Greensboro Grasshoppers announce 2005 roster

GREENSBORO, NC - The Greensboro Grasshoppers (Class A affiliate of the Florida Marlins) will feature three 3rd round draft picks as they begin the 2005 season in Hickory, NC on Thursday night. Pitcher Allen Baxter and infielder Jonathan Fulton join the Greensboro team after a year in short season A-ball in Jamestown, NY while pitcher Jason Vargas returns to Greensboro for his second season in low-A. According the Baseball America, Baxter is ranked as the Marlins 27th top prospect, Fulton is ranked as the 21st and Vargas is named the eighth top prospect in the Florida organization.

The Grasshoppers also welcome back pitchers Kurt Koehler, Zach McCormack, Scott Nestor, Nate Nowicki, and Tim Wood; infielders Steve Gendron and Cole Seifrig; and outfielder Jai Miller.

Seifrig was selected in the fifth round of 2003 draft and played second base for the Bats. He is ranked by Baseball America as the 26th prospect in the Marlins organization. In 2004, he played 121 games averaging .196 with 87 hits, 55 runs and 30 RBI. He made only 11 errors. Seifrig originally signed with Purdue as a wide receiver before signing with the Marlins in June, 2003.

Miller is ranked by Baseball America as the 16th top prospect in the organization. Last season, Miller played 113 games for Greensboro hitting .205 with 51 runs and 49 RBI. Miller was the first three-sport, all state athlete in Alabama prep-history and was originally headed to Stanford as a wide receiver and basketball guard. He has been timed at 4.1 seconds to first base from the right side.

Also returning to Greensboro is Grasshopper manager Brandon Hyde. Last year, Hyde was the hitting coach for the Greensboro Bats. Hyde played with the Chicago White Sox organization from 1997-2001. In 2004, he helped guide the Bats to a sixth place, second half finish in the South Atlantic League Southern Division.

Left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas is set to take the mound in Hickory on Thursday for the opening day of the season. In 2004, Vargas pitched three games for Greensboro allowing nine hits and five runs while striking out 17. He was 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA. Vargas is the nephew of former major league infielder Randy Velarde and works at 91-94 mph with his fastball.

On Friday, right-handed pitcher Allen Baxter will throw for the Hoppers. Last season Baxter pitched ten games for the Jamestown Jammers in the New York-Penn league. In 35.0 innings pitched, he allowed 34 hits and 31 runs with a 6.17 ERA. He struck out 27. He originally ranked fifth on the prospect list before his elbow required Tommy John surgery in 2003. Since the surgery his fastball went from 95 mph to 98 mph and he has drawn comparisons to Kerry Wood and Curt Schilling.

Fulton, a 21-year-old Danville, VA native is set to play third base for the Hoppers. In 2004 he began his season in class High-A Jupiter where he played six games before going to Jamestown to finish the year. While in Jamestown, Fulton has 64 hits, 39 runs and 40 RBI. He averaged .254 in 65 games played. He originally was planned to play shortstop but the Marlins moved him to third-base after a prospect mini-camp last fall.

Finishing off the starting rotation for the Hoppers is left-handed pitcher Adam Brandenburg, right-hander Kurt Koehler and right-hander Tim Wood.

The Grasshoppers begin their season not far from home in Hickory, NC against the 2004 SAL Champion Hickory Crawdads. Game time is 6:30PM.

The Grasshoppers open their season at home on Saturday, April 9th, 2005 again playing the Hickory Crawdads. Game time is 7:00PM. First Horizon will give out Grasshopper hats to the first 2,000 people through the First Horizon Park gates.

For tickets and information visit the Grasshoppers official web site at www.gsohoppers.com.