 2015 campaign will be Steenstra's fourth with the Keys. A former Carolina League All-Star, Figueroa played for Frederick in 2006 and will begin his first year as the team's hitting coach.

The Keys kickoff their 2015 campaign against the Winston-Salem Dash on Thursday, April 9 at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium. Keys ticket plans are on sale, while each plan comes with the choice of a Zach Britton or Kevin Gausman bobblehead. For more information, contact an account manager at 301-815-9900. To purchase individual game tickets, fans can visit the box office, call 301-815-9939 or visit frederickkeys.com.