Tortugas Announce 2016 Travel Roster
Daytona Beach, FL - The Daytona Tortugas organization has announced it's 2016 travel roster. The Tortugas welcome back eight members (five positions players, three pitchers) from their 2015 Florida State League Northern Division Championship team.
The travel roster features 11 of Baseball America's top 30 Cincinnati Reds players, led by RHP Keury Mella (8th).
Mella was acquired in a trade from San Francisco last July and finished the year with Daytona, where he made four starts.
RHP Tyler Mahle is ranked 10th on the list after notching 13 wins in 26 starts with Dayton (A) last season.
INF Taylor Sparks not only finds himself 14th on Baseball America's list, but also back in Daytona. Sparks has hit 23 home runs in 180 career games between Billings (R) and Daytona.
RHP Wyatt Strahan is ranked 16th and possesses a 2.79 ERA in 42 career starts between Billings (R) and Daytona (A).
OF Aristides Aquino is ranked 18th on the list of top prospects, but finds himself first on Baseball America's list for best outfield arm in the organization.
INF Blake Trahan is right behind his teammate at 19th. Trahan hit .312 with Billings (R) last year before spending 11 games with Daytona.
RHP Jon Moscot is 25th after making his MLB debut with Cincinnati last season. Moscot, a member of the 40-man roster, made three starts with the Reds before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Moscot's last appearance at this level was with Bakersfield (A) in 2013.
RHP Tejay Antone is ranked 27th and is one of six Tortuga pitchers on the list. He pitched to a 2.91 ERA in 26 starts and 158 innings with Dayton (A) last season.
RHP Nick Howard rounds out the list at #30. Howard returns to Daytona after spending the entire 2015 season with the Tortugas. Howard made 24 appearances in 2015, with 19 coming out of the bullpen.
Other returnees from 2015 include LHP Ismael Guillon, LHP Seth Varner, INF Ty Washington, OF Jeff Gelalich and OF Brian O'Grady.
The roster features two newcomers to the organization in RHP Alex Powers and INF Angelo Gumbs. Powers spent last season in Independent baseball after two years in the Chicago White sox system. He was originally drafted in the 25th round of the 2013 draft.
Gumbs may be new to the organization, but not the league. He has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Tampa Yankees, hitting .176 in 59 games a year ago. He's a career .273 hitter against Daytona.
All 28 players range from ages 21-25
Youngest: C Chadwick Tromp (21)
Oldest: OF Jeff Gelalich (25)
Tallest: RHP Jake Paulson (6'7'')
Shortest: INF Blake Trahan, INF Ty Washington, C Chadwick Tromp (5'9'')
Wide World of Sports: Four countries and 12 states are represented on the roster.
Familiar Faces: 10 of the players were part of the 2014 Pioneer League championship team in Billings (R).
Return Home: RHP Jimmy Herget is the lone player from the Sunshine State. He hails from Tampa, where the Tortugas will make their first trip April 22-24.
Homegrown: LHP Seth Varner hails from Cincinnati. He was drafted by his hometown team in the 10th round of the 2014 draft.
Manager Eli Marrero is back for his second season, after a 77-58 debut in 2015. He welcomes in a new hitting coach, Travis "Gookie" Dawkins, and a new pitching coach, Tom Brown. Dawkins spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues, including three with the Reds. He was drafted by Cincinnati in the second round of the 1997 draft. Dawkins was the hitting coach for the Rookie AZL Reds in Arizona in 2015. Brown made six appearances with the Seattle Mariners in 1978 and spent each of the past two seasons as the pitching coach for rehabbing players in Arizona.
Trainer Kyle Utne is back for his second year with the Tortugas after being named the top trainer in the FSL in 2015. Noah Tennenbaum begins his first season as the strength and conditioning coach.
Opening Night is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, at 7:05 PM against the Brevard County Manatees at Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. For tickets all season long, call (386) 257-3172 or stop by the Tortugas office during normal business hours. The official 25-man roster will be announced prior to Opening Night.
Travel Roster
RHP Tejay Antone
LHP Brennan Bernardino
RHP Scott Brattvet
RHP Jack Ehret
LHP Ismael Guillon
RHP Jimmy Hergert
LHP Nick Howard
RHP Tyler Mahle
RHP Keury Mella
RHP John Moscot
RHP Jake Paulson
RHP Alex Powers
RHP Wyatt Strahan
LHP Mike Sullivan
LHP Seth Varner
C Garrett Boulware
C Chadwick Tromp
INF Blake Butler
INF Angelo Gumbs
INF Avain Rachal
INF Taylor Sparks
INF Blake Trahan
INF Ty Washington
OF Aristides Aquino
OF Jeff Gelalich
OF Brian O'Grady
OF Jimmy Pickens
OF Jonathan Reynoso
Staff
Manager: Eli Marrero
Hitting Coach: Travis "Gookie" Dawkins
Pitching Coach: Tom Brown
Trainer: Kyle Utne
Strength Coach: Noah Tenenbaum
Video Coordinator: Zeke Turrentine