Tennessee Smokies Announce 2024 Opening Day Roster

SEVIERVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Smokies, in conjunction with the Chicago Cubs, have announced their initial 2024 season roster. The team features numerous top 30 prospects in the Chicago Cubs organization, and returning faces to Tennessee. The roster is comprised of 16 pitchers and 14 position players to begin the 2024 campaign.

Outfielders for the Smokies are headlined by Cubs’ #5 prospect Kevin Alcantara, who had 111 hits and 71 RBI across 102 minor league games in 2023, including five regular season games with the Smokies last year. Joining him will be Ezequiel Pagan, Jordan Nwogu, Cole Roederer, and Christian Franklin, who all played in Kodak a season ago.

The infield flaunts Cubs’ #4 prospect Matt Shaw, #6 prospect James Triantos, #20 prospect Haydn McGeary, and #29 prospect Josh Rivera. Shaw, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, clubbed a .292 batting average and .523 slugging percentage in 15 games at the Class AA level last year. Other infielders will be Hayden Cantrelle and Luis Verdugo.

Catchers for Tennessee will look familiar, as all three postseason catchers from last season return, with Cubs’ #7 prospect Moises Ballesteros, #22 prospect Pablo Aliendo, and Caleb Knight. Aliendo played in 91 games for the Smokies in 2023, racking up 47 hits with 61 RBI and 16 HR.

The pitching staff is fully loaded with top prospects, with five in the top 30 of the Cubs organization. The staff is highlighted by Cubs’ #2 prospect Cade Horton, #12 prospect Michael Arias, #26 prospect and Opening Day Starter Brandon Birdsell, #28 prospect Porter Hodge, and #30 prospect Kohl Franklin. Cubs’ 2022 first round pick Cade Horton returns to Tennessee after obtaining 2023 Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors. Horton was a key component in the Smokies’ postseason success, going 2-0 in two games started with an ERA of 0.90 and striking out 11 batters over 10 innings. Manuel Espinoza, Richard Gallardo, Chris Kachmar, Zac Leigh, Connor Noland, Eduarniel Nunez, Jake Reindl, Frankie Scalzo Jr, Cayne Ueckert, Blake Weiman, and Blake Whitney round out the staff.

The Smokies will begin their 2024 home campaign against the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Friday, April 5. The full schedule for this season and season ticket information can be found online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.

ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES

The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the eight-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America’s national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.