Giants set Flying Squirrels' 2023 Opening Day roster
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels revealed their 2023 Opening Day roster, as set by the San Francisco Giants, on Wednesday.
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Flying Squirrels revealed their 2023 Opening Day roster, as set by the San Francisco Giants, on Wednesday.
The Flying Squirrels, under the direction of second-year manager Dennis Pelfrey, open the 2023 season on Friday night at The Diamond against the Reading Fightin Phils.
Fourteen players return from last year’s Flying Squirrels roster, including the team’s Most Valuable Player Tyler Fitzgerald, super-utility player Brett Auerbach, catcher Brandon Martorano, infielders Carter Aldrete, Riley Mahan and Simon Whiteman and pitchers Matt Frisbee, Ryan Murphy, Kai-Wei Teng, Evan Gates, Randy Rodríguez, Wil Jensen and Chris Wright.
Eight of Baseball America’s top-30 Giants prospects are on the Flying Squirrels’ season-opening roster, including outfielder Luis Matos (No. 5), pitcher Mason Black (No. 9), pitcher Carson Seymour (No. 12), pitcher Erik Miller (No. 15), Murphy (No. 20), pitcher Nick Swiney (No. 24), catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 27) and Rodríguez (No. 30). Six players are included on MLB.com’s top-30 Giants prospects, including Matos (No. 7), Black (No. 10), Bailey (No. 11), Seymour (No. 17), Rodríguez (No. 26) and Murphy (No. 27).
2023 Richmond Flying Squirrels Opening Day Roster
Pitchers: Mason Black, Raymond Burgos, Matt Frisbee, Evan Gates, Wil Jensen, Erik Miller, Ryan Murphy, Blake Rivera, Randy Rodríguez, Juan Sanchez, Carson Seymour, Michael Stryffeler, Nick Swiney, Kai-Wei Teng, Chris Wright, Nick Zwack
Catchers: Patrick Bailey, Brandon Martorano, Andy Thomas
Infielders: Carter Aldrete, Brett Auerbach, Hayden Cantrelle, Tyler Fitzgerald, Riley Mahan, Simon Whiteman
Outfielders: Luis Matos, Ismael Munguia
Carter Aldrete was selected in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Giants out of Arizona State University. He was a Northwest League Post-Season All-Star in 2022 with High-A Eugene, ranking in the top-five in the league in batting average, homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS, doubles, extra-base hits and runs scored at the time of his promotion to Double-A in July. He played his final 42 games of the year with Richmond.
Brett Auerbach spent the entire 2022 season with Richmond, seeing defensive action at second base, third base, left field, center field, right field and catcher. Last August, he landed the top spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top-10 Plays for a diving catch into the protective netting behind home plate during a road series in Akron. At the plate, he clubbed 17 homers in 99 games. Auerbach signed with the Giants out of the University of Alabama in 2020.
Patrick Bailey was selected by the Giants in the first round (13th overall) in the 2020 MLB Draft out of NC State. He played 83 games for High-A Eugene, earning a selection as a Northwest League Post-Season All-Star. He was also selected as the catcher representative for the Rawlings MiLB Gold Glove Award last year.
Mason Black was drafted by the Giants in the third round in 2021 out of Lehigh University in his home state of Pennsylvania, where he became the highest drafted pitcher in program history. He split the 2022 season between Low-A San Jose and High-A Eugene, finishing the year ranked fourth among Giants minor leaguers with 136 strikeouts. His performance in his first professional season earned him an MiLB.com Giants Organization All-Star selection.
Raymond Burgos was selected in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by Cleveland. He signed with the Giants as a free agent in December. In 2022, he pitched 37 games for High-A Lake County, going 8-3 with a 2.08 ERA.
Hayden Cantrelle began his professional career with the Milwaukee Brewers organization after being drafted in the fifth round in 2020 out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. After being traded to the Miami Marlins, the Giants picked him up in a trade last May. He spent most of his 2022 season with Low-A San Jose before joining High-A Eugene in late-August for their run to the Northwest League title.
Tyler Fitzgerald was the Flying Squirrels’ Most Valuable Player in 2022 and became the first player in franchise history to record at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a single season. His 21 homers were the second-most in a season in team history, trailing only his 2022 teammate Sean Roby. He closed the year ranked tied for sixth among Giants minor leaguers with 21 homers and tied for sixth with 20 steals. Fitzgerald was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round in 2019 out of the University of Louisville.
Matt Frisbee returns for his third season with the Flying Squirrels. In 2021, he started the franchise’s first-ever nine-inning no-hitter, working six perfect innings during a May start at Harrisburg. In 2022, he led the Eastern League in innings pitched and set a Flying Squirrels record with 13 strikeouts on August 10 at Portland. He enters the season ranked eighth in franchise history with 197 career strikeouts. Frisbee was the Giants’ 15th-round draft pick in 2018 out of UNC Greensboro.
Evan Gates was signed by the Giants in 2021 out of North Carolina A&T and climbed three levels in his first full professional season in 2022, earning a spot on the MiLB.com Giants Organization All-Star list for the year. He was promoted to Richmond in late-August and worked seven Double-A games. For the year, he posted a 1.95 ERA over 42 outings.
