Breaking down the Lexington Legends’ 2017 roster
The Legends have announced their 2017 player roster as Lexington’s minor league baseball team prepares to open its season later this week.
The Legends will be led by Manager Scott Thorman, a native of Canada who is starting his first season in Lexington. Thorman, 35, managed many of this year’s Legends as rookies at Burlington (N.C.) in the Appalachian League last season.
Thorman’s 25-man roster consists of 13 pitchers, six infielders, four outfielders and two catchers. Fifteen of the 2017 Legends were born in the United States. Lexington’s 10 foreign-born players hail from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
The youngest Legend is 18-year-old outfielder Khalil Lee, a third-round pick by the parent club, the Kansas City Royals, in 2016. The oldest is 23-year-old catcher Nick Dini.
Four players return who spent time with the Legends last year: pitchers Gerson Garabito and Nolan Watson and outfielders Amalani Fukofuka and Marten Gasparini.
The Legends open the 2017 season Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at the Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs.
Lexington’s home opener is April 13 against the West Virginia Power.
2017 Lexington Legends roster
Pitchers | |||||
Name | Ht. | Wt. | B/T | Age | Birthplace |
Garrett Davila | 6-2 | 180 | L/L | 20 | Belmont, N.C. |
Andre Davis | 6-6 | 230 | L/L | 23 | Castro Valley, Calif. |
Travis Eckert | 6-2 | 190 | R/R | 23 | Austin, Texas |
Gerson Garabito | 6-0 | 160 | R/R | 21 | Villa Federico, D.R. |
Grant Gavin | 6-2 | 180 | R/R | 21 | Parkville, Mo. |
Ofreidy Gomez | 6-3 | 190 | R/R | 21 | Pueblo Viejo, Azua, D.R. |
David McKay | 6-3 | 205 | R/R | 22 | Satellite Beach, Fla. |
Julio Pinto | 6-3 | 185 | R/R | 21 | San Joaquin, Venezuela |
Walker Sheller | 6-3 | 195 | R/R | 21 | Ponte Vedra, Fla. |
Vance Tatum | 6-4 | 215 | L/L | 21 | Southaven, Miss. |
Jose Veras | 6-1 | 170 | R/R | 22 | Moca, D.R. |
Jace Vines | 6-3 | 215 | R/R | 22 | Dallas |
Nolan Watson | 6-2 | 195 | R/R | 20 | Indianapolis |
Catchers | |||||
Nick Dini | 5-9 | 185 | R/R | 23 | Monroe, N.J. |
Meibrys Viloria | 5-11 | 175 | L/R | 20 | Cartagena, Colombia |
Infielders | |||||
Ricky Aracena | 5-8 | 160 | S/R | 19 | S.F. de Macoris, D.R. |
Gabriel Cancel | 6-2 | 170 | R/R | 20 | Manati, Puerto Rico |
Angelo Castellano | 6-0 | 170 | R/R | 22 | S.D., Carabobo, Venezuela |
Chris Devito | 6-2 | 220 | L/R | 22 | Northridge, Calif. |
Manny Olloque | 6-1 | 165 | R/R | 20 | Torrance, Calif. |
Emmanuel Rivera | 6-3 | 195 | R/R | 20 | Mayaguez, Puerto Rico |
Outfielders | |||||
Amalani Fukofuka | 6-1 | 180 | R/R | 21 | Heyward, Calif. |
Marten Gasparini | 6-0 | 165 | S/R | 19 | Ruda, Italy |
Khalil Lee | 6-0 | 190 | L/L | 18 | Centreville, Va. |
Kort Peterson | 6-1 | 205 | L/R | 22 | Santa Cruz, Calif. |
Coaching staff
Manager: Scott Thorman
Hitting coach: Jesus Azuaje
Pitching coach: Mitch Stetter
Coach: Glenn Hubbard
Athletic trainer: Saburo Hagihara
Strength and conditioning coach: Jon Ervin
This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Breaking down the Lexington Legends’ 2017 roster."