Drillers roster taking shape
March 30, 2007 - Texas League (TL1)
Tulsa Drillers News Release
Texas League rosters have expanded to include 24 players throughout the 2007 season. While the Tulsa Drillers have not finalized the 24-man squad that will begin the season, the opening day roster is starting to come together for manager Stu Cole.
Two of the top pitching prospects in the Colorado Rockies minor league system are slated to join the Drillers. Starting pitchers Franklin Morales and Greg Reynolds will both begin the year in Tulsa.
Morales is ranked as Colorado's second-best prospect after leading the Class A California League in strikeouts and ERA last season. The lefthander was 10-9 for Modesto with a 3.68 ERA and 179 strikeouts in only 154 innings.
Reynolds, a Stanford University product, was Colorado's top pick (2nd overall) in last June's amateur draft. He went 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA for Modesto last year after signing his initial pro contract in early July.
Tulsa's starting rotation will also include Ching-Lung Lo, Ryan Mattheus and Jon Asahina. Lo and Mattheus spent the 2006 season with Modesto, winning a combined 17 games. Asahina split last season between Colorado Springs and Tulsa. In 2005, the right-hander was named to the Texas League All-Star squad while winning 12 games for the Drillers.
Cole said, "The starting pitching will be one of the strengths of this team. They all have good arms."
The bullpen will be anchored by 2006 Drillers starter Steven Register. Register will begin this season as Tulsa's closer after going 4-10 in the TL last year.
Other bullpen members will include Matt Daley, Zack Parker and Jarrett Grube. Both Daley and Parker have pitched previously for the Drillers.
The outfield will include several familiar faces. 2006 Drillers Joe Gaetti, Matt Miller and Jordan Czarniecki will return to the Tulsa outfield to begin this season. Gaetti, the son of former major leaguer Gary Gaetti, hit .296 with 16 homers in 109 games with the Drillers last year.
Czarniecki was a key performer for Tulsa last season, hitting .275 with 11 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Miller joined the Drillers for the final 1½ months of the 2006 season, hitting .229 in 27 games. He hit .333 with 3 RBI for the Rockies during major league spring training this year.
The fourth outfield spot will be filled by Chris Frey.
The list of infielders includes three returnees. Christian Colonel, Jeff Dragicevich and Jonathan Herrera all spent time with the Drillers in 2006. Colonel was with Tulsa for the entire season, hitting .271 with 10 homers while filling a utility role.
Herrera did not play in a regular season game with the Drillers, but he was one of the top performers in the team's four TL playoff games. He hit .310 with 77 RBI and 34 stolen bases for Modesto in 2006.
Dragicevich began last year with Modesto before moving to Tulsa for the last month of the season.
Aaron Rifkin, a former member of the New York Yankees farm system, will be the first baseman. Rifkin hit 42 homers in two seasons with Double A Trenton before hitting 14 round trippers with Triple A Tacoma in 2005.
Other infielders will include Duke Sardinha and Tim Olson. Sardinha hit 12 homers for Modesto in 2006, while Olson played in 48 major league games with the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2004 season. He split last year between Triple A Oklahoma and Double A New Hampshire.
The Drillers complete opening day roster will not be finalized until this weekend.
Tulsa is scheduled to open the 2007 regular season on Thursday, April 5 by hosting the San Antonio Missions at Drillers Stadium. The Drillers will begin the year with a 6-game homestand against the Missions and the Corpus Christi Hooks.
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Texas League Stories from March 30, 2007
- Top Pitchers to Lead Hooks Staff - Corpus Christi Hooks
- Drillers roster taking shape - Tulsa Drillers
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