Preliminary Tarpons Roster Revealed

TAMPA, Fla. - The New York Yankees have announced the preliminary roster for the 2019 Tampa Tarpons, which features three of the organization's top pitching prospects.
Deivi Garcia , Clarke Schmidt and Glenn Otto are all slated to begin the season with Tampa. The trio of right-handers are listed among the Yankees' top 30 prospects, rated by MLB Pipeline: Garcia (No. 4), Schmidt (No. 5) and Otto (No. 26).
Garcia tallied 105 strikeouts in 74 innings across three levels a season ago. The 19-year-old recorded a career-high 12 punchouts in a six-inning performance with Single-A Charleston on July 25^th and matched that total while throwing seven perfect innings in a start for Tampa on August 6^th, earning him Florida State League "Pitcher of the Week." Armed with a mid-90's fastball, a 12-6 curveball and a fading changeup, Garcia completed his season by tossing five hitless innings and earning the win in his debut with Double-A Trenton on September 2^nd.
New York selected Schmidt in the first round (16^th overall) in 2017 despite him knowingly needing "Tommy John" surgery on his right elbow. The 23-year-old pitched three seasons at the University of South Carolina, going 15-9 with a 3.21 ERA in 45 games (36 starts) with the Gamecocks. Baseball America tabbed Schmidt as having the Best Control in the SEC. The Atlanta resident tallied 30 strikeouts to just six walks in 23.1 innings in his return to action last season in the Gulf Coast League and short-season Single-A Staten Island.
At six feet, five inches, Otto is the tallest player on Tampa's preliminary roster. The 23-year-old was selected in the fifth round by New York in 2017 after pitching mostly as a reliever at Rice University for three seasons, going 18-6 with 17 saves and a 2.61 ERA in 82 games (four starts). Otto made just two starts with Charleston last season before shutting down, needing surgery to remove a blood clot from his pitching shoulder.
Along with Schmidt and Otto, four other right-handed pitchers are set to don a Tarpons uniform for the first time: Janson Junk , Brooks Kriske , Jefry Valdez and Miguel Yajure .
Junk, 23, played his first full season after being drafted by the Yankees in 2017. The Seattle resident went 7-5 with a 3.77 ERA in 17 games (15 starts) with Charleston. Yajure, 20, pitched alongside Junk in the RiverDogs rotation and went 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 starts.
After missing all of 2017 due to "Tommy John" surgery, Kriske, 25, returned and posted a 1.09 ERA (3ER/24.2IP) while going 2-2 with three saves in 14 relief appearances with Staten Island.
Last November, the Yankees acquired Valdez from Colorado. The 23-year-old went 3-1 with a 5.82 ERA in 27 relief outings for short-season Single-A Boise in 2018. His 11.91 K/9.0IP (45K/34.0IP) ratio ranked fifth among relievers in the Northwest League.
RHP Rony Garcia and LHP Dalton Lehnen are both slated to return to the Tarpons rotation. Between Charleston and Tampa last season, Garcia, 21, combined to go 4-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 23 starts while Lehnen, 22, finished 7-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 23 games (20 starts).
Southpaw Anderson Severino , 24, and right-handers Braden Bristo , 24, Greg Weissert , 24, and Kyle Zurak , 24, are all expected to be back in the Tampa bullpen. Zurak's 11 saves in 2018 were tied for second-most among all Yankees farmhands.
Catchers Jason Lopez and Donny Sands both return to the Tarpons after having played parts of 2018 in Tampa. Named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star, Lopez, 21, hit .285 in 72 games with Charleston before playing his final 13 games with the Tarpons. Sands, 22, combined to hit .272 in 28 games with between Tampa (25 games) and the Gulf Coast League, with his season being limited due to three stints on the disabled list.
Infielders Diego Castillo and Steven Sensley , along with outfielders Isiah Gilliam , Pablo Olivares and Rashad Crawford all return after spending time with Tampa a season ago.
Castillo, 21, ranked third in the FSL with 122 hits and was named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star. The Venezuelan batted .260 struck out just 47 times in 514 plate appearances, which resulted in the fifth-best PA/K ratio (10.94) in all of minor league baseball. Castillo's season was highlighted by earning Most Valuable Player of the FSL All-Star Game in front of the home crowd at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Gilliam, 22, ranked third in the Yankees organization with 71 RBI in 2018. The switch-hitter batted .259 with 13 home runs and ranked second in the FSL in hits with 122. The Georgia native made the most of his at-bats in eight Spring Training games with New York, going 4-for-10 with three walks, a double and a home run.
Among the Tampa newcomers are four infielders that spent all of 2018 with Single-A Charleston: Oswaldo Cabrera , Dermis Garcia , Chris Hess and Welfrin Mateo .
Cabrera, 20, posted a .974 fielding percentage while playing shortstop (55 games), second base (52 games) and third base (15 games) for Charleston. Mateo, 23, played mostly at third base (32 games), but also played second base (17 games) and outfield (five games). In 2017, Garcia ranked third among Yankees minor leaguers with 17 home runs. The 21-year-old crushed 15 more homers in 88 games with the RiverDogs a season ago. Hess, 24, hit nine dingers while driving in 46 runs and was named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star.
Outfielder Tyler Hill was acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the Detroit Tigers last December. The 23-year-old was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2014 and led the organization in stolen base in both 2017 (42 SB) and 2018 (27 SB). Hill won the New York-Penn League batting title in 2016, batting .332 for short-season Single-A Lowell. The Delaware native spent 2018 with Single-A Advanced Salem, batting .254 in a career-high 124 games.
This roster is not official and may be updated prior to be officially released on April 4^th. Click
HERE to view the complete roster. 
The 2019 season begins on Thursday in Lakeland at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, when the Tarpons square off against the Flying Tigers at 6:30 p.m. Live play-by-play audio will be available on the Tarpons Radio Network beginning at 6:15 p.m.
 
Tampa's home opener is set for Saturday at 6:30 p.m., when the Tarpons continue the series against the Flying Tigers. Single-game tickets are now available and may be purchased at the George M. Steinbrenner Field Box Office or by visiting TarponsBaseball.com.