Pirates No. 1 Prospect, Oneil Cruz, Headlines Indy’s Opening Day Roster

The Indianapolis Indians, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Pirates, today announced their Opening Day roster for the 2022 season. Led by Oneil Cruz – the No. 14 prospect in baseball (according to Baseball America) – and a flurry of prospects ranked among Pittsburgh’s top 40, the Indians open their season tonight vs. the Omaha Storm Chasers at 7:05 PM at Victory Field.

In a continuation of expanded rosters from the 2021 season, the Indians daily roster will feature 28 active players and a five-man taxi squad. Of the 33 players on Indy’s roster, nine are currently rated among Pittsburgh’s top 40 prospects by Baseball America.

Cruz, a 6-foot-7 shortstop out of the Dominican Republic, made both his Triple-A and major league debuts in the final two weeks of the 2021 season. During his six games with Indianapolis, he led all Triple-A East batters with a .524 batting average (11-for-21), five home runs, a .665 on-base percentage, 1.286 slugging percentage and 1.941 OPS. He was recalled and made his MLB debut on Oct. 2 vs. Cincinnati. He went 3-for-9 with a home run and three RBI in two big-league games.

Right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras (No. 80) joins Cruz as the second member of Indy’s roster on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. Also out of the Dominican Republic, Contreras joined Cruz in being promoted to Indianapolis on Sept. 20 and made his Triple-A debut two days later at Omaha. After just one start with the Indians, he was recalled by Pittsburgh and fanned four batters in 3.0 innings during his MLB debut vs. Chicago (NL) on Sept. 29.

Other names listed among Pittsburgh’s top 40 prospects include outfielders Travis Swaggerty (No. 15), Canaan Smith-Njigba (No. 28) and Cal Mitchell (No. 32), infielders Rodolfo Castro (No. 20), Ji-Hwan Bae (No. 25) and Mason Martin (No. 31), and right-handed pitcher Cody Bolton (No. 30).

Pitchers (19 + 1 IL + 1 DL)

LHP Cam Alldred
RHP Osvaldo Bido
RHP Cody Bolton
RHP Austin Brice (Development List)
RHP Brad Case
RHP Roansy Contreras
RHP Chase De Jong
RHP Yerry De Los Santos
RHP Matt Eckelman
RHP Jerad Eickhoff
RHP Eric Hanhold
LHP Joe Jacques (60-day IL)
LHP Nathan Kirby
LHP Trey McGough
RHP Adonis Medina
RHP Cristofer Melendez
RHP John O’Reilly
RHP Hunter Stratton
RHP Beau Sulser
LHP Cam Vieaux
LHP Blake Weiman

Position Players (14 + 1 IL + 1 DL)

C Jason Delay
C Grant Koch
C Jamie Ritchie (7-day IL)
INF Ji-Hwan Bae
INF Josh Bissonette
INF Rodolfo Castro
INF Brendt Citta
INF Oneil Cruz
INF Connor Kaiser
INF Mason Martin
UTL Hunter Owen
OF Cal Mitchell
OF Jared Oliva
OF Chris Sharpe (Development List)
OF Canaan Smith-Njigba
OF Travis Swaggerty

*About the Indianapolis Indians
*The Indianapolis Indiansare the professional Triple-A baseball club affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In continuous operation since 1902, the organization believes in creating affordable and memorable experiences for fans so they can grow closer together with family, friends and the community through the game of baseball. The Indians play their home games at Victory Field, a 13,750-seat ballpark located in downtown Indianapolis and White River State Park. The venue opened in 1996, has received numerous national accolades as one of the best minor league ballparks in the United States, and in 2021, celebrated its 25th anniversary season. The team has led Minor League Baseball in combined total attendance over the past 11 seasons. In 2018, the organization was recognized as Ballpark Digest Team of the Year. It was also named a 2019 Best Places to Work by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.