Loons Announce 2016 Roster

MIDLAND, Mich. - The Great Lakes Loons are excited to announce, in conjunction with their parent club the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team's 2016 Opening Day roster for the Loons' 10th season of Midwest League baseball.

The 2016 team boasts 12 players selected by the Dodgers in the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including four players who were drafted in the first 10 rounds: infielder Brendon Davis (5th round), pitcher Andrew Sopko (7th round) pitcher Kevin Brown (9th round) and outfielder Logan Landon (10th round).

The Loons have 13 players returning who spent portions of 2015 in Great Lakes, including pitchers Isaac Anderson, Michael Boyle and Nolan Long, along with a trio of catchers Gage Green, Garrett Kennedy and Brant Whiting. Infielders Nick Dean and Cristian Gomez will make a return trip to Midland to start the season. Three of the four patrolling the outfield, Federico Celli, Logan Landon and Jordan Paroubeck, will also be back in Loons uniforms.

Youth is something that will be in abundance to begin the season for the Loons. On Opening Day (April 7), three teenagers will be listed on the Great Lakes roster: pitcher Dennis Santana (19 years old), infielder Brendon Davis (18 years old), and infielder Omar Estevez (18 years old). The average age of the Loons roster is 20.8 years old.

Gil Velazquez, who made the transition to coaching last year with the Dodger organization following a 17-year professional career, will serve as the seventh manager in team history in 2016. The 36-year-old Los Angeles native spent five big league seasons with Boston (2008-09), Los Angeles-AL (2011) and Miami (2012-13).

Velazquez will be joined by Bobby Cuellar (pitching coach), John Valentin (hitting coach) and Fumi Ishibashi (assistant coach) to make up the Loons coaching staff. Velazquez, Cuellar and Valentin will be making their first stops in Midland, while Ishibashi was a member of the Loons coaching staff for a portion of the 2015 season.

Athletic trainer Kalie Swain is back with the Loons for a third season. Cody Clark is slated to serve as the strength and conditioning coach and Anthony Deleo will be the video coordinator.

The Loons 2016 Opening Day roster is as follows:

Pitchers (13): Isaac Anderson, Brian Bass, Michael Boyle, Adam Bray, Kevin Brown, Marcus Crescentini, Victor Gonzalez, Garrett Harrison, Alex Hermeling, Nolan Long, Gavin Pittore, Dennis Santana, Andrew Sopko

Catchers (3): Gage Green, Garrett Kennedy, Brant Whiting

Infielders (5): Brendon Davis, Nick Dean, Omar Estevez, Cristian Gomez, Matt Jones

Outfielders (4): Federico Celli, Logan Landon, Jordan Paroubeck, Ariel Sandoval

The Loons open the season April 7 on the road against the Lansing Lugnuts at 7:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 100.9-FM and ESPN1009.com with play-by-play broadcaster Chris Vosters returning for his second season in the Great Lakes booth. Opening Day at Dow Diamond will be April 9 with a 2:05 p.m. first pitch against the Lugnuts. All 140 games can be heard on ESPN 100.9-FM, the Loons flagship radio station, while all 70 home games can also be seen on MiLB.TV.

The Great Lakes Loons have been a Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007 and are entering their 10th season in 2016. For tickets and more information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.