Preliminary 2018 IronPigs roster announced

Manager Gary Jones begins his first season in the Lehigh Valley with a talented roster that features one of the top pitching staffs in the International League. The Pigs roster consists of a mix of players with major league experience and promising young prospects. 
 

The 2018 roster is highlighted by six players who rank among the Top-30 prospects in the Phillies organization according to MiLB Pipeline. Headlining the group is the Phillies reigning Paul Owens Award winner and 2017 IL midseason All-Star, Tom Eshelman (#16). The list also includes returning Pigs OF Roman Quinn (#17), OF Dylan Cozens (#19) and RHP Drew Anderson (#25) along with newcomers RHP Enyel De Los Santos (#15) and LHP Cole Irvin (#26). 

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The IronPigs also break camp with seven members of Philadelphia's 40-Man Roster in Anderson, LHP Zac Curtis, Cozens, RHP Zach Eflin, Quinn, RHP Yacksel Ríos and INF Jesmuel Valentin. 
 
Third-year pitching coach David Lundquist will guide a young starting rotation that averages just 24 years of age. All six potential members received invitations to Major League Spring Training. 
 
RHP Drew Anderson made the jump from Reading to the majors in August of 2017. The 24-year-old made his ML debut at the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 1, fanning American League MVP Mike Trout for his first career strikeout. With Reading, Anderson finished 9-4 with a 3.59 ERA over 21 starts and was a 2017 Eastern League midseason All-Star. He made a pair of starts with the Pigs at the end of 2017 - one during the regular season and one in the playoffs - and both resulted in Lehigh Valley wins over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. 
 
RHP Enyel De Los Santos is ranked as possessing one of the top arms in the Phillies system. Acquired from San Diego for INF Freddy Galvis this winter, the 22-year-old has an electric fastball and a knack for commanding the strike zone. De Los Santos spent the entire 2017 season with Double-A San Antonio last year, going 10-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 26 games, 24 starts. Impressively, he notched 138 strikeouts to only 48 walks over 150.0 innings.
RHP Zach Eflin, who had his 2017 season cut short due to a shoulder injury, has the most big league experience in the rotation. At just 24-years-old, Eflin already owns a pair of ML complete games and 22 career ML starts. In parts of two seasons in the IL, the native of Chuluota, Fla., has gone an impressive 6-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 19 games, 18 starts.  
RHP Tom Eshelman returns to the Lehigh Valley after a breakout season in 2017. In his first taste of Triple-A, the 23-year-old went 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA - which ranked second in the IL -- while leading the league in WHIP (0.94). The native of Carlsbad, Calif., also became just the second Lehigh Valley pitcher to earn the starting nod at the Triple-A All-Star Game, joining Tyler Cloyd (2012). Eshelman, who made five starts in Reading (AA) before his promotion on May 8, combined to go 13-3 with a 2.40 ERA between levels. 
LHP Cole Irvin, 24, climbed the minor league ladder in his first full season of professional baseball. The Phillies' fifth-round pick in 2016 skipped Lakewood (A) and began the season in Clearwater (A+) - where he went 4-6 with a 2.35 ERA in 12 games, 11 starts and was named a Florida State League midseason All-Star. The Anaheim, Calif., native was promoted after the All-Star break to Reading, where he finished 5-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 13 starts. 
 
At just 25, LHP Brandon Leibrandt is the eldest of the pitchers with Triple-A starting experience. The sixth-round pick out of Florida State in 2014 made 25 starts between Reading and Lehigh Valley in 2017. He finished 5-3 with a 3.94 ERA in 12 starts in Triple-A and combined to go 11-5, 3.62 ERA in 25 starts overall. The son of 14-year major leaguer Charlie Leibrandt, the southpaw was undefeated in 12-straight starts from May 29 to Aug. 2, going 7-0 with a 1.84 ERA between AA/AAA in the span.
The IronPigs bullpen should also be a strength of the team, as RHP Pedro Beato, Rios and Curtis all have major league experience. 
 
RHP Pedro Beato returns to the Pigs after a season in which he became the franchise's single-season saves leader. His 33 saves marked the most ever by a Phillies' Triple-A farmhand and the highest total in IL since SWB's Jonathan Albaladejo set the league record with 43 in 2010. The 31-year-old made 54 appearances out of the Lehigh Valley bullpen in 2017 and was selected to both the IL midseason and postseason All-Star teams. A veteran of parts of five ML seasons, Beato made one appearance for the Phillies last July before suffering a hamstring injury. 
 
LHP Zac Curtis, 25, was claimed off waivers from Seattle in September has yet to pitch in Triple-A despite making ML appearances with three different teams. Curtis made three appearances for the Phillies last season and posted a 2.45 ERA. A bulk of his big league experience came with Arizona, where he made 21 appearances in 2016 and posted a 3.51 ERA. He was then traded to the Mariners for RHP Taijuan Walker and began 2017 with Arkansas (AA), where he made 41 appearances and logged 13 saves before a promotion to Seattle. 
 
