Round Rock Express Reveal Preliminary 2018 Roster

ROUND ROCK, Texas - With Round Rock Express Opening Day just nine days away, the Texas Rangers announced preliminary rosters for each of their full-season minor league affiliates on Tuesday afternoon. The Express roster features a full complement of 25 players, 13 of whom have major league service time.
The Express will see the return of 12 players from the 2017 campaign, including pitchers R.J. Alvarez , Austin Bibens-Dirkx , Paolo Espino , David Ledbetter , Adrian Sampson , Tayler Scott and Tyler Wagner , catcher Brett Nicholas , infielders Hanser Alberto and Ronald Guzmán as well as outfielders Willie Calhoun and Jose Cardona . Additionally, RHP Reed Garrett and LHP Yohander Méndez are set to return to Round Rock for the first time since 2016 and C Carlos Garay is back after a stint with the E-Train in 2014.
Four players are scheduled to make their Triple-A debuts with the Express in 2018: RHP Nick Gardewine , RHP Connor Sadzeck , C Isiah Kiner-Falefa and INF Andy Ibáñez . All four players appeared for the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders last season while Gardewine also spent time with the Rangers.
Six other players will be making their debuts within the Texas Rangers organization. RHP Steve Delabar comes to Round Rock after last pitching professionally with Hiroshima in Japan in 2016. LHP David Hurlbut comes to Texas after spending seven seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization. LHP Brandon Mann will make his Round Rock debut after spending the last two seasons in the Oakland Athletics farm system.
INF Christian Lopes jumps to Texas from the Toronto Blue Jays organization after being drafted by the team in 2011. Fellow INF Trevor Plouffe joins the E-Train after spending time with both the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics in 2017. Finally, OF Destin Hood will introduce himself to the Rangers organization after two seasons within the Miami Marlins farm system.
The 13 members of the preliminary roster that have logged major league service time include Alberto, Alvarez, Bibens-Dirkx, Calhoun, Delabar, Espino, Gardewine, Hood, Mendez, Nicholas, Plouffe, Sampson and Wagner. Five players appear on Baseball America's Top 30 Rangers Prospect list with Calhoun checking in at #1, Mendez at #5, Guzman at #6, Gardewine at #21 and Ibanez at #29.
E-Train players hail from 12 different states and seven different countries. California leads the way with four players while Illinois and Washington claim two each. There is also one Express player each from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Oregon and Virginia. There are two players each from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic and one each from Cuba, Mexico, Panama and South Africa.
The full roster is below:

Express Manager Jason Wood returns for his fourth season at the helm while Coach Geno Petralli and Trainer Carlos Olivas are also set to return. New to Wood's staff are Hitting Coach Howard Johnson, Pitching Coach Brian Shouse and Strength and Conditioning Coach Al Sandoval.
The Express open the 2018 season on Thursday, April 5 with a five-game series against the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals affiliate) at Dell Diamond. Single-game tickets, season memberships and flex plan ticket packages are on sale now.
For more information on the Express, visit www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter!