Five top 30 prospects highlight Riders initial roster for 2018

FRISCO, Texas (March 27, 2018) - Five Rangers top 30 prospects highlight the 2018 initial roster for the Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, as the team prepares for Opening Day April 5 at Dr Pepper Ballpark.
Among MLB Pipeline's list of Rangers top 30 prospects, LHP Brett Martin (14^th), IF Yanio Perez (15^th), RHP Ariel Jurado (18^th), C Jose Trevino (20^th) and C/IF Josh Morgan (27^th) were all assigned to Frisco.
Martin leads the pack of prospects after spending all of 2017 with Advanced-A Down East. He is one of just seven Rangers farmhands to win a championship each of the last three seasons, celebrating the feat with Class-A Hickory (2015), Advanced-A High Desert (2016) and Advanced-A Down East (2017). The southpaw out of Tennessee was drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 2014 draft and was added to the 40-man roster in November.
Perez enters his second season in Minor League Baseball after coming up in Cuba's Serie Nacional. Last year between Class-A Hickory and Advanced-A Down East, he led all Rangers farmhands with 66 RBIs and ranked fourth in the organization with 14 home runs.
Jurado returns to Frisco after spending all of 2017 with the Riders, highlighted by an appearance in the Texas League All-Star Game. The Panamanian righty, still just 22 years old, earned a spot on the Rangers 40-man roster this past offseason.
A fan favorite from last year, Trevino spent all of 2017 with the Riders and stood out defensively, winning the Rangers Minor League Defender of the Year Award, a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove and a spot on the Texas League Midseason and Postseason All-Star teams. The Corpus Christi native was added to the Rangers 40-man roster in November.
Morgan joins the RoughRiders after spending the last two seasons at the Advanced-A level. Following in the footsteps of former Riders utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa , Morgan added catching to his defensive arsenal last season, enhancing his versatility in the field. He was drafted in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Orange Lutheran High School in California.
In addition to the five top 30 prospects, the 2018 initial roster also includes five members of the Rangers 40-man roster: Jurado, Martin, Trevino, infielder Eliezer Álvarez and first baseman Tommy Joseph , who played each of the last two seasons at the Major League level with the Phillies, hitting more than 20 home runs both years.
"Once again, we are thrilled with the group of men that will be starting the 2018 season in Frisco," Riders manager Joe Mikulik said. "The goal of developing championship-quality players for Arlington continues. We are very excited to get started."
ROSTER
Pitchers (15): LHP Wes Benjamin, LHP Adam Choplick, RHP Clayton Cook, RHP Tyler Davis, RHP James Dykstra, LHP Brady Feigl, LHP Joe Filomeno, RHP Ariel Jurado, LHP Brett Martin, RHP Cody Palmquist, RHP Pedro Payano, RHP Richelson Peña, LHP Ryne Slack, LHP Jeffrey Springs and RHP Collin Wiles
Catchers (3): Chuck Moorman, Josh Morgan, Jose Trevino
Infielders (6): Michael De Leon, Tommy Joseph, Luis Marté, Luis Mendez, Yanio Perez and Juremi Profar
Outfielders (5): Eliezer Alvarez, Preston Beck, Hunter Cole, Scott Heineman and Michael O'Neill
The RoughRiders open the franchise's 15th Anniversary Season on Thursday, April 5 at Dr Pepper Ballpark by throwing the biggest party in North Texas - the Deep Ellum Brewing Party @ the Yard. Single-game tickets, season tickets, group and hospitality packages for all 70 home games are available by calling (972) 731-9200, emailing [email protected] or visiting RidersBaseball.com.