SAN JOSE, CA- The 11-time California League champion San Jose Giants unveiled their opening day roster today in anticipation for the 2013 season.  San Jose will feature a prospect-laden pitching staff and a powerful starting lineup as the Giants look to become the first team in California League history to reach the playoffs for a 10th consecutive year.

Top prospects Kyle Crick and Clayton Blackburn highlight an exciting San Jose starting rotation.  Crick, named the #1 prospect in the San Francisco organization by Baseball America and MLB.com entering this season, joins the Giants after a tremendous 2012 campaign with Class-A Augusta.  The former supplemental first round draft pick fashioned a 2.51 ERA in 22 starts last year and struck out 128 batters in 111 innings while limiting the opposition to a .193 batting average.  Blackburn was equally impressive as he posted a 2.54 ERA last season with the GreenJackets in addition to a stellar 143-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  Blackburn, who was promoted to San Jose during the final week of the regular season, led the South Atlantic League in strikeouts and ranked second in ERA.  In his California League debut last September, Blackburn limited the Modesto Nuts to one run in seven innings with nine strikeouts to earn the victory in Game One of the North Division Mini-Series.

Edwin Escobar, Adalberto Mejia and Chris Marlowe will also work in the starting rotation for the Giants after each enjoyed success with Augusta last year.  Escobar, who is on San Francisco's 40-man roster, ranked third in the South Atlantic League with a 2.96 ERA.  Mejia led the GreenJackets with 10 victories and posted a 3.00 ERA after the All-Star break.  Marlowe averaged over a strikeout per inning last season with Augusta working as both a starter and a reliever. 

Crick (#1), Blackburn (#6), Mejia (#10), Escobar (#14) and Marlowe (#19) are all ranked among Baseball America's top 20 San Francisco Giants prospects entering this season.

San Jose's talented lineup includes the return of power hitters Ryan Cavan and Angel Villalona along with the addition of top prospect Mac Williamson.  Cavan, a Belmont native, was one of the Giants' top hitters two seasons ago when he batted .270 with 12 home runs and 90 RBI's as the club's primary second baseman.  His 38 doubles in 2011 led the team and ranks as the fourth-most in a single-season in San Jose Giants history.  Last year, Cavan played for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels where he won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award at second base.  Cavan is expected to shift to third base this season with the Giants.

Villalona returns to the Giants after spending the 2009 season in the California League.  The power-hitting first baseman, who is on the 40-man roster and has twice played in the Futures Game, has clubbed 38 home runs in his first four professional seasons.  Williamson made a splash in his debut professional season last summer when he combined for nine home runs and a .321 batting average in just 33 games between the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (Short-Season level) and Arizona Rookie League Giants.  Williamson, an outfielder, was San Francisco's third round draft pick last year and is rated the #16 prospect in the Giants system according to Baseball America.

Outfielder Shawn Payne is also expected to play a leading role on the Giants this season.  Payne, who was promoted to San Jose during the final week of last year, led Augusta with a .309 batting average in 2012 while also contributing six home runs and 57 RBI's.  His 53 stolen bases last season led the entire San Francisco Giants organization.

Other returning hitters include outfielders Devin Harris and Chris Lofton.  Harris hit 12 home runs between San Jose and Augusta last year while Lofton ranked second on the Giants with 22 stolen bases a season ago.  Infielders Bobby Haney and Ydwin Villegas have also returned to the club.  Haney, who played second, third and shortstop last year, hit .310 with the Giants.  Jeff Arnold is expected to garner the bulk of the playing time behind the plate after seeing action with both San Jose and Augusta last season.

Shortstop Kelby Tomlinson has joined the Giants after spending all of last year in Augusta.  Tomlinson played in a team-high 123 games last season and stole 36 bases to rank eighth in the South Atlantic League.  Outfielder Elliott Blair and catcher Eliezer Zambrano have also joined the team.

Returnees to the San Jose pitching staff include Josh Osich, Cody Hall, Luis Rojas and Jorge Bucardo. Osich and Hall are expected to anchor the Giants bullpen as two of the top relief pitcher prospects in the system.  Osich logged a 3.62 ERA and averaged over a strikeout per inning pitched last season.  Hall, who joined San Jose late in the year, collected 21 saves between Augusta and the Giants to lead the San Francisco farm system.  Rojas pitched briefly out of the San Jose bullpen early last season before suffering a knee injury while Bucardo returns after spending part of the 2010 season with the Giants.  Bucardo has been limited to just eight appearances over the last two years due to injury.

Other newcomers to the pitching staff include Bryce Bandilla, Ty Blach, Jeff Soptic and Carlos Teller.  Blach, who was selected in the fifth round of last year's draft, will round out the Giants starting rotation.

Andy Skeels returns for his fourth year as the San Jose Giants manager.  Skeels previously served as San Jose's manager during the 2009, 2011 and 2012 seasons.  He is set to begin his eighth year in the San Francisco Giants organization and sixth overall as a manager.  He has won two championships directing the 2008 Augusta GreenJackets to the South Atlantic League title and the 2009 Giants to the California League crown.  San Jose has qualified for the playoffs in all three seasons with Skeels at the helm.  He boasts an outstanding .614 winning percentage as Giants manager while his 258 career wins are second-most in team history.  The former catcher spent 12 years playing professional baseball with the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees organizations advancing as high as Triple-A.

Hitting coach Lipso Nava, pitching coach Mike Couchee, athletic trainer Dave Getsoff and strength & conditioning coach Dustin Brooks round out the San Jose staff.

Fans can meet the 2013 players and coaches at the 6th annual San Jose Giants FanFest on Tuesday, April 2 at Municipal Stadium from 5:30-8:30 PM.  Skeels and all of his players and coaches will be available to sign autographs, pose for pictures and answer questions as part of a "Meet-and-Greet."  Fans will also have the opportunity to watch the team practice beginning at 7:00 PM, enjoy their first bite of Turkey Mike's BBQ this season, purchase new merchandise in the San Jose Giants Dugout Store and play in the Family Fun Zone.  Admission and parking are free.  Those interested in becoming new season ticket holders are invited to come down to Municipal Stadium during FanFest to select their seat locations.

The San Jose Giants begin their 2013 season on Thursday, April 4 at Visalia with the home opener scheduled for Thursday, April 11 against the Rawhide.  The Giants will also feature home games on Mother's Day (May 12), Memorial Day (May 27), Independence Day (July 4) and Labor Day (September 2).  On June 18, for the first time ever, Municipal Stadium will host the 2013 California-Carolina League All-Star Game.  Season and individual game tickets are available for purchase online at sjgiants.com, over the phone at (408) 297-1435 and in person at the Municipal Stadium Box Office Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

View the 2013 Roster