Threshers Announce 2019 Preliminary Roster

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Clearwater Threshers announced the preliminary roster for the 2019 season, which will feature 13 pitchers with 13 position players.

Spencer Howard leads the pitching staff, as the 22-year-old right-hander enters the year as the fifth-ranked prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization (MLB.com). The product of Cal Poly spent all of last year with the Lakewood BlueClaws (A), posting a 9-8 record with a 3.78 ERA. The Templeton, Calif. native struck out 147 batters over 112 innings of work in his first full professional season.
Joining Howard on the mound will be fellow prospect Kyle Young (17). The 6-foot-10 southpaw is the tallest player on the club, and finished 3-3 through just 13 games (all starts) in 2018.
Simon Muzziotti (12) will roam the green grass of Spectrum Field as one of five outfielders on the roster. The Maturin, Venezuela native will be the youngest player on the team, and will play the entire season at the age of 20.
Muzziotti will not be the only player born in 1998 on the initial roster, as Daniel Brito (20) and Rodolfo Duran (19) will play out the entire season as 21-year-olds.
Brito played in 27 games with the Threshers in 2018, and had five doubles and two triples during that span. The Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela native flashed the leather last season at second base, as the middle infielder won a Minor League Baseball Gold Glove Award at the position after posting a .988 fielding percentage - the highest amongst qualifiers at the position across all of Minor League Baseball.
Duran appeared in 88 games with Lakewood last season, and led all qualifying catchers in the South Atlantic League with a .995 fielding percentage, and caught 41.9 percent of attempted base stealers.
Nick Maton (18) rounds out the top prospects on Clearwater's roster. The middle infielder smacked eight homeruns and drove home 51 in 114 games with the BlueClaws in his first full season. The South Atlantic League midseason All-Star was named the Defensive Player of the Game in the SAL All-Star game, and led all qualifying SAL shortstops with a .966 fielding percentage.
The Threshers open the 2019 campaign against the Dunedin Blue Jays on Thursday, April 4 with a 6:30 p.m. start at Spectrum Field. The official home opener will be Friday, April 5 against Dunedin with a first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Opening Night Presented by Regions Bank will feature a post-game fireworks display and a concert by the Black Honkeys.
Roster Breakdown:
Pitchers (13): Gustavo Armas, Connor Brogdon, Andrew Brown, Luis Carrasco, Grant Dyer, Julian Garcia, Jonathan Hennigan, Spencer Howard, Damon Jones, Alejandro Requena, Austin Ross, Zach Warren, Kyle Young
Catchers (3): Edgar Cabral, Rodolfo Duran, Colby Fitch
Infielders (5): Daniel Brito, Jose Gomez, Nick Maton, Jake Scheiner, Madison Stokes
Outfielders (5): Benjamin Aklinski, Jesus Alastre, Daniel Mayer, Simon Muzziotti, Matt Vierling