Chasers Announce Initial Roster For 50th Season

The Omaha Storm Chasers in conjunction with the Kansas City Royals have announced their initial roster for the upcoming 2018 campaign, the 50^th season in franchise history. The roster, which is subject to change before Opening Day on Thursday, April 5, features 16 players who wore a Storm Chasers uniform at some point last year, as well as seven of the Royals' top 30 prospects per Baseball America.

Five of those returnees highlight the Storm Chasers infield, including the last two Omaha Player of the Year recipients in Hunter Dozier (2016) and Frank Schwindel (2017). Left-handed slugger Ryan O'Hearn , who finished second on the Omaha roster with 18 home runs in 2017, and Ramón Torres , who ranked third on the team in stolen bases (17), are also among those coming back to Omaha, along with Jack Lopez. 2008-11 University of Nebraska-Lincoln alum Cody Asche headlines the two newcomers in the infield, joined by 2017 Texas League Mid-Season All-Star Humberto Arteaga .

A pair of returning speedsters are set to patrol Werner Park's outfield again in Billy Burns and Terrance Gore , who combined for 37 thefts in 2017, including a team-best 24 from Burns. Newcomer Tyler Collins added 11 steals along with 14 home runs last season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo.

Exciting arms fill the Omaha pitching staff, with the rotation including 2015-17 Storm Chasers southpaw and two-time Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week Jonathan Dziedzic . Righty Andres Machado , rated the 25^th-best Royals prospect by Baseball America, is also expected in the rotation along with newcomers Scott Barlow , Heath Fillmyer and Trevor Oaks . Oaks and Fillmyer were acquired by the Royals in offseason trades from the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, with Oaks rated the 15^th-best prospect in Los Angeles' organization prior to the move.

The relief corps., meanwhile, consists of familiar faces in Kevin McCarthy , Kevin Lenik , Seth Maness , Eric Stout and Josh Staumont , the latter of whom was rated as the fourth-best farmhand in the Royals system prior to this season by Baseball America. Lefty Richard Lovelady , who enjoyed a breakout 2017 campaign, leads the list of Omaha newcomers, joined by a pair of experienced right-handers in Mike Broadway , who won the 2017 Triple-A National Championship with the Durham Bulls, and six-year Major League veteran Wily Peralta .

Nick Dini and Parker Morin complete the initial active roster as Omaha's backstops. Morin has played with the Storm Chasers in each of the previous two seasons, while Dini jumps to the Triple-A level for the first time after spending the majority of 2017 with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, compiling a .310 average (67-216) in 64 contests.
Of the 25 players on Omaha's active roster, 11 boast experience at the Major League level. All but two of those 11 were in the Big Leagues at some point during the 2017 season, with seven wearing a Kansas City Royals uniform. The roster is subject to change, and an official Opening Day roster will be announced prior to Omaha's first contest on Thursday, April 5.
The Storm Chasers are set to square off against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Werner Park that day to begin a five-game homestand, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT.
Single-game tickets for all 70 Storm Chasers home contests can be purchased online at www.omahastormchasers.com, or by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office from noon until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at (402) 738-5100.