Fisher Cats Announce Initial 2022 Roster

Manchester, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) have announced their initial roster for the 2022 season.

Five of the Toronto Blue Jays top 25 prospects (according to MLB.com) are slated to start this season with the Fisher Cats: Orelvis Martinez, Hagen Danner, Adrian Hernandez, Joey Murray and Sebastian Espino.

IF Orelvis Martinez is the No. 2 prospect in the Blue Jays system and No. 38 overall. The 20-year-old signed with Toronto in July 2018 and spent the 2021 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays (Single-A) and the Vancouver Canadians (High-A). Last season, Martinez smashed 28 home runs and batted .295 over his final 51 plate appearances in Vancouver.

RHP Hagen Danner is on Toronto’s 40-man roster to start 2022 and is listed as the No. 17 prospect in the Blue Jays system. The 6-foot-2 righty was picked in the second round and 61st overall in the 2017 MLB Draft. He signed with Toronto immediately after graduating Huntington Beach High School in California.

RHP Adrian Hernandez spent time in Manchester last year and is the No. 18 prospect for Toronto. In 2021 with the Fisher Cats, Hernandez notched up a 2.30 ERA across 15.2 innings pitched. He walked six, struck out 27 and had four saves.

RHP Joey Murray was drafted in the eighth round of the 2018 draft and spent his entire first season with the Vancouver Canadians (High-A). In 2019, Murray had stops with the Lansing Lugnuts, Dunedin Blue Jays (Single-A) and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He was set to spend 2021 with the Buffalo Bisons (Triple-A) but suffered an injury and only pitched 0.2 innings with the FCL Blue Jays (Rookie). Murray is the No. 24 Blue Jays prospect.

OF Sebastian Espino has been in the Blue Jays system since December 2020, when the Buffalo Bisons claimed him off waivers from the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A, New York Mets). He is the No. 25 prospect for the Blue Jays. Espino spent a majority of 2021 with the Vancouver Canadians (High-A), where he slashed .295/.358/.511.

Another notable name on the New Hampshire roster is RHP Elvis Luciano, the 22-year-old from Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. He made 12 starts in New Hampshire last season with a 3.16 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 34 strikeouts. He also made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Blue Jays and pitched 33.2 innings with a 5.35 ERA.

Luciano won’t be the only name Fisher Cats fans recognize from past seasons. RHP Maximo Castillo pitched 102.0 innings with New Hampshire in 2021. RHP Andrew Bash, RHP Parker Caracci, RHP Cre Finfrock, RHP Nick Fraze and RHP Sean Rackoski also return to the Fisher Cats after time on the mound last year.

Around the diamond, New Hampshire returns OF Steward Berroa, C Ryan Gold and IF Spencer Horwitz. Gold played 21 games with New Hampshire last season.

New faces joining the New Hampshire squad include OF Zac Cook, C Phil Clarke, RHP Hayden Juenger, IF Tanner Morris, OF Will Robertson, IF Luis De Los Santos and RHP Paxton Schultz. Clarke was a ninth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft following a national championship season at Vanderbilt. Robertson was a fourth-round pick in the same draft out of Creighton, and Morris was a fifth-round 2019 pick from the University of Virginia.

New Hampshire starts the season on the road with a three-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) at Hadlock Field from April 8-10.

The Fisher Cats home opener is set for Tuesday, April 12 at 6:35 p.m. against the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies). Fans can enjoy a spectacular Atlas Fireworks show after the game, with a Magnet Schedule Giveaway from Eastern Propane & Oil. Opening Night kicks off a six-game homestand from Tuesday through Sunday, April 12-17, at Delta Dental Stadium, followed by another six-game series in Manchester against the Reading Fightin Phils from April 26-May 1.

All 138 games will be broadcast live on the Fisher Cats flagship station, AM 610 WGIR.

For media requests, please email Steve Goldberg ([email protected]) or David Korzeniowski ([email protected]).