Suns Announce 2014 Opening Day Roster

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville Suns, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, announced the Opening Day roster for the 2014 season on Wednesday morning.

13 of the 25 players are former Jacksonville Suns, with all players seeing time at Bragan Field last season.

The pitching staff will include some of the most decorated prospects in the Miami Marlins organization. Four of Jacksonville's five starting pitchers are in Baseball America's Top 10 2014 Marlins prospects, including: left-hander Andrew Heaney (No. 1), left-hander Justin Nicolino (No. 4), right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (No. 5), and Jose Urena (No. 7), while right-hander Angel Sanchez rounds out the rotation, and MLB.com named him the Marlins' No. 16 prospect entering this year.

The Suns bullpen will feature southpaws Grant Dayton, Greg Nappo, and Edgar Olmos, with Olmos being the only member of the Suns pitching staff with previous MLB experience after time in the big leagues with the Marlins in 2013. Right-handers in the Suns bullpen include: Steve Ames, Collin Cargill, Tyler Higgins, and Nick Wittgren. Wittgren is listed as MLB.com's No. 13 prospect entering this season after collecting 25 saves with Jupiter last season.

2013 Southern League All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto returns for his second season behind the plate in a Suns uniform. Realmuto is listed by Baseball America as the Marlins No. 10 prospect and the "Best Athlete" and "Best Defensive Catcher" in the Marlins organization. Realmuto will be joined at catcher by Wilfredo Gimenez, who will be making his Double-A debut in 2014.

Versatile infielders Danny Black, Alex Burg, Ryan Fisher return to the Suns to begin 2014. New to the Suns infield this season will be Alfredo Lopez, first baseman Ryan Rieger, and shortstop Austin Nola. A fifth round selection out of LSU in 2012, Nola is listed by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive Infielder" in the Marlins organization.

The outfield will have a new look in 2014, with speedster Issac Galloway the only returner from last year's club. Former Minnesota Twin Joe Benson, signed by the Marlins as a free agent this offseason, will be joined by fellow newcomers Brady Shoemaker and Alfredo Silverio. Both Shoemaker and Silverio missed all of 2013 with injury, were both selected by the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft, and also previously spent time in the Southern League. Shoemaker saw time with the Birmingham Barons in 2012, while Silverio was a Southern League All-Star with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2011.

Jacksonville returns its entire uniformed field staff: manager Andy Barkett, hitting coach Kevin Randel, pitching coach John Duffy, and coach Rich Arena from the 2013 season. New to the staff in 2014 are athletic trainer Cesar Roman, strength and conditioning coach Scott Smith, and video coordinator Joe Lisewski.

Jacksonville's season begins Thursday as the Suns host the Huntsville Stars at 7:05 p.m. to begin a five-game series lasting through Monday April 8.

The 2014 season of Suns baseball is presented by EverBank, the official banking partner of the Jacksonville Suns. Sponsorships, group outings, and season / individual game tickets are currently available by calling the Suns front office at (904) 358-2846.