Missoula Osprey Professional Baseball Club
140 North Higgins Avenue
Missoula, MT 59802
Phone: (406) 543-3300 Fax: (406) 543-9463
MISSOULA OSPREY NEWS RELEASE – June 15, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, please contact:
Jeff Griffin, Vice President/General Manager
or Matt Ellis, Executive Vice President
(406) 543-3300
Experienced Roster Set to Play in Missoula
The 2016 Missoula Osprey Opening Day Roster will feature 19 of 29 players with MILB experience.
MISSOULA, MONT. – The Missoula Osprey, in conjunction with the Arizona Diamondbacks, announced an
experienced roster of players who will begin the 2016 season in Missoula. This year’s Opening Day roster, consisting of 29
players, will feature 19 players with professional experience. Of those 19, five players will return to Missoula for a second
stint with the 2015 Pioneer League Champions. The squad, which will be led by second-year manager Joe Mather, boasts a
mature stock of players on the mound, behind the plate and in the outfield, and a young, but talented, group on the infield.
Although many of the position players are short on years in terms of age, they are not short of experience, with just three
position players set to make their professional debuts in 2016.
Catchers
Missoula will carry three catchers on its Opening Day roster, with two of the three backstops already having spent time
with the O’s. BJ Lopez, who enters his fifth professional season in 2016, hit .252 with seven runs scored, two doubles, a
homer and 11 RBI over 33 games played with the Osprey in 2014. The native of Moca, Puerto Rico played in 11 games for
the Northwest League Champion Hillsboro Hops in 2015, hitting .182 with one RBI. Jose Herrera had a short stint in
Missoula during the 2014 campaign, appearing in two games and scoring a pair of runs with a double and an RBI. The
Venezuelan backstop spent the 2015 season in the AZL, batting .304 with seven runs scored, three doubles, a homer and
nine RBI over 24 games played.
Rounding out the catching corps is Ryan January, who is the highest-drafted player to make it to Missoula in 2016. The
eighth-rounder out of San Jacinto College in Texas was the #393 prospect in the MLB Draft according to Baseball America.
After graduating early from Salisbury School in Massachusetts and enrolling at San Jac, January hit .339 with 10 homers,
24 doubles, 46 runs scored and 46 RBI in 2016 before increasing his draft stock further at the JUCO World Series in Grand
Junction, Colo. – where he guided his team to a runner-up finish. During that tournament, he batted .350 with eight runs
scored, a double, four homers and eight RBI over six games played.
Pitchers
Batterymates to the trio behind the plate, the Osprey roster will feature 15 pitchers, including left-handed returners Bryant
Holtmann and Will Lowman. Both players appeared for the Osprey in 2015, helping to guide the O’s to the 2015 Pioneer
League Championship. Holtmann went 2-2 with a 4.89 ERA over 15 appearances and eight starts last year, tossing 53.1
innings and striking out 43 hitters. Shifting to the rotation in the second half, he recorded three quality starts on the year,
including one in each of his final two starts in which he did not allow a run and struck out five over 6.0 frames in both.
Lowman appeared in 11 games for Missoula, posting six strikeouts.
Joining Holtmann as potential starters are Williams Durruthy, Gabe Gonzalez, Luis Madero, Chester Pimentel, Rafael Pujols
and Pierce Romero. The latter four all have experience pitching in professional baseball, while Durruthy and Gonzalez
were each selected in the 2016 Draft. Durruthy, a 31st round pick, made 27 relief appearances for the Panthers in 2016,
finishing the year with a 3-3 record and a 2.81 ERA over 32 innings. Serving as the team’s closer, he converted nine saves
and struck out 35 hitters, eventually finishing his career with a 5-4 record and a 2.24 ERA with 11 saves and 117 strikeouts
over 72 total appearances and 100.2 innings of work. Gonzalez pitched to a 4-0 record and a 3.28 ERA over 10 starts in 2016
for College of Southern Nevada. The native of Las Vegas, Nev. contributed 46.2 innings and struck out 55 hitters while
limiting opponents to a .163 average against, finishing his two-year career with a 9-1 record and a 3.92 ERA over 23 starts
and 103.1 innings.