Wil Jensen signed with the Giants in 2020 out of Pepperdine University. He went 6-3 with a 2.84 ERA over 15 outings with High-A Eugene last year before a promotion to Double-A Richmond in July. He made five starts and three relief appearances for the Flying Squirrels to close the year.
Riley Mahan joined the Flying Squirrels last July after playing in Low-A San Jose and High-A Eugene. He played 23 games for Richmond to finish the season, hitting .266 with three homers and 11 RBIs. Mahan was originally drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2017 out of the University of Kentucky. He signed with the Giants as a free agent last May.
Brandon Martorano returns for his third season in Richmond. He spent the entire 2022 season with the Flying Squirrels, hitting 10 homers over 93 games. He led the Eastern League with 19 bases-loaded RBIs last year and finished tied for first among Richmond hitters with four triples. Martorano was selected by the Giants in the 16th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina.
Luis Matos spent most of last season with High-A Eugene. Following the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions. In 2021, he was the Low-A West Most Valuable Player with San Jose. Matos signed with the Giants in 2018 out of Venezuela.
Erik Miller was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth round in 2019 out of Stanford. He was traded to the Giants in January. Miller split the 2022 season between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. With the Fightin Phils in the Eastern League, Miller posted a 2.23 ERA in 22 outings, including seven starts.
Ismael Munguia returns to the field after missing the 2022 season. In 2021 with High-A Eugene, he led the High-A West with a .336 batting average as the Emeralds won the league title. He was also named a Low-A West Post-Season All-Star and an MiLB.com Giants Organization All-Star. Munguia signed with the Giants in 2015 out of Nicaragua.
Ryan Murphy pitched two games for the Flying Squirrels last year. He began the season with High-A Eugene, going 1-0 with a 2.90 ERA in seven starts. Murphy was selected by the Giants in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of NCAA Division II Le Moyne College in New York.
Blake Rivera returns for a second season with the Flying Squirrels after going 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA and two saves in 2022. Over his final 15 appearances of the season, he went 2-2 with a 0.39 ERA. Rivera was drafted by the Giants in the fourth round in 2018 out of Wallace State Community College in Alabama.
Randy Rodríguez returns to the Flying Squirrels after pitching six Double-A games last year. He began the season with High-A Eugene before being promoted to the Flying Squirrels in July. In August, he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento for his final five outings. He totaled 27 outings for the year, including 13 starts. Rodríguez signed with the Giants in 2017 out of the Dominican Republic.
Juan Sanchez spent the entire 2022 season with High-A Eugene, going 3-0 with a 3.76 ERA over 40 relief outings. He had the fourth-highest strikeout percentage among Giants minor-league pitchers who threw at least 50 innings last year. Sanchez signed with the Giants in 2017 out of Venezuela.
Carson Seymour was selected by the New York Mets in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Kansas State University. He was traded to the Giants last August at the deadline as part of a deal for first baseman Darin Ruf. For the year, he posted a 3.08 ERA in 24 outings, including 19 starts.
Michael Stryffeler originally signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2019 out of Lake Erie College in Ohio. He was traded to the Giants last August. He pitched 35 games for Double-A Arkansas last year, posting a 2.27 ERA. He closed the season with Triple-A Sacramento after the trade.
Nick Swiney was drafted by the Giants in the second round in 2020 out of NC State. He spent the 2022 season with High-A Eugene, posting a 3.84 ERA in 21 outings (20 starts) to earn a selection as a Northwest League Post-Season All-Star. Last May, he combined with two relievers for a seven-inning no-hitter against Tri-City.
Kai-Wei Teng returns for his second season with the Flying Squirrels. Last year, he set a single-season franchise record and led the Eastern League with 169 strikeouts. He was originally signed by the Minnesota Twins out of Taiwan in 2017 before being traded to the Giants in 2019. Prior to this season, he pitched for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic.
Andy Thomas was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Baylor University. He was traded to the Giants last August. He spent the 2022 season at High-A in the Northwest League, beginning the season with Everett before joining Eugene after the trade. He played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League after the season.
Simon Whiteman returns for his third season with the Flying Squirrels. He played 28 games with Richmond last year and 61 games for High-A Eugene. In 2021, he led Giants minor leaguers with 34 stolen bases. Whiteman was drafted by the Giants in the ninth round in 2019 out of Yale University.
Chris Wright is back for his second season in Richmond. He spent the entire 2022 season with the Flying Squirrels. Working out of the bullpen in 2022, Wright went 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA and six saves in 41 outings. He led the team in saves last year and was named the recipient of the Flying Squirrels Community Service Award at the end of the season. Wright was selected in the 12th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Giants out of Bryant University.
Nick Zwack was drafted by the New York Mets in the 17th round in 2021 out of Xavier University. He was traded to the Giants last August. In 2022, he pitched 24 games at two levels, including his final six games of the year with High-A Eugene. With High-A Brooklyn, he was selected as a South Atlantic League Post-Season All-Star.
Opening Night at The Diamond presented by Chick-fil-A on Friday night is sold out, but tickets are available for the remaining games of the Flying Squirrels’ season-opening series online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office. Saturday is Flying Squirrels Charities Night at The Diamond and the game will be followed by In-Your-Face Fireworks. Sunday’s game features one of Richmond’s largest Eastern celebrations and kids are invited to take photos with the Easter Bunny throughout the game.