Giants set initial 2021 Flying Squirrels roster

RICHMOND, Va. – Ahead of Tuesday’s season opener, the initial 2021 Richmond Flying Squirrels roster has been set by the San Francisco Giants, the team announced on Saturday.

Three of the Giants’ top-30 prospects, a pair of former Eastern League All-Stars and eight players who previously suited up for the Flying Squirrels are slated to take the field under the direction of manager José Alguacil to begin the season.

Under the new Player Development License structure, Double-A active rosters include 28 players, up from 25 in the previous system. The Flying Squirrels initial roster includes 15 pitchers and 13 position players.

Eight players are back with Richmond after calling The Diamond home in previous seasons, including outfielder Heliot Ramos, who is currently rated by both Baseball America and MLB.com as the Giants’ No. 3 prospect. Ramos first joined the Flying Squirrels in August of 2019, hitting .242 with three homers and 15 RBIs over 25 games in his first swings at Double-A.

That year, the 2017 first-round draft pick became the first teenager to play for the Flying Squirrels when he debuted at age 19. Now 21 years old, Ramos enters the year as Baseball America’s No. 83 overall prospect.

Sean Hjelle, currently ranked by Baseball America as the Giants’ No. 13 prospect and No. 11 by MLB.com, returns to the Richmond pitching staff for 2021 after making five starts at Double-A in 2019. The 6-foot-11 right-hander was selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Giants out of the University of Kentucky.

A pair of Eastern League All-Stars are back with the Flying Squirrels this year. Jacob Heyward was named the MVP of the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game at The Diamond in 2019 prior to setting a new franchise record for walks in a season. 2018 Eastern League All-Star Ryan Howard returns for his third overall season in Richmond. He will be joined on the infield by Peter Maris, who saw time with the Flying Squirrels in 2019.

Three right-handed relievers who previously pitched for the Flying Squirrels are back to open this season. Frank Rubio and Raffi Vizcaino were both in the Richmond bullpen in 2019. Patrick Ruotolo was with the Flying Squirrels in 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, which kept him sidelined for most of 2019.

This year’s initial Richmond roster includes several new faces, including right-hander Tristan Beck, who is ranked by Baseball America as the Giants’ No. 12 prospect and No. 20 by MLB.com. Beck joined the Giants organization in 2019 when he was traded from the Braves as part of the deal that sent reliever Mark Melancon to Atlanta.

2021 Richmond Flying Squirrels Initial Roster

Pitchers: Luis Amaya, Tristan Beck, Matthew Frisbee, Gerson Garabito, Norwith Gudino, Sean Hjelle, Sam Long, Joey Marciano, Mac Marshall, Frank Rubio, Patrick Ruotolo, Matt Seelinger, Trenton Toplikar, Raffi Vizcaino, Ronnie Williams

Catchers: Andres Angulo, Bryan Torres

Infielders: Ryan Howard, Peter Maris, Shane Matheny, Kyle Mottice, David Villar

Outfielders: Sandro Fabian, Vince Fernandez, Jacob Heyward, Heliot Ramos, Andy Sugilio, Francisco Tostado