RHP Yacksel Rios pitched at three levels during the 2017 season, finishing with his first trip to the major leagues. A 2017 EL midseason All-Star, the 24-year-old made 24 appearances for Reading before a promotion to Lehigh Valley on July 13. The native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, continued to shine in Triple-A, posting a 1.89 ERA and two saves in 13 appearances. On Aug. 22, Rios had his contract selected by Philadelphia and made his ML debut with 1.2 scoreless innings that night against Miami. He earned his first win on Sept. 27 against Washington. 
 
The list of relievers also includes three members of the Reading bullpen from last season in RHP Ranfi Casimiro (1-5, 3.57, 1 SV in 40 G), LHP Austin Davis (4-2, 2.87, SV in 32 G) and LHP Tom Windle (3-2, 4.24, 2 SV in 36 G). 
 
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Eighth-year hitting coach Sal Rende has groomed seven of eight hitters in the Phillies' 2018 Opening Day starting lineup. He begins with seven returning Pigs and five newcomers with major league experience.
 
OF Dylan Cozens, 23, is back with the Pigs for the second-consecutive season after being selected as an IL midseason All-Star in 2017. Playing in a career high 135 games, Cozens belted 27 home runs - the second-highest, single-season total in franchise history. He also recorded 75 RBI - the Pigs' eighth-highest, all-time single-season total. The 2016 Eastern League MVP owns the Top Power Tool in the Phillies organization according to Baseball America.
 
Bethlehem native INF Matt McBride enters his first season with the Phillies organization after signing as a minor league free agent this winter. A product of Liberty High School and Lehigh University, McBride has spent parts of four years in the major leagues with Colorado and Oakland. The 32-year-old spent the entire 2017 season with Triple-A Nashville, collecting 10 home runs and 49 RBI in 79 games. McBride was in big league camp with the Phillies this spring can play first base, outfield and catcher. 
 
OF Danny Ortiz was signed as a minor league free agent this offseason after spending the last two campaigns with the Pirates organization. Ortiz batted an impressive .270 with 15 home runs, 30 doubles and 63 RBI in just 110 games for Indianapolis (AAA) last year. The 28-year-old also made his major league debut in 2017, appearing in nine games with the Pirates. An IL veteran, Ortiz has played in 444 games between Rochester and Indianapolis over the past four seasons. The former fourth-round pick owns a career .252 average with 57 HR and 231 RBI in the IL.
OF Roman Quinn, one of the fastest players in the organization, may be playing a slightly different role with the Pigs in 2018. Limited to just 45 games in 2017, Quinn bounced around the diamond in Spring Training with time at his amateur position of shortstop. A gifted athlete who has missed so much time in his career due to injury, Quinn hit .274 with two home runs, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases with Lehigh Valley last season. In fact, he batted .306-2-5 over his last 15 games before suffering a season-ending elbow injury during a stolen base on May 28.
 
IF Mitch Walding, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, joined the Pigs for the IL playoffs after spending the season in Reading. A 2017 EL All-Star and Home Run Derby participant, Walding clubbed 25 round-trippers for the Fightin Phils in just 99 games. The 25-year-old had a record-setting mouth of June, slugging a minor-league-best 13 home runs while batting .337 with 27 RBI and 21 runs in 25 games. He made his Lehigh Valley debut in Game 1 of the IL Divisional Playoffs and had an RBI-single during the Pigs' four-run, go-ahead sixth inning.
  
The remaining position players include returnees C Logan Moore (.233-6-31 in 64 G), OF Andrew Pullin (.231-6-23 in 67 G), C Nick Rickles (.250-0-5 in 9 G) and INF Jesmuel Valentín (.248-4-14 in 36 G), former major leaguers INF Alexi Amarista (.238-3-19 in 96 G with Colorado), INF Dean Anna (.231-10-49 in 79 G with Triple-A Omaha) and OF Colin Cowgill (.235-7-24 in 96 G with Triple-A El Paso) and former Atlanta prospect Joey Meneses (.292-9-45 in 108 G with Double-A Mississippi).
The IronPigs will also start with a pair of players on the Disabled List - both who could make a major impact with the team this season - in starting pitcher José Taveras and veteran infielder Will Middlebrooks.
 
Lehigh Valley will travel to Reading to take on the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils in the 11th annual 222 Showcase on Tuesday, April 3. First-pitch from First Energy Stadium is set for 6:35 p.m. The IronPigs will open the 2018 season on the road against the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium on Friday, April 7, at 7:05 p.m.
The IronPigs will host the Louisville Bats in their home opener at Coca-Cola Park on Thursday, April 12, at 7:05 p.m. 
Single-game tickets, season tickets, mini plans and group tickets for the 2018 season are available online at IronPigsBaseball.com, by phone 610-841-PIGS (7447) or at the Coca-Cola Park ticket windows during regular business hours. The ticket window is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The 2018 IronPigs season is presented by Capital BlueCross.
UPDATE: Yacksel Ríos was called up to the Philadelphia Phillies after this roster was released. He will be replaced on the IronPigs roster by Tyler Viza.

Transaction Counter: 1️⃣

Yacksel Ríos was called up to the @Phillies yesterday.

Tyler Viza will replace him on the Pigs' roster. pic.twitter.com/mYc2G3kpN9

— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) April 1, 2018