Tortugas Announce 2018 Opening Day Roster

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The Daytona Tortugas have announced it's 2018 Opening Day roster, which includes three of the Reds top 10 prospects, a former big leaguer, and nine returnees from 2017.
Included on the roster are five of Baseball America's top 30 Cincinnati prospects, led by outfielder Taylor Trammell (#3).
Trammell enters his third season in the Reds system, and first with Daytona. The 20-year-old was with Billings (R) in 2016 and Dayton (A) in 2017. With Dayton, Trammell led the Midwest League in games (129); ranked second in RBIs (77), walks (71), and stolen bases (41); and third in hits (138), triples (10), and at-bats (491). He also had streaks of 28 and 27 straight games reaching base safely. Trammell was selected in the Competitive Balance Lottery Round A (35^th Overall) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Mount Paran Christian School (GA).
Tony Santillan (#6) is entering his fourth season in the Reds system, and first in Daytona. The 20-year-old right-hander went 9-8 in 25 games (24 starts) in Dayton last year. Santillan was selected as a Midwest League All-Star in 2017, and ranked third in the league in opponent's batting average (.222), fourth in strikeouts (128), and fifth in ERA (3.38). Baseball America rates his changeup as the best in the Reds organization.
Tyler Stephenson (#10) is a 22-year-old catcher entering his first season in Daytona, and fourth in the Reds organization. Stephenson hit .278 in 80 games for Dayton in 2017. He also had 22 doubles, 6 home runs, and drove in 50 runs throughout the season.
TJ Friedl (#17) is the highest ranked prospect returning to the Tortugas in 2018. The 22-year-old outfielder is entering his second full season in the minors. He spent the first half of the 2017 season in Dayton, where he was named an All-Star, before finishing the season with Daytona. With the Tortugas, Friedl hit .257 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, and 2 home runs in 48 games in the Sunshine State.
Scott Moss (#29) will join the Tortugas pitching staff after making 26 starts in Dayton last year. The southpaw led the Midwest League in strikeouts (156); ranked second in wins (13) and starts (26); and finished fourth in opponent's batting average (.224). His 13 wins were the most among Reds prospects, and his 156 strikeouts ranked second. Moss was born in Deltona, pitched at DeLand High School, and was drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Florida.
Returnees: Aside from Friedl, the 2018 Tortugas roster features eight additional returners from last year's squad. Infielders Brantley Bell and Luis Gonzalez, Outfielders Malik Collymore and Daniel Sweet, Right-Handes Ryan Hendrix and Nick Howard, and Left-Handers Juan Martinez and Seth Varner.
Nay, don't I know you?: The 2018 Tortugas welcome two newcomers to the Reds organization, but familiar faces to the Florida State League. Infielder Mitch Nay was selected from Toronto in the Triple-A phase of the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. He spent 2017 in Low-A Lansing, and played 120 games in the FSL with Dunedin from 2014-15. Nay hit .208 (11-for-53) in 19 games against Daytona.
LHP Kevin Canelon signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason. He went 3-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 32 games (10 starts) for the St. Lucie Mets in 2017, including 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 4 appearances against Daytona.
Turtle Tidbits
Age Range: All 26 players range from the ages 20-25. Nine are 23-years-old.
Tallest: LHP Scott Moss (6'6")
Shortest: INF Dilson Herrera, OF TJ Friedl (5'10")
Familiar Faces: 20 of the players appeared in Low-A Dayton during the 2017 season.
College Teammates: INF Bruce Yari and RHP Alex Webb were teammates at the University of British Columbia.
Wide World of Sports: Five countries and 11 states are represented on the roster.
Homegrown: LHP Seth Varner was born in Cincinnati. He was drafted out of Miami (OH) in the 10^th round of the First-Year Player Draft by his hometown team. He will become the first player to be with Daytona all four years of the Tortugas existence.
Returning Home: LHP Scott Moss is the only 2018 Tortuga from the Sunshine State. He was born in Deltona and attended DeLand High School.
Big Leaguer: Dilson Herrera will begin the season with the Tortugas. He hit .215 in 49 games with the New York Mets in 2014 and 2015. He has spent time in the FSL prior, with St. Lucie (2014-15), but never played at The Jack. Herrera was acquired in the Jay Bruce trade.
The Tortugas enter the 2018 season with a new manager Ricky Gutierrez leading the charge. Gutierrez served as the team's bench coach during his first year in the organization a season ago. Daytona's new head-man is a former first-round draft pick by the Baltimore Orioles, and was a career .266 hitter in 12 big league seasons for six different clubs.
Gutierrez will have familiar faces alongside him on the Tortugas bench, as Pitching Coach Tom Brown and Hitting Coach Alex Pelaez are both back with the organization. Brown enters his 12^th season with the Reds organization, and third as Daytona's pitching coach. Pelaez enters his 10^th season in the organization, and second as the Tortugas hitting coach.
Daytona also has a new Bench Coach, Athletic Trainer, and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the 2018 campaign. Desi Relaford will take over for Gutierrez as the clubs new bench coach in his first season with the organization. Over the course of his 11-year Major League career, Relaford appeared at every position except first base and catcher. The new Athletic Trainer is Larry Bennese. Bennese is entering his first season with the organization and has been a baseball trainer since 1990. In 2009, Bennese worked for Team Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Alex Puskarich is the new Strength Coach. He spent last season at Billings (R).
The Tortugas will take the field for the first time on Thursday, April 5 at 7:05 against the Florida Fire Frogs at Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. For tickets all season long, call (386) 257-3172 or stop by the Tortugas offices during normal business hours.
2018 Roster
RHP Aaron Fossas
RHP Ryan Hendrix
RHP Nick Howard
RHP Joel Kuhnel
RHP Ryan Olson
RHP Tony Santillan
RHP Jesse Stallings
RHP Alex Webb
LHP Jesse Adams
LHP Kevin Canelon
LHP Juan Martinez
LHP Scott Moss
LHP Wennington Romero
LHP Seth Varner
C Cassidy Brown
C Tyler Stephenson
INF Brantley Bell
INF Luis M Gonzalez
INF Dilson Herrera
INF Mitch Nay
INF Carlos Rivero
INF Bruce Yari
OF Malik Collymore
OF TJ Friedl
OF Daniel Sweet
OF Taylor Trammell
Staff
Manager: Ricky Gutierrez
Pitching Coach: Tom Brown
Hitting Coach: Alex Pelaez
Bench Coach: Desi Relaford
Athletic Trainer: Larry Bennese
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Alex Puskarich