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MLB

Blue Rocks Release 2013 Roster

Team Returns 10 Players, A Manager And A Coach To The Riverfront
By Geoff Arnold
April 1, 2013

Wilmington, DE - With the 2013 season less than a week away, the Wilmington Blue Rocks announced on Friday that they will field a club with experience, balance, and young talent.  This year's Blue Rocks roster features 10 returning players, to go along with 16 new faces.  For the second consecutive season, manager Vance Wilson will lead the Blue Rocks.  In his inaugural campaign as skipper, Wilson led the Blue Crew to the Northern Division Championship Series, and a second-half C.L. North crown.  Joining Wilson will be pitching coach Steve Luebber, who returns to the Riverfront for a seventh straight season, and will be spending his 46th year in professional baseball.  Rounding out the staff is Julio Bruno, who will begin his first year in Wilmington as hitting coach. 

This season's 13-man pitching staff features six players listed among Baseball America's top 30 prospects for the Kansas City Royals organization.  The staff is highlighted by Royals No.1 prospect Kyle Zimmer, who will spend his first year in Wilmington after posting a combined 2.04 earned run average between Low-A Kane County and Rookie-level Surprise in 2012.  Zimmer will be joined in the Blue Rocks rotation by sixth-ranked prospect Sam Selman.  In his first professional season, Selman was overpowering, posting 89 strikeouts in 60 IP, while registering a 2.09 ERA. LHP John Lamb returns after missing most of 2012 with an elbow injury.  Rated the organization's No, 11 prospect, Lamb last pitched for the Blue Rocks in 2010, when he went 6-3 with a 1.45 ERA over 13 games. Kyle Smith and Aaron Brooks round out the probable starting rotation.  The team's No. 12 prospect, Smith has a career 2.87 ERA over two professional seasons.  Brooks spent 2012 at Kane County and will embark on his third year in professional baseball.  

Robinson Yambati returns to anchor the Blue Rocks bullpen, on the tails of a strong 2012 campaign. A mid-season call-up to Wilmington, the Royals' No. 28 prospect went 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA and five saves in 17 games.  He is joined by fellow returner Antonio Cruz, who made 15 relief appearances for the Blue Rocks in 2012.  Kansas City's 18th-rated prospect, Angel Baez, joins the Blue Rocks after spending last season in Kane County.  Used primarily as a starter, Baez went 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA over 15 starts with the Cougars.  Making up the rest of the pitching staff are Malcolm Culver, Cody Fassold, Kellen Moen, Spencer Patton and Adam Triggs. Culver, Fassold, Moen and Triggs all called Kane County home in 2012, while Patton makes the jump from Short-Season, after spending two years in Idaho Falls.

After playing 124 games for the Blue Rocks last season, Cheslor Cuthbert returns to Wilmington to anchor the Blue Crew infield.  Over that stretch, the native Nicaraguan posted career-highs in hits (114), RBIs (59), doubles (18) and runs scored (47).  He will be joined on the left side of the infield by shortstop Jack Lopez, the Royals 19th-ranked prospect, who spent last season at Kane County.  Manning the right side of the diamond are Murray Watts, Daniel Mateo and Justin Trapp.  A member of the Blue Crew in 2012, Watts was added to

the team's roster in mid-July, and hit .229 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 31 games.  Mateo comes off a fine season with Kane County, where he finished among the Midwest leaders in triples (10) and hits (135), while his teammate Trapp tied for fifth in the league in three-baggers (9).  Kenny Diekroeger joins the club as a utility infielder, after spending 2012 with Short-Season Burlington.

The Blue Rocks feature a veteran outfield, with Lane Adams, Geulin Beltre, Chris Elder and Tim Ferguson having spent part or all of 2012 on the Riverfront.  The team's leader in steals last season, Beltre swiped 16 bases, and tied for seventh in the Carolina League in triples (5).  He is reunited with Adams, who joined the team at the start of the second-half, and crushed Carolina League southpaws (.294 BA).  Elder and Ferguson both made cameos a season ago.  The 24-year-old Elder got a four-game taste of Advanced-A ball in early August, and Ferguson was an addition to the playoff roster.  Highly-touted Jorge Bonifacio is the only new face in this Wilmington outfield.  Brother of Blue Jays outfielder Emilio, the 19-year-old Bonifacio is the Royals No. 4 overall prospect, and was Kane County Player of the Year last season.

Kenny Swab and Parker Morin make up the Wilmington catching tandem. A member of last year's opening day roster, Swab played in 10 games for the Blue Rocks, before being sent to Kane County in May.  Morin skips Low-A after hitting .267 at Idaho Falls in his first professional season.

The Blue Rocks kick off their 2013 season on Thursday, April 4 at 7:05 p.m. against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Park. Wilmington will begin its home schedule on Friday, April 12 at 7:05 p.m. when the Frederick Keys visit Frawley Stadium. For call 302-888-5358 or visit www.bluerocks.com.