ROCK CATS OPENING DAY ROSTER SET FOR START OF 2010 SEASON

New Britain, CT - The 2010 edition of the New Britain Rock Cats will soon depart their Spring Training site on Florida's Gulf Coast and arrive at their 2010 Summer home here in Connecticut. New skipper Jeff Smith and his 24 players - evenly divided between returnees and rookies - are all eager to unpack their bags and begin the franchise's 38^th consecutive season of professional baseball in the Nutmeg State. The Eastern League club will open the new baseball season at 6:05 PM on Thursday night at New Britain Stadium.  

The Rock Cats' 2010 Opening Day Roster carries three former Minnesota Twins #1 Draft selections - RHP Carlos Gutierrez (2008), OF Ben Revere (2007), 1B/OF Chris Parmelee (2006) - and six more players whom Baseball America ranks among the best Prospects in the entire Minnesota organization. Included in this latter group are 22-year-old RHP David Bromberg (BA Prospect #9), 22-year-old OF Joe Benson (#13), and 22-year-old LHP Tyler Robertson, (#16). The hard-throwing Gutierrez made 22 appearances for the Rock Cats last season, just one year after leading the University of Miami to the 2008 College World Series; the 21-year-old Revere - deemed by BA to be the #5 Prospect in the Twins' system - has been an All-Star selection at each of his three previous professional stops prior to this most recent elevation to Double-A New Britain; Parmelee, 22, continues to display great offensive promise and, despite coming off a broken left wrist suffered in 2008, collected 16 HRs and 73 RBI for Ft. Myers in 2009. The Chino Hills, CA native has blasted 45 HRs over the last three seasons.  

Other key returnees to the Hardware City in 2010 include 20-year-old RHP Deolis Guerra, Minnesota's prize catch in the 2008 deal that sent LHP Johan Santana to the New York Mets. The 6'5" Venezuelan won 6 games in just 12 outings for the 2009 Rock Cats.  Rejoining Guerra in the Hardware City this summer will be handyman extraordinaire, Toby Gardenhire, the highly-versatile pro who at one time or another played all eight field positions for the Rock Cats last year, easily winning the admiration of Rock Cats' fans and their annual 10^th Player Award. While Gardenhire is invaluable, Baseball America ranks Guerra as the 22^nd Prospect in the Twins' system.  

Additional players making the journey back to New Britain in 2010 include RHP Mike McCardell - a key contributor as the 'Cats charged into the 2009 Playoffs - and bullpen specialist and fellow right-hander Loek Van Mil who, at 7'1", is the tallest player in pro baseball. Others players toting their gear back to New England this week are INF Whit Robbins, a Georgia Tech product who was a 2009 Eastern League All-Star; 2B Steve Singleton, an offensive-minded middle-infielder, and OF Juan Portes, the Boston resident who hit .297 for the '09 'Cats - and even more for the Twins in this year's Spring Training.    

The current 2010 Opening Day Roster in New Britain is:

PITCHERS (11): RHP Santos Arias, RHP David Bromberg, RHP Cole Devries, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Carlos Gutierrez, RHP Steve Hirschfeld, RHP Mike McCardell, RHP Chris Province, LHP Tyler Robertson, LHP Spencer Steedley, LHP Joe Testa, and RHP Loek Van Mil. The 25-year-old Van Mil will begin the new season on the Disabled List and will remain in Florida as he deals with shin splints. The Rock Cats will likely be assigned another Pitcher to replace the tall Dutchman in advance of Thursday's Opener.  

CATCHERS (2):  Danny Lehmann, the Rice University product who appeared in 56 games for the Rock Cats last year, and Alexander Soto, a promising 24-year-old prospect out of the Dominican Republic.

INFIELDERS (6):  Toby Gardenhire, Yancarios Oriz, Chris Parmelee, Whit Robbins, Steve Singleton, and Estarlin de los Santos. The 24-year-old Robbins is a 1B/3B with power; de los Santos, 23, is a smooth-fielding SS out of Villa Mella, DR, who is on Minnesota's 40-Man Roster.

OUTFIELDERS (5):  Joe Benson, Mark Dolenc, Rene Tosoni, Ben Revere, and Juan Portes. The 22-year-old Benson was a 2^nd Round pick in 2006 and is an outstanding defender who batted .285 at Ft. Myers last year; Dolenc is another 2006 draftee who hit .288 with 27 Stolen Bases while playing all three OF positions for Manager Smith at Ft. Myers last year; Revere possesses great speed and is deemed by Baseball America to be the best pure hitter on the Twins' farm; Portes played well for the Rock Cats in 2009 and was the surprise of the Twins' 2010 Spring Training camp. 

The Rock Cats' 2010 Home Opener at New Britain Stadium will be this Thursday, April 8^th at 6:05 PM. Good seats remain available for that and all other home games during the 2010 Season. Fans seeking tickets may get them by visiting the New Britain Stadium Box Office (M-F, 10 AM to 6 PM; Sat 10 AM to 2 PM) or by calling the Rock Cats Ticket Office at (860) 224-8383. Those interested in the convenience of online purchasing may do so by visiting the club's website (www.rockcats.com).