River Bandits Announce Opening Day Roster

Davenport, Iowa - The Quad Cities River Bandits, in conjunction with the Houston Astros, announced their opening day roster on Friday. Nine players who were on the roster when the River Bandits won the 2017 Midwest League title will be back to open the new campaign. Other highlights of the initial roster include eight of the first eleven draft picks made by the Astros in 2017 and four of the top 30 prospects in the Astros farm system according to Baseball's America's pre-season ratings.
The nine players who return to the River Bandits after playing in last year's postseason include pitchers Patrick Sandoval and Robert Corniel . Sandoval won each of his two starts during the playoff run, one in the first round against Peoria and the latter in the championship series against Fort Wayne. Corniel pitched out of the bullpen in four playoff games and earned a pair of saves in the process. Outfielders J.J. Matijevic and Bryan De La Cruz are also back in the Midwest League after combining to drive in in 10 runs during the River Bandits nine-game postseason. Other players who return after closing out last season at Modern Woodmen Park are infielders Marcos Almonte and Cody Bohanek , and pitchers Cristian Javier , Yohan Ramirez and Carlos Sanabria .

Fans in the Quad Cities will see the immediate impact of the Astros college-heavy 2017 draft as 13 players who were part of that class will open the 2018 season in a River Bandits uniform. The list includes four players who were selected within the first five rounds. First round pick (15^th overall) J.B. Bukauskas , a right-handed pitcher out of the University of North Carolina, is the highest rated player according to Baseball America at No. 4. He pitched 10.0 combined innings in his professional debut with short-season Tri-City and the Gulf Coast League Astros. Matijevic was taken 75^th overall in Competitive Balance Round B. The University of Arizona product is rated as the No. 26 prospect in the organization. Pitchers Tyler Ivey (Grayson Junior College) and Peter Solomon (Notre Dame) were taken in the third and fourth round respectively.
Shortstop Jonathan Arauz is the youngest player on the roster at 19 years of age and is rated by Baseball America as the Astros No. 23 prospect. He played in 36 games with the River Bandits in 2017 before closing out the season with Tri-City. The switch-hitter from Panama showed patience and a solid approach at the plate during his stint in the Midwest League last year, drawing 20 walks while striking out only 18 times. No. 25 prospect, right-handed pitcher Cristian Javier made seven regular season and two playoff starts on the mound for the River Bandits in 2017. A native of the Dominican Republic, he also made appearances for both Tri-City and Advanced-A Buies Creek last year.
Slugging first baseman Jake Adams played his final year of college ball at the University of Iowa. He was a sixth round pick of the Astros last June after blasting 29 home runs to lead all NCAA Division I players. Adams hit ten home runs in 48 games with Tri-City last season.
Below is the entire 2018 River Bandits opening day roster:
Pitchers: J.B. Bukauskas, Yohan Ramirez, Tyler Ivey, Parker Mushinski, Cesar Rosado, Cristian Javier, Patrick Sandoval, Peter Solomon, Colin McKee, Robert Corniel, Adam Bleday, Carlos Sanabria, Cole Watts
Catchers: Michael Papierski, Gabriel Bracamonte
Infielders: Jake Adams, Cody Bohanek, Jonathan Arauz, Marcos Almonte, Roman Garcia, Adrian Tovalin
Outfielders: Jake Meyers, Corey Julks, J.J. Matijevic, Bryan De La Cruz
The 2018 River Bandits will take the field for the first time on Thursday, April 5, at 6:35 p.m. against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Modern Woodmen Park. The first 1,000 fans in attendance receive a 2017 Midwest League Championship replica ring. Gates open at 5:30 and tickets are available now by calling (563) 324-3000, visiting riverbandits.com, or stopping by the box office at the ballpark between 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: 2018 marks the River Bandits' sixth year as the Single-A affiliate of the World Series champion Houston Astros and tenth anniversary season since regaining the River Bandits moniker, which in 2015 was voted a top-8 nickname in all of Minor League Baseball. The River Bandits anchor the Quad Cities sports market, which The Sports Business Journal named the top minor league sports market in the country in 2015 and second-best minor league market in its 2017 follow-up ranking. The River Bandits' charitable donations reached nearly $600,000 in 2017, including a $100,000 cash donation to Genesis Health Systems, an all-time record. In 2015 and again in 2017, the River Bandits earned Ballpark Digest's award for "Best Charitable Works" in Minor League Baseball, the only club to win that coveted award twice. For more information, visit www.riverbandits.com or contact Andrew Chesser at (563) 324-3000.