Beavers unveil roster
The Beavers open their home season Friday, April 13.
Portland's 24-man active roster, a mix of San Diego Padres prospects and proven Major League veterans, is made up of 12 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and four outfielders.
A breakdown of the roster reveals a host of intriguing stories, including that of an inspirational pitcher who has overcome his disability to reach the upper levels of his profession, an all-Quebec catching tandem, a popular pitcher whose brother is a quarterback with a perennial Super Bowl-contending NFL team, and the quirky story of a Beavers infielder trying to become the first player born in Saudi Arabia to make it to the major leagues.
The makeup of this year's Opening Day active roster:
THE SKIPPER: New Beavers manager Rick Renteria begins his first season with the Beavers and his first campaign as a Triple-A manager after several successful seasons at the Class A and Class AA levels. Renteria, a former infielder who played in the major leagues with Pittsburgh, Seattle and Florida, most recently was the manager of the Padres' Class A Lake Elsinore affiliate; he guided the Storm to a 212-206 record and two playoff appearances in three seasons at the helm. Renteria, the Class A Midwest League Manager of the Year in 1999, has a 481-497 win-loss record in seven years as a minor league manager.
WELCOME BACK: In all, nine of the players on the active roster have previous experience with the Beavers. Four of those players - Manny Alexander (2005-06), Jack Cassel (2005-06), Justin Germano (2004-05) and Tim Stauffer (2004-06) - have played multiple seasons with the Beavers. Others that played in Portland in 2006 include pitchers Cesar Carrillo and Jared Wells, catcher Luke Carlin, infielder Brett Dowdy and outfielder Jack Cust.
BEEN HERE BEFORE: Of those players with previous Portland experience, two were on the team's 2006 Opening Day roster (Cust, Stauffer). Stauffer has been on the Beavers opening roster each of the last three seasons. Germano was on the Beavers Opening Day roster in 2005, serving as the starting pitcher in the opener at Sacramento that season. Stauffer started the first game in 2006.
INTRODUCTIONS, PLEASE: Fifteen players, seven of them pitchers, mark their first tour of duty with the Beavers in 2007. Pitchers Andrew Brown, Justin Hampson, Ryan Ketchner, Aaron Rakers, Royce Ring, Leo Rosales and Scott Strickland and position players Luis Cruz, Josh Howard, Royce Huffman, Pete Laforest, Oscar Robles, Adam Shabala, Vince Sinisi and Craig Stansberry are all new to the team.
INSPIRATION ON THE MOUND AND IN THE COMMUNITY: Pitcher Ryan Ketchner was born partially deaf and currently has roughly 10 percent of his hearing. His parents learned of his deafness when he was an infant, and he wears two hearing aids that help him detect vibrations. Ketchner, who is vying to become the first deaf major league pitcher since 1908, communicates by reading lips and became fluent in sign language at an early age. In 2003, Ketchner was named the Deaf Male Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Deaf Sports Federation in recognition of his commitment to community service. Ketchner, 24, has been actively involved in the community in every city he has played and particularly enjoys visiting with deaf children and their parents. While in high school, the left-hander befriended outfielder Curtis Pride, the only deaf major leaguer in the modern era. The two were reunited this spring when the Padres faced Pride's team - the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - in a Cactus League game.
FRENCH CONNECTION: Thought to include the only all-Quebec backstop tandem in professional baseball, the Beavers roster features a pair of catchers with roots in French-speaking Canada. Pete Laforest (pronounced "lah-fore-AYE") was born in Hull, Quebec, and has represented Canada in Olympic qualifying tournaments and the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Fellow-catcher, Luke Carlin, was born in Maryland but moved to Aylmer, Quebec, is his youth. Carlin, the Beavers Co-Community Player of the Year in 2006, was a five-sport athlete at Philemon Wright High School in Quebec and played baseball for the Canadian Junior National Team.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Pitcher Jack Cassel, who joins the Beavers for a third season, comes from a family rich in professional sports. Jack's brother Matt Cassel was a touted football prospect at USC and is currently the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots. Justin Cassel, the youngest of the group, began his professional baseball career last season as a seventh-round selection of the Chicago White Sox.
