Isotopes 2022 Opening Day Roster Announced

The Albuquerque Isotopes, in conjunction with the Colorado Rockies, have unveiled their 2022 Opening Day roster, a team that features 20 returning players.

Manager Warren Schaeffer returns for his second season at the helm of the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate, and will welcome 13 new players to Albuquerque.

The returnees are headlined by infielder Elehuris Montero and outfielder Ryan Vilade, ranked as the Rockies fourth and ninth best prospects, respectively, according to MLB.com. Last year’s Fan Favorite award winner outfielder Wynton Bernard is also back in Albuquerque, as is infielder Taylor Snyder, who wowed fans with a series of massively long home runs late in 2021.

Pitchers Frank Duncan, Ben Bowden, Justin Lawrence, Chad Smith, Logan Cozart - Isotopes 2021 Pitcher of the Year - and flamethrower Julian Fernández all saw significant time in Albuquerque a season ago and are back to start 2022 in Triple-A.

D.J. Peterson will highlight the list of newcomers to the Isotopes. Peterson played college baseball at the University of New Mexico and led the Lobos to the 2011 Mountain West tournament title before being named the conference’s Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. The Seattle Mariners selected Peterson in the first-round of the 2013 draft.

Albuquerque’s lineup should be bolstered by Rockies minor league free agent signings Tim Lopes and Scott Schebler, both of whom have seen significant Major League time. Schebler was a mainstay in the Cincinnati Reds lineup for multiple seasons, including a 2017 campaign in which he hit 30 home runs. Lopes, meanwhile, played in 87 games for the Mariners from 2019-20 and seven with the Brewers in 2021.

Rockies 2018 fourth-round pick Ryan Feltner is expected to help lead the Isotopes rotation. Last year, Feltner pitched at four different levels of Colorado’s minor league system, including his Major League debut in September as well as a brief stint with the Isotopes.

Zach Neal and Dillon Overton, veterans who both pitched collegiately at the University of Oklahoma, are also expected to be key contributors in the Isotopes rotation.

Albuquerque has just three players on the Opening Day roster who haven’t made their Triple-A debuts: pitcher Matt Dennis along with outfielders Bret Boswell and Sean Bouchard.

However, 14 members of the initial roster have seen time in the Major Leagues: Feltner, Overton, , Neal, Bowden, Fernández, Lawrence, Lopes, Schebler and Vilade, as well as pitchers Zach Lee, JD Hammer, Jordan Sheffield along with catcher Carlos Pérez and .

Neal is the elder statesman on the Opening Day roster at 33-years-old, while a trio of 2022 Isotopes broke into professional baseball as first-round draft picks. Lee was selected in the first round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and later pitched for Albuquerque in 2014. Peterson was Seattle’s first-round selection in 2013, and the New York Yankees drafted infielder Kyle Holder with their first pick in 2015.

The Isotopes are set to begin the 2022 campaign with a contest tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. MT in Oklahoma City.

RHP: Jake Bird, Logan Cozart, Matt Dennis, Frank Duncan, Ryan Feltner, Julian Fernández, Brandon Gold, Nate Griep, JD Hammer, Heath Holder, Justin Lawrence, Zach Lee, Zach Neal, Jordan Sheffield, Chad Smith

LHP: Ben Bowden, Dillon Overton, Reagan Todd

Catchers: Jonathan Morales, Brian Serven, Carlos Pérez

Infielders: Sean Bouchard, LJ Hatch, Kyle Holder, Tim Lopes, Elehuris Montero, DJ Peterson, Colton Welker

Outfielders: Wynton Bernard, Bret Boswell, Scott Schebler, Taylor Snyder, Ryan Vilade