Drillers Roster Highlighted by Five 40-Man Roster Members and Dodgers #1 Prospect

The season opening roster for the Tulsa Drillers has been finalized, and it includes several top prospects within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, including five players who are currently of the Dodgers 40-man major league roster.

Of the 28 players who have been assigned to Tulsa, 18 have previously played for the Drillers.

The biggest group of returning players is on the pitching staff as 11 members are back in Tulsa to open the season.

The five players who are on the Dodgers 40-man roster are a mixture of returning and new players. The list includes catcher Diego Cartaya (Dodgers #1 prospect), and infielders Eddys Leonard (#18 prospect) and Jorbit Vivas (#19 prospect). All three will be making their first appearances with the Drillers.

The other two 40-man roster players are returning outfielders Andy Pages (#7 prospect) and Jonny DeLuca (#22 prospect). Both were in Tulsa last season.

In total, there are 11 players on the Tulsa roster who are ranked among the Dodgers Top 30 prospects.

Cartaya was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2018. He is not only ranked as the #1 prospect in the Dodgers organization, but also as the #14 prospect in all of Minor League Baseball.

The 11 returning pitchers include: Jake Cantleberry, Tanner Dodson, Nick Frasso (#11 prospect), Alec Gamboa, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack (#20 prospect), Jordan Leasure, Lael Lockhart, Cole Percival, John Rooney and Emmet Sheehan (#15 prospect).

Five pitchers will be making their Drillers debuts, and they are: Trevor Bettencourt, Ben Harris, Jack Little, Carlo Reyes and River Ryan (#14 prospect).

Ryan was acquired by the Dodgers in a 2022 trade that sent Matt Beaty to the San Diego Padres.

Of the 12 position players, six have previously played for Tulsa. Those six include two infielders, three outfielders and one catcher.

The infield includes 2022 Drillers returnees Kody Hoese and Brandon Lewis. The new faces are Leonard, Vivas and Imanol Vargas. Lewis was third on the Drillers with 24 home runs last year. Leonard hit .375 in 16 spring training games with the Dodgers this year, while Vivas also played in 16 spring games with the big club, hitting .238 with 5 RBI and 1 stolen bases.

The outfielders who have previously played for the Drillers are DeLuca, Pages and Yusniel Diaz. Diaz played for the Drillers in parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

The two newcomers in the outfield are Jose Ramos (#23 Prospect) and Josh Stowers. Ramos played for Panama in the recent World Baseball Classic and hit .313 with one homer. Stowers has spent the past two seasons in the Texas League as a member of the Frisco RoughRiders.

The catchers will include newcomer Cartaya and returnee Carson Taylor. Cartaya hit .254 with a combined 22 home runs for Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes last year, while Taylor hit .253 with 15 extra-base hits for the Drillers.

The complete roster can be viewed HERE.

The Drillers will open the 2023 season this Thursday, April 6, at ONEOK Field against the San Antonio Missions. The two teams will meet in a three-game series that will run for three straight nights through Saturday, April 6.

The Drillers will then head to Midland, Texas for their first road trip that will consist of a six-game series against the RockHounds.

Tickets for the opening homestand and all 69 games at ONEOK Field this season can be purchased by clicking HERE.