Indians Announce 2016 R-Ducks Roster
(AKRON, OHIO) April 5, 2016 - Cleveland Indians Director of Player Development Carter Hawkins, Assistant Director of Player Development Eric Binder, and RubberDucks manager David Wallace have announced the Opening Day roster for the 2016 Akron RubberDucks, the Double-A affiliate of the Indians.
The RubberDucks will embark on the 2016 season this Thursday evening, April 7th, on the road against the defending Eastern League champions, the Bowie Baysox, at 6:35 p.m. The 2016 home opener, also against the Baysox, is set for Thursday, April 14th, at 6:35 p.m.
The roster released today includes 25 players who have traveled from Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona, to Akron for the start of the season. Of the 25 individuals currently on the roster, 16 saw action with Akron last season. The group also includes seven players who are ranked among top 30 Indians prospects by MLB.com.
The pitching staff includes starters Adam Plutko, Shawn Morimando, Michael Peoples, Rob Kaminsky, and Defiance, Ohio, native Dace Kime. Morimando and Kaminsky are lefties. Plutko enjoyed a career year in 2015, going a combined 13-7 with 2.39 ERA with the RubberDucks and Single-A Lynchburg. After being promoted to Akron in late May, Plutko was 9-5 with a 2.86 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 19 Double-A starts. Morimando was a fixture in the RubberDucks rotation last year, going 10-12 with a stellar 3.18 ERA. His 28 starts tied for first among all EL pitchers, and his 128 strikeouts ranked 5th. Peoples led Lynchburg with a career-high 11 wins last season, and crafted a stellar 1.78 ERA in 13 starts following the mid-season all-star break. Kaminsky was acquired last July in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for major league outfielder Brandon Moss. A first-round pick by the Cardinals in 2013, Kaminsky made just two starts at Lynchburg following the trade. Before the deal, he was 6-5 at Single-A Palm Beach in the Cardinals organization. At 21, Kaminsky is the youngest pitcher on the staff. Kime, a 6-foot-5 righthander, was a 3rd round pick by the Indians in 2013. He split last season between Single-A Lynchburg and Lake County, going a combined 5-11. Peoples, Kaminsky, and Kime will each be seeing his first action at the Double-A level.
The bullpen is comprised of right-handers Justin Brantley, Jordan Cooper, J.P. Feyereisen, Perci Garner, Louis Head, Ben Heller, Antonio Romero and Grant Sides. The initial roster includes no lefty relievers. Brantley is the cousin of Indians outfielder Michael Brantley. Cooper, a steady performer for Akron each of the last three seasons, was 0-3 in seven appearances with the Ducks. He also made 15 starts at Triple-A Columbus. Feyereisen ranked fourth in the Indians organization with a combined 12 saves at Class-A Lake County and Lynchburg. Garner is a native and resident of Dover, Ohio, and a former 2nd round pick by the Phillies. He's entering his second season with the Indians organization. Head has appeared in 76 games for the RubberDucks over the last two seasons. Heller made a brief, five-game cameo with Akron a year ago after spending most of the season at Lynchburg. Baseball America rates Heller's fastball as the best in the Indians organization. Romero, a 25-year-old Dominican Republic native, is entering just his second season in pro baseball. Sides split time between Akron and Lynchburg last season. He made 15 relief appearances with the RubberDucks, going 0-3.
The position-player contingent features a pair of 2015 EL All-Stars in third baseman Yandy Diaz and second baseman Todd Hankins. Diaz ranks 14th on MLB.com's list of top Tribe prospects. After a prolific season at Akron, during which he led the team in average (.315) and hits (150), Diaz spent the final weekend of the regular season and the International League playoffs at Triple-A Columbus. Hankins hit .261 with five triples, six homers, 36 RBI, and 21 steals in 109 games. His season was cut short due to a broken finger in mid-August. Both Diaz and Hankins played in the Arizona Fall League.
The other infielders include Yhoxian Medina, Nellie Rodriguez, Joe Sever and Eric Stamets. Medina missed two month of the season with a sprained left wrist, but recovered to be an offensive catalyst for Lynchburg. He hit .308 with 27 RBI for the Hillcats, and was 4-for-10, with an RBI in a brief, four-game stint with the RubberDucks. Rodriguez won the Carolina League MVP award after hitting .275, with 17 homers and 84 RBI at Lynchburg. He spent the final month of the season with Akron, and drove in additional 14 RBI, including a grand slam in his first AA at-bat. Sever, a versatile infielder who can play first, second and third, slugged a combined 12 home runs between Lynchburg (10) and Akron (2). Stamets was acquired in a trade with the Angels in exchange for major league outfielder David Murphy on July 28th. After joining the RubberDucks, the Dublin, Ohio, native appeared in 33 games at shortstop without committing a single error.
The outfield foursome of Clint Frazier, Bryson Myles, Jordan Smith and Bradley Zimmer has the potential to be one of the most electrifying in minor league baseball. Frazier, a 21-year-old, former first-round selection in 2013, will be making his Double-A debut after spending all of last season at Lynchburg. Currently ranked as the Tribe's #2 prospect by MLB.com, Frazier led the Carolina League in hits (143) and doubles (36). He also led the Indians farm system with 88 runs scored. Myles spent his second consecutive year with the RubberDucks and set career-highs in homers (9) and steals (25). He hit for the cycle at Trenton, August 11th, crushing a homer in his final at-bat to seal the feat. Smith has appeared in 252 games over the past two seasons as a RubberDucks regular. Last season, he tied his career-high of 18 steals. Zimmer enters the season as the Tribe's number one prospect. A 6-foot-4, left-handed hitter, Zimmer was the Indians first selection in the 2014 draft out of the University of San Francisco. After dominating the Carolina League to the tune of .308, 10 homers and 39 RBI at Lynchburg, Zimmer spent the final six weeks of the season with Akron, hitting .219 with six home runs and 24 RBI.
The catchers are Jeremy Lucas and Alex Monsalve. Lucas, a former Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year at Indiana State University, spent all of last season with the RubberDucks as the primary back-up catcher, and hit .239 in 68 games. Monsalve missed all but 26 games at Lynchburg due to a lower back strain. He played in 21 games for Akron in 2013, his only action above Single-A in his seven-year career.
Akron has made the EL playoffs 15 times, including nine of the last 14 years. The team has captured four Eastern League titles, most recently in 2012.
The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Following the 2015 season, the team was named winner of the Larry MacPhail Award as Minor League Baseball's top promotional team. The 2016 season will be the franchise's 20th since moving to Akron and third since becoming the RubberDucks. For the first time in franchise history, Akron will host the Eastern League All-Star Game and festivities July 12-13. The season opens Thursday, April 7th, with the Home Opener at Canal Park set for Thursday, April 14th vs. the Bowie Baysox at 6:35 p.m.