2021 Woodies Break Camp Roster

April 27, 2021

KINSTON, NC - The first Down East Wood Ducks roster for 2021 was announced by the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. The 30-man roster will travel to Kinston before hitting the road to take on the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for the May 4thseason opener. All 30 players will be suiting up

*KINSTON, NC *- The first Down East Wood Ducks roster for 2021 was announced by the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. The 30-man roster will travel to Kinston before hitting the road to take on the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for the May 4thseason opener.

All 30 players will be suiting up for the Wood Ducks for the first time in their careers. The roster includes five of the Rangers Top 30 prospects that are ranked on MLB Pipeline/Baseball America.

The top ranked prospects on the 2021 Down East Wood Ducks roster are SS Luisangel Acuña at #6 (MLB)/#8 (BA), OF Evan Carter #14/#18, RHP Tekoah Roby #24/NR, RHP Owen White *#17/#22, SS *Keithron Moss #28/NR.

Along with five of the Rangers Top 30 Prospects, the 2021 initial roster includes…

27 players age 23 or younger
Players from six different countries (Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico and USA)
Eight players drafted within the first five rounds of the MLB First Year Player Draft
Six players drafted out of high school
Three players with immediate family members as former or current MLB Players

Below is the full initial roster:

Pitchers (17): RHP Dane Acker, RHP Ben Anderson, RHP Gavin Collyer, RHP Joe Corbett, RHP Mason Englert, LHP Joshua Javier, RHP Nick Krauth, RHP Nic Laio, RHP John Matthews, RHP Abdiel Mendoza, RHP Spencer Mraz, RHP Tekoah Roby, LHP Josh Smith, RHP Wyatt Sparks, RHP Nick Starr, RHP Leury Tejeda, RHP Owen White

Catchers (3): Cody Freeman (INF), Randy Florentino, Xavier Valentin

Infielders (6): Luisangel Acuña, Jayce Easley (OF), Dustin Harris, Cristian Inoa, Keithron Moss, Keyber Rodriguez

Outfielders (4): Antonio Cabello, Evan Carter, Marcus Smith, José Rodriguez (1B)

**Changes to coaching staff** Stephen Mintz will be the Pitching Coach for the Down East Wood Ducks and Jordan Tiegs will be the Pitching Coach for the Hickory Crawdads.

The 2021 season begins May 4th and the Wood Ducks open the season at home on May 11th at Historic Grainger Stadium. For more information about the coming season call (252) 686-5172, visit Woodducksbaseball.com, or contact Matt Davis at [email protected].