San Jose Giants announce 2007 Roster
April 2, 2007 - California League (CalL1)
San Jose Giants News Release
SAN JOSE, CALIF April 2, 2007 - The San Jose Giants have unveiled their Opening Day player roster for the upcoming 2007 season. The club will be led by 2006 first round draft selection Emmanuel Burriss. The 33rd overall pick last year, Burriss will play shortstop for San Jose in addition to showcasing his outstanding speed at the top of the batting order.
Burriss is one of 21 players who will be making their first appearance for the San Jose Giants this spring. After attending Kent State University, Burriss enjoyed a standout debut professional season with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes last summer. He hit .307 with one home run, 27 RBI, and 35 stolen bases in just 65 games played in leading the Volcanoes to the Northwest League championship. Burriss has been rated as the fourth best prospect in the San Francisco minor league system by Baseball America.
The 2007 San Jose Giants roster includes six players who have called Municipal Stadium home in previous seasons. Returning from the 2006 San Jose Giants are three pitchers (Gregorio Martinez, Anthony Moreno, and Ryan Paul) and two infielders (Kyle Haines and Will Thompson). Additionally, infielder Anthony Contreras, a member of the 2005 California League Champion Giants, returns for the 2007 campaign. Contreras is a San Jose native having played his college baseball at Municipal Stadium with the San Jose State University Spartans.
The 2007 San Jose Giants outfield will be anchored by the speedy trio of Ben Copeland, Mike Mooney, and Antoan Richardson. Copeland, a fourth round selection in 2005, was San Francisco's top draft pick two years ago. A non-roster invitee to the major league spring training camp this year, Copeland ranked fourth in the South Atlantic League for hits (145) and second in triples (12) while playing for the Augusta Greenjackets last season. Copeland hit .281 with five home runs, 71 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. Mooney earned South Atlantic League All-Star honors last year after hitting .287 with 11 home runs, 74 RBI, and 38 stolen bases for the Greenjackets. Mooney is a Bay Area native residing in Hillsborough. Richardson led all Giants minor leaguers in stolen bases last season after swiping 66 bags with Augusta.
Other notable newcomers include pitchers Joe Martinez and David Quinowski and catcher Adam Witter. Martinez dazzled in the Augusta starting rotation last year compiling a 15-5 record and 3.01 ERA. Quinowski excelled out of the bullpen for the Greenjackets with a 1.43 ERA in 75 1/3 innings pitched. Witter blasted 16 home runs to go with a .285 batting average with Salem-Keizer last summer in his first professional season.
Among the returnees, Gregorio Martinez had an excellent 2006 season with San Jose making 26 starts and winning eight games to go with a 4.49 ERA. Martinez earned California League Post-Season All-Star honors in addition to sharing the San Jose Pitcher of the Year award. Additionally, Anthony Moreno won 11 games last season to pace the San Jose pitching staff.
The unit will be led by manager Lenn Sakata, who returns for a sixth season in San Jose, pitching coach Jim Bennett and hitting coach Garrett Nago.
Sakata managed San Jose to an 82-58 record last season and a berth in the California League playoffs. He's taken all five of his San Jose teams to the postseason, winning championships in 2001 and 2005. Sakata is the winningest manager in San Jose Giants history with 393 career victories. Bennett begins his second season as the pitching coach for San Jose. Last year, Bennett tutored a Giants pitching staff that finished first in the league in ERA at 3.85. Nago also begins his second year with the San Jose Giants.
The Giants open the 2007 season on Thursday, April 5 with a road game against the Stockton Ports. San Jose's first home game is scheduled for Thursday, April 12 with first pitch at Municipal Stadium at 7:00 P.M. A special fireworks show will take place after the game. Tickets for all San Jose Giants home games can be purchased by calling 408-297-1435 or visiting www.sjgiants.com.
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