Lynchburg and Cleveland Announce 2025 Opening Day Roster

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CarL Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg and Cleveland Announce 2025 Opening Day Roster

March 28, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


The Lynchburg Hillcats are excited to announce their Opening Day roster for the 2025 season.

The new edition of the Hillcats features three players in the Top 30 of the Guardians organization, according to MLB Pipeline, including two in the Top 10. The roster also features several returners from last year's team, which finished with 67 wins.

Highlighting the roster is a returning infielder, Welbyn Francisca. According to MLB Pipeline, he is currently the sixth highest rated prospect. The smooth hitting middle infielder appeared in 29 games for Lynchburg last season, slashing an impressive .325/.402/.402 at just 18-years-old.

Francisca was featured as a member of the Cleveland Guardians Spring Breakout team, which defeated the Seattle Mariners 8 to 7. Francisca would pick up two RBIs in his two at-bats.

Topping the pitching staff this season will be Braylon Doughty, a right-handed draftee out of high school. At only 19-years-old, Doughty brings youth to the Hillcats pitching rotation, while also touting a strong fastball, curveball, and slider. The latter two grading at 60 on the MLB scouting report (a 20-to-80 grading scale).

Doughty was taken as the 36th pick in last year's MLB Amateur Draft, and the first of several high school arms.

He would sign for a signing bonus of greater than $2.5 million to skip college. Despite only standing at 6'1, Doughty already throws in the mid-to-upper 90's with his fastball and exceeds 3,000 rpm on his breaking pitches.

Rounding out the Hillcats Top-30 Prospects is Luis Merejo. Another returner from the end of last season, Merejo impressed, displaying plenty of pop in his limited action in the Hill City. As one of the youngest players in the Carolina League when he arrived, Merejo still slashed .282/.372/.466 while also including 12 extra base hits in 30 games.

Merejo serves as a first baseman and a corner outfielder. He has an above average arm for his position, but his value is brought from his bat. He currently ranks as the 29th prospect in the Guardians organization.

A few of the other notable names on the roster include RHP Jacob Zibin, who has dealt with injuries early in his career. However, after being drafted in 2022, he appeared on the Top 30 prospect list, displaying an above average fastball and changeup.

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In addition, fan favorite Tommy Hawke will begin his 2025 campaign with the Hillcats. Hawke, a speedster on the bases, gained notoriety for swiping three bases in one inning, including a straight steal of home. The Wake Forest product is in the middle of transitioning to second base from his more natural center field role.

The rest of the pitchers on the roster include Jervis Alfaro, Luis Flores, Jogly Garcia, Sean Heppner, Melkis Hernandez, Izaak Martinez, Xavier Martinez, Sean Matson, Logan McGuire, Rafe Schlesinger, Cam Walty, Conner Whittaker, Julio Zapata, and Donovan Zsak.

The position players include Ryan Cesarini, Cristopher Espinola, Carlos Gutierrez, Garrett Howe, Yanki Jean- Baptiste, Robert Lopez, Alberto Mendez, Jeffrey Mercedes, Yaikel Mijares, Jose Pirela, and Bennett Thompson.

The 2025 Lynchburg Hillcats begin their season on April 4th in Fayetteville against the Woodpeckers before returning home on April 8th against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Tickets for Opening Day can be purchased at Lynchburg-hillcats.com.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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