Ports Release 2022 Roster

STOCKTON, CA – The Stockton Ports, in coordination with the Oakland Athletics, are excited to announce their Opening Day roster for the 2022 season.

The Ports’ roster is headlined by four of A’s the top 30 prospects according to MLB.com. Shortstop Max Muncy, the 25th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and 6th-ranked prospect in the A’s system, will make his full season debut in Stockton after playing in eleven games in the Arizona Complex League last summer. Outfielders Pedro Pineda (No. 12), Oakland’s top international signee in 2021, and Denzel Clarke (No. 18), a 4th-rounder in last year’s draft, will join Muncy in the Stockton lineup, as will shortstop Robert Puason (No. 24), who begins the campaign at Banner Island Ballpark for the second straight year.

This will be the first Opening Day on a full-season roster for Muncy, Pineda, and Clarke.

Fourteen other players who suited up for the Ports in 2021 will return to begin the 2022 season: pitchers Hunter Breault, Luis Carrasco, Aaron Cohn, Clark Cota, Grant Judkins and Robin Vazquez, catchers CJ Rodriguez and Cooper Uhl, infielders Nick Brueser, Mariano Ricciardi and TJ Schofield-Sam, and outfielders Danny Bautista, Junior Perez, and Kevin Richards.

Schofield-Sam led the 2021 Ports in games played (105) and plate appearances (446), while finishing tied for the team lead in doubles (20) and triples (5) with Perez, who also finished second on the club in stolen bases (24).

Rounding out the position player group are catcher Shane McGuire and infielders Jalen Greer and Jhoan Paulino, who are all on a full-season Opening Day roster for the first time in their careers. McGuire was a 9th round pick of the A’s in the 2021 draft out of the University of San Diego, while Greer, a 5th round selection out of high school in 2019, logged ten at-bats with High-A Lansing at the end of the 2021 season after playing 36 games in the Arizona Complex League. Paulino enjoyed a three-game cameo with Double-A Midland after batting .244 with four home runs in 27 games in the Complex League.

The Ports’ pitching staff features several A’s selections from the 2021 draft. Right-handers Mitch Myers (12th round), Luke Anderson (15th), Kyle Virbitsky (17th) and Blake Beers (19th) join 20th rounder Breault, who finished last season in the Ports’ bullpen. Anderson and Beers pitched in the Arizona Complex League after signing, while Virbitsky joined High-A Lansing and Myers did not pitch.

The pitching staff’s lone left-hander Jack Owen signed with the Athletics as a non-drafted free agent following the 2021 MLB Draft. The former Auburn Tiger made seven appearances (four starts) at High-A Lansing after signing.

Making their full-season debuts for the Ports when 2022 begins are a trio of right-handers: Tyler Baum, the A’s second-round pick in the 2019 draft, Skyler Szynski, a fourth-rounder in 2016, and Alexis Cedano. All three spent the 2021 season in the Arizona Complex League.

Rounding out the Stockton staff is right-hander Chen Zhang-Ao Zhuang, who signed with Oakland as a free agent out of Taiwan. The 21-year-old pitched well for Taiwan at the WSBC U23 World Cup in Mexico, striking out 14 while walking only one in 9.1 innings of work.

The Ports and first year manager Franklin Font will begin play with an exhibition at Banner Island Ballpark on Wednesday, April 6 against San Joaquin Delta College. The 2022 campaign kicks off on Friday, April 8 at Chukchansi Park in Fresno where the Ports and Grizzlies will begin a three-game series.

The home opener at Banner Island Ballpark is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12 against the Modesto Nuts with first pitch at 7:05 pm.

Tickets are available for purchase at the stadium box office, online at stocktonports.com or by calling (209) 644-1900.