Madero, who is in his third professional year, spent the 2014 season in the DSL before playing for the AZL D-backs in 2015.
Playing in the AZL, he went 5-5 with a 2.30 ERA over 13 appearances (two starts) and 54.2 innings on the hill, striking out 46
and walking 14 to average 7.57 strikeouts per game. The native of Maracay, Venezuela was extremely effective in the DSL
in his first professional season, finishing 6-4 with a 2.70 ERA over 13 starts and 66.2 innings of work. Pimentel enters his
second professional season with the D-backs after appearing in 14 games and starting 10 for the AZL D-backs in 2015. The
Dominican right-hander registered a 1-4 record with a 7.28 ERA and one save over his 38.1 innings, striking out 32 to
average 7.51 strikeouts per game.
Pujols, who also hails from the Dominican Republic, made 14 relief appearances for the AZL D-backs in 2015, recording a
1-3 record and a 4.57 ERA with two saves over 21.2 innings. The fourth-year professional walked just five hitters while
striking out 14 last year after logging a 5-0 record with a 3.02 ERA, 38 strikeouts and three saves over 16 games and 41.2
innings in 2014. Romero, who played two years at Santa Barbara City College before being drafted in the ninth round of the
2015 Draft, appeared in seven games and started six for the AZL D-backs in 2015. The native of Fremont, Calif. posted no
record with a 1.54 ERA over 11.2 innings of work.
The bullpen will feature a handful of newcomers to the D-back system, as just three relief arms have seen prior
professional experience. In addition to Lowman, Luis Castillo and Erbert Gonzalez have each logged innings with the Dbacks organization. Castillo begins his fifth professional campaign after pitching the last two seasons in the AZL. The
Fantino, Dominican Republic native went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a save over 11 appearances and 32.2 innings in 2015.
Striking out 23 hitters to just six walks, he limited opponents to a .214 average against and registered a 0.95 WHIP.
Gonzalez was a teammate of Castillo last year, going 1-1 with a 0.95 ERA and two saves in 19 innings on the hill. Sporting a
2-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he struck out 24 hitters and walked 12, leaving his WHIP at 1.11 and opponent batting average
at .138.
Making their professional debuts with Missoula out of the bullpen will be Nick Blackburn, Rob Galligan, Connor Grey, Dean
Jackson and Tyler Keele. Blackburn was a 16th-round pick this year out of Illinois where he went 1-3 with a 3.73 ERA and 11
saves over 24 appearances and 31.1 innings of work. Garnering a spot on the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s
Association Stopper of the Year watch list, he finished fourth in the Big Ten in saves. Galligan, a 36th-round pick in 2016 and
one of just three lefties on the roster, appeared in 26 games as a reliever for Maryland in 2016, pitching to a 0-3 record and
a 3.09 ERA with one save over 23.1 innings. Grey appeared in 15 games, starting 13, in 2016 while pitching to a 3-6 record
and a 2.84 ERA over 92 innings of work for St. Bonaventure prior to being selected in the 20th round. The native of
Frewsburg, N.Y. struck out a program-record 95 hitters to just 33 walks, averaging 9.29 strikeouts per game. Keele was
nabbed in the 15th round of this year’s draft out of Morehead State where he was used primarily as the closer for the
Eagles, registering a 3.12 ERA with seven saves over his 24 appearances and 34.2 innings of work. The Clayton, N.C. native
struck out 39 while limiting opponents to a .187 average against. Though not drafted in 2016, Jackson did sign a free agent
contract with the D-backs following the draft. The Scottsdale, Ariz. native earned 2016 All-Golden State Athletic
Conference honors after going 4-5 with a 4.30 ERA, three complete games and a team-best 90 strikeouts over 88 innings
and 12 starts at Arizona Christian University.
