Atlanta Braves Announce Gwinnett Opening Night Roster

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Atlanta Braves today announced the Gwinnett Stripers’ roster to open the 2023 International League season. Gwinnett’s 150-game schedule begins with Opening Night at Coolray Field tonight vs. Jacksonville.

Gwinnett Stripers Opening Night Roster (*=Braves 40-Man Roster):

Pitchers (15): Ian Anderson_,_ Bryce Elder, Seth Elledge*, Grant Holmes, Connor Johnstone,

Nolan Kingham, Brian Moran, Roel Ramirez, Yacksel Rios, Michael Soroka*, Jackson Stephens,

Matt Swarmer, Ty Tice, Allan Winans, Danny Young

Catchers (2): Joe Hudson, Chadwick Tromp*

Infielders (6): Charlie Culberson, Joshua Fuentes, Vaughn Grissom*, Hoy Park, Yolmer Sanchez,

Braden Shewmake*

Outfielders (5): Justin Dean, Jordan Luplow_,_ Magneuris Sierra, Forrest Wall, Eli White

Development List (3): Ryan Casteel (C), Joe Dunand (INF), John Olzcak (RHP)

Braden Shewmake, ranked the Braves’ No. 6 prospect by MLB.com, headlines a group of nine Gwinnett players that are currently members of Atlanta’s 40-man roster. The 25-year-old infielder made his Triple-A debut with the Stripers last season, batting .259 with seven home runs, 25 RBIs, nine stolen bases, and a .715 OPS in 76 games.

Shewmake is one of 13 players returning from Gwinnett’s 2022 roster, a group that includes pitchers Ian Anderson, Bryce Elder, Seth Elledge, Connor Johnstone, Nolan Kingham, Roel Ramirez, Michael Soroka, Jackson Stephens, Allan Winans, and Danny Young, catcher Chadwick Tromp, and outfielder Justin Dean. Elder was tied for the club lead in wins (6-5, 4.46 ERA in 18 games, 17 starts), while Tromp set Gwinnett records for most consecutive games with an RBI (11 games from April 28-May 12) and most consecutive games with an extra-base hit (9 games from May 1-12).

Three other players with Gwinnett experience prior to 2022 are also slated to return: pitchers Brian Moran (2016) and Ty Tice (2021), and infielder Yolmer Sanchez (2021).

Vaughn Grissom is the lone player set to make his Triple-A debut, though he does so after skipping Gwinnett on the way to his Major League debut with the Braves last year. The 22-year-old infielder hit .291 with five homers, 18 RBIs, and five stolen bases in 41 games with Atlanta following a call-up from Double-A Mississippi on August 10. Grissom also logged 96 games between High-A Rome and Mississippi and led all Braves farmhands in batting (.324), slugging percentage (.494), and OPS (.899) as he earned the Hank Aaron Award for Braves Minor League Player of the Year.

Grissom is one of 12 first-time Stripers, joining pitchers Grant Holmes, Yacksel Rios, and Matt Swarmer, catcher Joe Hudson, infielders Charlie Culberson, Joshua Fuentes and Hoy Park, and outfielders Jordan Luplow, Magneuris Sierra, Forrest Wall, and Eli White. Fuentes is a former Most Valuable Player at the Triple-A level, winning in the Pacific Coast League while with Albuquerque in 2018 (.327, 65 extra-base hits, 95 RBIs, .871 OPS in 135 games).

Twenty-one players have Major League experience, including nine with Atlanta (Anderson, Culberson, Elder, Grissom, Soroka, Stephens, Tice, Tromp, and Young) and 12 with other organizations (Elledge, Fuentes, Hudson, Luplow, Moran, Park, Ramirez, Rios, Sanchez, Sierra, Swarmer, and White).

Five players on the roster are age 25 or younger, with Grissom the youngest at 22. Five are 30 or older, with the 34-year-old Moran the oldest.

The Stripers are led by manager Matt Tuiasosopo (3^rd season), pitching coach Craig Bjornson (1^st season), hitting coach Carlos Mendez (3^rd season), coach Wigberto Nevarez (3^rd season), coach Stevie Wilkerson (1^st season), head athletic trainer Dan Leja (1^st season), assistant athletic trainer Dan Gaertner (2^nd season), and strength and conditioning coach Tyler Enns (1^st season).

The Stripers host Opening Night at Coolray Field tonight vs. Jacksonville, first pitch is 7:05 p.m. Single-game tickets for all 2023 home games are on sale now at GoStripers.com/tickets.