ALL IN THE FAMILY II: Infielder Royce Huffman, new to Portland in 2007, is the older brother of outfielder Chad Huffman, one of the top prospects in the Padres organization after signing with the club as a second-round draft pick in the 2006 draft. For his part, Royce is a career .302 hitter and was a four-time selection as "Mr. Round Rock" for his all-around efforts on and off the field during his time playing for the Round Rock Express of the PCL.
GEOGRAPHICAL QUIRK: Infielder Craig Stansberry was born in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, but lived there for only one month. Stansberry's family resided in Saudi Arabia while his father worked for a building materials company. Regardless of the duration of his stay in the Middle Eastern kingdom, Stansberry, who now lives in Plano, Texas, would be the first-ever major leaguer born in Saudi Arabia if he makes it to the next level.
GEOGRAPHICALLY SPEAKING: A breakdown of birthplaces by state or country on this year's Opening Day roster; the list is comprised of nine states in addition to four countries outside the United States:
California - 4 (Cassel, Germano, Ring, Rosales)
Illinois - 4 (Carrillo, Hampson, Rakers, Shabala)
Texas - 4 (Huffman, Sinisi, Strickland, Wells)
Florida - 2 (Dowdy, Howard)
Mexico - 2 (Cruz, Robles)
Dominican Republic - 1 (Alexander)
Maine - 1 (Stauffer)
Maryland - 1 (Carlin)
New Jersey - 1 (Cust)
New York - 1 (Ketchner)
Ohio - 1 (Brown)
Quebec, Canada - 1 (Laforest)
Saudi Arabia - 1 (Stansberry)
TRIPLE-A TESTED: Twenty of the 24 players on the active roster have played at the Triple-A level or above.
MAJOR LEAGUE APPROVED: Twelve of the 24 players have major league experience, with eight of those players spending at least a portion of the 2006 season in the majors. Veteran shortstop Manny Alexander leads the way with 594 games played at the major league level with Baltimore, New York (NL), Boston, Chicago (NL), Texas and San Diego. Pitcher Scott Strickland comes in a close second with more than five years of major league service entering the 2007 campaign.
TOP PROSPECTS: The active roster includes two of the Padres' top 10 prospects, as ranked by Baseball America before the season ... Cesar Carrillo (No. 2) and Jared Wells (No. 9) once again are ranked among the organization's best, according to the publication.
AND THE NO. 1 PICK IS ... : There's no shortage of first-round talent on this year's Opening Day roster, as four Beavers are former first-round draft picks. The list includes: Tim Stauffer (4th overall - San Diego, 2003), Cesar Carrillo (18th overall - San Diego, 2005), Jack Cust (30th overall - Arizona, 1997) and Royce Ring (18th overall - Chicago White Sox, 2002). Additionally, Beavers manager Rick Renteria, a reliable infielder as a player, was a first-round selection (20th overall) of the Pirates in 1980.
40-MAN MAKEUP: Nine of the players included on the active roster are also on the Padres 40-man roster: Luis Cruz, Justin Hampson, Ryan Ketchner, Royce Ring, Oscar Robles, Leo Rosales, Craig Stansberry, Tim Stauffer and Jared Wells.
FOR THE AGES: At 22 years of age, Cesar Carrillo is the youngest player on the active roster (4/29/84), while Manny Alexander, 36, is the oldest member of the club (3/20/71).
SUPPORT STAFF: Hitting coach Jose Castro and pitching coach Gary Lance mark their third seasons in Portland. Athletic trainer Jason Haeussinger marks his first season with the club, while strength and conditioning coach Mike Henriques returns for a second campaign.