Infielders
Didimo Bracho, who played for the O’s last year, returns to Missoula as one of six infielders listed on the Opening Day
roster. Bracho opened the 2015 season in Missoula, but played in just four games before an injury forced him to be sent
back to Arizona. Jasrado Chisholm is in the mix for time at shortstop this year after being signed as a free agent out of the
Bahamas. The left-handed hitting middle infielder played four years of high school baseball at Life Prep in Wichita, Kan.
before heading back to the Bahamas and training at the Maximum Development Sports Academy. While stats for his
senior season at Life Prep are not posted, he did bat .370 with 46 runs scored, nine doubles, three triples, two homers and
30 RBI as a junior in 2014. Yan Sanchez is another player who will find time in the middle infield, as he enters his third
professional season. Sanchez has played two years in the DSL, appearing in 125 total contests over his first two
professional campaigns. Last year, the La Romana, Dominican Republic native batted .290 with 56 runs scored, 17 doubles,
three triples and 22 RBI over 70 games. A right-handed hitter, he also drew 30 walks to post a .379 on-base percentage and
stole 29 bags in 38 attempts.
A pair of players with professional experience are scheduled to split time at third base, with Ramon Hernandez and Eudy
Ramos listed at the position. Hernandez is in his third year with the D-backs organization, having played a year in the DSL
and AZL. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native posted eight multi-hit games and batted .278 with 12 runs scored,
six doubles, a triple and 11 RBI over 26 games played for the AZL D-backs in 2015. Ramos was also in the AZL a year ago,
batting .194 with 15 runs scored, four doubles, two triples, a homer and eight RBI.
Just as Paul Goldschmidt began his professional career with Missoula as a first baseman out of Texas State University,
Tanner Hill will also trade his Bobcat jersey for an Osprey uniform in his first season. A 26th-round pick, and a 2016 third
team Louisville Slugger All-American according to Collegiate Baseball, he hit .321 with 77 hits, 18 doubles and a
conference-leading 15 home runs to the tune of a .583 slugging percentage in 2016. The power-hitting right-handed bat
knocked in 42 RBI with 43 runs scored in his final season at Texas State en route to first team All-Sun Belt honors.
Outfielders
Missoula will have five outfielders on its Opening Day roster, as Max Brown, Jacy Cave, Luis Silverio, Logan Soole and Luis
Veras will all patrol the outfield in 2016 for the O’s. All five players have prior experience in professional baseball. While the
other four outfielders all spent time in the AZL in 2015, Veras was a regular player for the 2015 Northwest League Champion
Hillsboro Hops. Now in his fourth season, Veras played in 30 games and hit .222 with eight runs scored, five doubles, a
triple and four RBI for Kane County earlier in 2016. Last season, Veras posted 17 multi-hit games and batted .276 with 20
runs scored, 14 doubles, two triples, two homers and 24 RBI over 58 games played and 232 at bats for the Hops.
Brown, a 6-6 right-handed hitter, opened his career by batting .265 with 13 runs scored, four doubles, five triples and 11 RBI
over 38 games played in 2015 for the AZL D-backs. Cave was a 19th-round selection of Arizona in 2015, and began his
career in the AZL. There, he hit .240 with 12 runs scored, four doubles, three triples, a homer and 10 RBI over 31 games and
104 at bats. On the bases, Cave stole seven bags in eight attempts. Another AZL outfielder a year ago, Silverio began his
professional career by hitting .266 with 14 runs scored, two doubles, four triples, a homer and 12 RBI in 28 games played
after begin drafted in the 33rd round of the 2015 Draft. A 23rd-round pick in 2015, Soole broke into the D-backs organization
with the AZL D-backs by hitting .261 with 12 runs scored, four doubles, two triples and 10 RBI over 37 games and 138 at
bats. Showing good speed, he stole seven bases in 11 attempts in his first campaign.
Looking to repeat after capturing its fourth Pioneer League Championship, the Osprey open the 2016 campaign at Billings
on June 17. The Osprey home opener is set for June 21 against Great Falls. Individual game tickets for all 38 Missoula
Osprey regular-season home games are on sale now at the MSO Hub, online at MissoulaOpsrey.com and by calling 406543-3300. Group, season and other packaged tickets, including the flexible Any Game, Any Time Plan, are also on sale now.
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