Hops Announce 2017 Opening Day Roster

The Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) released their Opening Day roster on Monday. The announcement was made by the Hops in conjunction with their parent club, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 23-man roster features nine players who have played previously in Hillsboro. This includes Carlos Hernandez, the 2015 Northwest League Pitcher of the Year with the Hops, who is here on an injury rehab assignment. Other returners include pitchers Anfernee Benitez, Junior Garcia, Connor Grey and Riley Smith; catcher Luke Lowery; infielder Paxton De La Garza; and outfielders Connor Owings and Stephen Smith. Both Owings and Smith played in the 2016 College World Series (Owings with champion Coastal Carolina, Smith with Texas Tech).

The Hops' Opening Day roster will also include a player on Arizona's 40-man major-league roster, infielder Domingo Leyba . He hit .297 with 32 doubles, 10 home runs and 60 runs batted in between Advanced-A Visalia and Double-A Mobile in 2016, and MLBpipeline.com named him the Diamondbacks' #2 prospect entering 2017. Leyba, a native of the Dominican Republic, is here on a rehab assignment after suffering a shoulder injury while diving for a ball in early April.
The newcomers include RHP Jhoan Duran , named the D-backs' #22 prospect according to MLBpipeline.com. At age 19, Duran is the youngest player on the Hops' roster. He split time between two Rookie-level clubs in 2016, the Arizona League D-backs and the Missoula Osprey.
Hillsboro's roster will likely receive additions following this year's MLB first-year player draft, which began yesterday and runs through tomorrow. A full current roster can be found here or a printable PDF file here.
The Hops open play on Thursday at Everett at 7:05PM, with the game airing on Rip City Radio 620AM. Hillsboro's home opener is on Tuesday, June 20th at 7:05 PM against Salem-Keizer. The Hops will be seeking their fourth consecutive playoff appearance. The Northwest League champions in 2014 and 2015, Hillsboro was eliminated by eventual champion Eugene in the first round of the playoffs in 2016.