OKC Dodgers Release 2018 Preliminary Roster

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers have announced the OKC Dodgers' preliminary roster to begin the 2018 season.
The preliminary roster is not an official roster and is subject to change before the team's first game Thursday in Des Moines against the Iowa Cubs.
Among the 26 players on the preliminary roster, nine are members of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 40-man roster, and all eight appeared for the Dodgers in 2017. A total of 20 players have Major League experience, with 12 appearing in the Majors at some point last season. Ten players logged time with OKC last season.
The roster is headlined by the top two prospects in the Dodgers organization, as ranked by Baseball America: pitcher Walker Buehler (#1) and outfielder Alex Verdugo (#2). Both played for the OKC Dodgers in 2017 as well.  
Buehler - ranked the 12th overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com and 14th overall prospect by Baseball America - was honored as the Dodgers' 2017 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year, with his season culminating in the Major Leagues in September. In his first full year coming off Tommy John surgery, Buehler appeared at three levels of the minor leagues, posting a 3.35 ERA, .208 opponent batting average, 1.11 WHIP and racking up 125 strikeouts in just 88.1 innings. He made his ML debut Sept. 7 and appeared in eight games out of the bullpen for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Verdugo spent most of last season with OKC, playing most of the year at just 21 years old. He led the team with 136 hits and 27 doubles and had more walks (52) than strikeouts (50). The outfielder was a PCL Mid-Season All-Star and named to the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. One of Verdugo's many highlights last year was his 40-game on-base streak June 4-July 26. He made his ML debut Sept. 1 and appeared in 15 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Other position players who have previously played for OKC include infielders Tim Locastro , Max Muncy and Rob Segedin and outfielders Henry Ramos and Andrew Toles .
Toles previously played with OKC in 2016 and had established himself as a regular starting outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 before he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee last May. Segedin has split the last two seasons between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City. He had a breakout 2016 season that saw him lead the Minors with a .598 slugging percentage, but he was limited to a total of 38 games in 2017 due to injuries.
Muncy led OKC with a .414 on-base percentage in 2017 and finished the season on a career-best 15-game hitting streak. Locastro joined OKC in the latter half of the season and proceeded to lead all Triple-A players with a .400 batting average from Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season. He made his Major League debut during the Los Angeles Dodgers' final series of the regular season last September and was primarily used as a pinch runner.
Other infielders include veterans Donovan Solano and Breyvic Valera , who was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. Jake Peter , who was acquired in a trade with Chicago White Sox in January, will make his organizational debut with OKC. Peter had an impressive showing in Spring Training, tying for second on the Los Angeles Dodgers with 14 RBI and hitting three home runs.
All three catchers on the preliminary roster are new to the organization: Cael Brockmeyer , Alex Burg and Rocky Gale . Prior to signing with the Dodgers as a free agent, Gale spent the first eight years of his pro career in the San Diego Padres organization, logging 379 career games in Triple-A. He's appeared in 14 career games for San Diego.
Outfielder Travis Taijeron spent each of the last three seasons in the Pacific Coast League with Las Vegas, batting .274 with 69 home runs, 237 RBI and a .382 on-base percentage over 381 games. He was named the PCL's Top Star in the 2016 Triple-A All-Star Game and made his Major League debut last year, appearing in 26 games for the New York Mets.
In addition to Buehler, other members of the starting rotation to begin the season will be Manny Bañuelos, Guillermo Moscoso , Zach Neal and Brock Stewart - all of which have previous Major League experience. Stewart was the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2016 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year and has spent time with both OKC and Los Angeles over the past two seasons. Neal is a former University of Oklahoma Sooner and has made 30 career Major League appearances with Oakland. He was part of OU's 2010 College World Series team. Moscoso is entering his 14th season of professional baseball and previously played for the OKC RedHawks in 2009-10.
Six of the eight members of the bullpen have Major League experience. Adam Liberatore and Edward Paredes each have appeared for the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout their careers, while Daniel Corcino , C.C. Lee , Brian Schlitter and Pat Venditte have also previously pitched in the Majors. Liberatore set a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record in 2016 when he made 28 consecutive scoreless appearances. Venditte is an ambidextrous switch pitcher who throws with both arms.
Joe Broussard returns to OKC after leading the club in appearances in 2017. Veteran lefty Brian Moran joins the team after posting a 1.89 ERA with Double-A Tulsa during the second half of last season.
The Oklahoma City Dodgers open play Thursday to begin a five-game series against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park. The 2018 home opener is set for Tuesday, April 10 against the Round Rock Express at 7:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, beginning a seven-game homestand. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit okcdodgers.com or call (405) 218-1000.