Drive Announce 2019 Opening Day Roster

Greenville, SC - As the Greenville Drive get set for Opening Day presented by TD Bank on Thursday, and the start of their 14th season in Downtown Greenville at Fluor Field, the 2019 Opening Day roster has been officially announced in conjunction with the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
Highlighting the roster is infielder Triston Casas, who was selected by Boston in the first round of the 2018 draft with the 26th overall pick out of high school in Florida. The roster includes three additional players who were selected by the Red Sox in the top 10 rounds last summer, as well as five players in all who are among Boston's Top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. 11 members of the Opening Day roster have logged time in Greenville over the past two seasons.
"Excitement is high in the Boston Red Sox organization coming off the 2018 World Series Championship, and the announcement of the Drive's Opening Day roster has us even more ready for the 2019 season in Greenville," said Eric Jarinko, the Drive's General Manager.
"Boston's scouting and player development departments continue to find and develop quality players, as evidenced by Mookie Betts winning the 2018 American League MVP Award, Jackie Bradley, Jr.'s ALCS MVP performance, and players such as Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi and Rafael Devers contributing heavily to the World Series title. Our fans will be very excited about the product on the field this summer, which will hopefully include players who make their own contributions to another World Series title in Boston in the future."

The current roster under manager Iggy Suarez has 26 players, and it will be narrowed down to 25 prior to the start of the season on Thursday.
The pitching staff, which will be led by pitching coach Bob Kipper, includes six right-handers: Brayan Bello, Hunter Haworth, Chris Machamer, Yasel Santana, Alex Scherff and Thad Ward, as well as seven left-handers: Yoan Aybar, Logan Browning, Alex Demchak, Rio Gomez, Oddanier Mosqueda, Angel Padron and Yorvin Pantoja.
The 19-year old Bello is currently the #24 prospect in the Red Sox organization. He spent the majority of 2018 pitching for the Dominican Summer League Red Sox, where he logged a 1.68 ERA over 64 1/3 innings.
Haworth was a member of the Drive Opening Day roster last season and pitched in five games in Greenville.
Scherff, the 21st-ranked prospect in the Red Sox organization, made 15 starts in Greenville in 2018. He was a 5th round pick by Boston in 2017.
Ward was selected by the Red Sox in the 5th round last summer out of UCF, where he was selected to the American Conference's first team after striking out 84 hitters over 63 1/3 innings.
Aybar was a member of the Drive's South Atlantic League Championship roster in 2017 as an outfielder, and he was converted into a pitcher during the 2018 season.
Gomez pitched in seven games with the Drive at the end of the 2018 season and recorded a 3.24 ERA.
Padron made 29 appearances for the Drive last season, including nine starts, and posted six wins with a 3.99 ERA over 103 innings.
The Drive catching corps to begin 2019 features three players who spent time in Greenville last season in Kole Cottam, Alan Marrero and Samuel Miranda.
Cottam was a 4th round selection out of the University of Kentucky in 2018, where he hit .352 with 19 homers as a junior. He appeared in one game with the Drive last season before suffering an injury.
Marrero, an 8th round pick in 2016 from Puerto Rico, also played in one game with the Drive last season.
Miranda caught in 58 games for the Drive last season and hit a pair of homers with a .212 average.
Six infielders are on the Opening Day roster, including Casas, Korby Batesole, Devlin Granberg, Brandon Howlett, Kervin Suarez, and Grant Williams.
Casas, the #2 prospect in the Red Sox organization according to MLB Pipeline, was selected 26th overall last summer, and he passed up a commitment to the University of Miami to sign. He hit .385 with seven homers as a senior at American Heritage School in Florida as a senior. He is expected to see playing time at both corner infield positions for the Drive.
Granberg was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2018 after hitting .443 with 13 homers and 70 RBI as a senior at Dallas Baptist. He was chosen in the 6th round last summer.
Howlett is currently Boston's 15th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, and he hit .289 with six homers last summer after passing up a Florida State commitment to sign with the Red Sox in the 21st round.
Suarez spent the entire 2018 season with the Drive, and he hit .234 with seven homers and 25 stolen bases. He was selected by the Red Sox as the 2018 Minor League Baserunner of the Year.
Rounding out the Drive's Opening Day roster are the four outfielders: Cole Brannen, Tyler Dearden, Tyler Esplin, and Jordan Wren.
Brannen, a 2nd round selection by the Red Sox in 2017, was on the Drive's Opening Day roster last season before finishing 2018 with the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League.
Esplin was a 7th round choice by Boston in 2017, and he drove in 24 runs for Lowell last season.
Wren played in 53 games in Greenville in 2018 and hit three homers with 21 RBI.
"The reveal of our Opening Day roster is always among our favorite days of the year, especially coming off an unforgettable 2018 season for the Boston Red Sox," said Drive Owner and Team President Craig Brown. "With a mix of top Red Sox prospects and many familiar faces playing in Greenville this summer, we look forward to this talented team on the field and the support of the Upstate community combining for another successful year at Fluor Field."
Opening Night presented by TD Bank is Thursday night at Fluor Field at the West End. First pitch against the West Virginia Power, a Seattle Mariners affiliate, is at 7:05 PM.
~Greenville Drive~