Woodpeckers Announce Opening Night Roster

The Houston Astros and Fayetteville Woodpeckers announced today the Opening Day roster for the Woodpeckers' inaugural season. The roster will feature twenty-seven active players and two players on reserve. Five members of the Woodpeckers roster are considered Top 30 Astros Prospects by MiLB Pipeline.
"The Astros organization features one of the top farm systems in professional baseball," said Mark Zarthar, President of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. "Our Opening Day roster features top-end MLB prospects that hail from five countries. Under the guidance of the Woodpeckers coaching and development staff, we expect to compete for our second consecutive Carolina League title."
RHP Bryan Abreu , a member of the Astros 40-Man Roster, went a combined 6-1 with a 1.49 ERA in 14 appearances in 2018. Of the 13 members of the pitching staff to open the season with Fayetteville, 12 of them made appearances with Single-A Quad Cities last year, as the River Bandits led all of MiLB with 1514 strikeouts. The Woodpeckers pitching staff will also feature top prospects Enoli Paredes, Peter Solomon, and Cristian Javier , all of whom were key to that Quad Cities River Bandits team of 2018
Of the 12 position players to open the season in Fayetteville, Seth Beer is one of the most anticipated additions. The 28^th overall pick in the 2018 Draft hit 12 home runs in only 67 games last season. Seven of the twelve position players on the Opening Day roster made appearances with the former Buies Creek Astros last season. Jonathon Arauz will also join the squad after splitting time with the Single-A and Advanced-A levels last season. Arauz was a member of the 2015 Astros-Phillies trade that brought Ken Giles to Houston in exchange for Brett Oberholtzer, Harold Arauz, Mark Appel, Tom Eshelman, and Vince Velasquez. Corey Julks will also be a member of the Opening Day roster, as the outfielder performed well in the Grapefruit League as a part of Major League Spring Training. In five games with the big league club, Julks went 2-for-7 with a double and three RBI.
"After spending two years in our temporary location at Campbell University, we are happy to welcome our team to their permanent home in Fayetteville," said David Lane, General Manager of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. "Segra Stadium is a $40M park with premium batting cages, clubhouse, weight room, dugouts, and bullpens, allowing our players to hone their skills and advance through the system."
The Woodpeckers will be managed by Nate Shaver. Entering his first season at the helm of a team, Shaver worked as a Development Coach for the Buies Creek Astros last season as the team won the Carolina League championship last season. Shaver will be assisted by Hitting Coach Jason Kanzler and Pitching Coach Thomas Whitsett.
The full Opening Day roster and the Woodpeckers coaching staff will be available to the media on April 3^rd at the Official Woodpeckers Media Day, ahead of the open to the 2019 Season on April 4^th in Potomac.