Suns Release 2018 Opening Day Roster

Hagerstown, MD -  The Hagerstown Suns and Washington Nationals have announced the 2018 Suns opening day roster. Juan Soto headlines a talented group of players on the Suns roster that includes nine of MLB Pipeline's Top-30 Nationals prospects and a slew of promising youngsters.
The 19-year-old Soto is the Nationals' #2 prospect in 2018 and Pipeline's 29^th best prospect in all of Minor League Baseball. The outfielder makes his return to Hagerstown after a 2017 campaign that was cut short by injury. He split last season between Hagerstown and the GCL Nationals, playing a total of 32 games while batting .351 with three homers that all came in Hagerstown. With the Suns, Soto batted .360 and scored 15 runs with 14 RBIs in 23 games.

Hagerstown welcomes two other Top-10 Nationals prospects with infielder Luis Garcia (#6) and Yasel Antuna (#7). Garcia batted .302 over 49 games in 2017 while leading the team in stolen bases (11), total bases (77), and tied or the team lead in doubles (8) and triples (3). Garcia will start the season at just 17 years of age. Antuna is 18-years-old and also played at a high-level with the GCL Nationals last season. He hit .301 over 48 games while leading the team with 23 walks. His .399 slugging percentage was higher than any player on the team who logged 18 or more games all season.
The pitching staff also boasts ranked prospects, with righty Jackson Tetreault leading the way as the 15^th-best Nats farmhand according to MLB Pipeline. Tetreault tossed 12 games (six starts) between the GCL and short-season Auburn in 2017, posting a record of 2-2 with a 2.68 ERA in his first professional season. He struck out 38 batters over 40 1/3 innings of work, while holding opponents to a .216 average against. Nick Raquet comes in directly behind Tetreault at #16 on the list, with the lefty also taking the bump in the GCL and Auburn. The 2017 third-rounder went 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA over 11 games, all of which were starts.
Brigham Hill, Pipeline's #25 Nationals prospect, returns after ending 2017 with six starts for the Suns after being promoted from Auburn where he made four appearances. Hill, a fifth-round selection for the Nationals in 2017, had 39 strikeouts last season between the two levels while issuing just eight walks. Tomas Alastre is ranked 26^th on Pipeline's list and is another player under 20 who joins the Suns in 2018. Alastre was 3-2 with a 3.04 ERA last season over 11 games (eight starts) between Auburn and the GCL Nationals. He averaged nearly a strikeout-per-inning in 2017 with 49 over 50 1/3 innings of work.
Cole Freeman (#27) was taken in the fourth round of the 2017 draft by Washington after playing collegiately for LSU. The infielder did not play last season in the organization but batted .325 with 19 steals as a senior last year with the Tigers. Anderson Franco rounds out the Nationals Top-30 in the final position. He returns to the Suns after 120 games with Hagerstown in 2017, finishing the year with 11 home runs and 63 RBIs. Branden Boggetto also re-joins the Suns for the 2018 season after playing 15 games for the team last season. The 25^th-round pick in 2016 played a total of 56 games between Hagerstown and Auburn, batting .294 with two home runs and 28 RBIs.
Hagerstown will carry two active catchers on the opening day roster, plus Adderling Ruiz who starts the season on the disabled list. Ruiz has played for the Suns in parts of three seasons, playing in 13 games during 2017. Alex Flores joins Hagerstown after spending 2017 in the Mexican League as the backstop for the Leones de Yucatan. The switch-hitting catcher clubbed eight homers and drove in 41 RBIs over 93 games last season. Joey Harris rounds out the stable of catchers, joining the Suns after missing the 2017 season due to injury. Harris was a ninth-round pick in 2016 for Washington out of Gonzaga University.
 Including Soto, the Suns will carry four outfielders to start the season. Nick Banks is back for his second season with the Suns after playing 122 games with the team in 2017. Banks finished the year with a .252 batting average, seven homers, 58 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. Kameron Esthay was a 26^th-round pick in 2017 and spent the entire season with Auburn. The lefty batted .273 and tied for the team lead with 12 doubles while finished second on the Doubledays with five homers. Armond Upshaw also spent 2017 with Auburn, playing in 60 games. The 11^th-round pick in 2016 walked 41 times while stealing 11 bases for the Doubledays, both of which led the team.
Jackson Stoeckinger will be in the Suns starting rotation to begin the season. The southpaw was a 12^th round selection in last year's draft for the Nationals and was 2-0 with 31 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings during his eight games with the GCL Nationals. Carlos Acevedo will be a member of the Suns pitching staff in April for the second-straight year. The righty tossed five games last season, starting all five. This season, he'll be in the bullpen to start the year. A.J. Bogucki went 4-2 for Hagerstown in 2017 with a 3.56 ERA with five of his 20 appearances being starts. Jared Brasher's 2017 was split between the GCL Nationals and Auburn and he held opponents to a .216 average while striking out 28 batters in 27 innings of work.
The bullpen will have three left-handers to start the season, with Ben Braymer, Max Engelbrekt, and Alex Troop. Braymer, 23-years-old, is a product of Auburn University and was an 18^th rounder back in 2016. This will be his second year with Hagerstown after starting seven games for the Suns last season. Engelbrekt was with the Doubledays for 15 games and with the GCL Nats in 2017 after being the 40^th-round selection by Washington. The 24-year-old finished the year 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA, allowing just one home run the entire season. Alex Troop made three stops in the Nationals system between the GCL Nationals, Auburn, and Hagerstown. He made 13 appearances with four starts and posted a record of 2-4 but had a 2.79 ERA over 38.2 innings pitched.
Kyle Johnston is a 21-year-old righty who also joins the Suns bullpen on the opening day roster and is ranked the Nationals 22^nd best prospect by Baseball America. The 2017 sixth-round pick played in 15 games last season with seven starts between Auburn and the GCL. The Texas native finished the year 0-2 with a 3.28 ERA. Jeremy McKinney is the final piece of the bullpen for Hagerstown in 2018. McKinney, 23, split time with Auburn and the GCL Nationals in 2017, making 17 appearances with three saves to his credit. Righty Jacob Howell will begin the season on the Suns disabled list. Howell was with Hagerstown last season, pitching in five games with a 9.7 K/9 ratio.
In total, the roster consists of 11 selections from the 2017 draft and nine players who were signed through international free-agency. Five players are 20-years-old or younger with Garcia being the youngest and Ruiz (DL) the oldest at 26-years-old. The team's average age is 21 3/4 years-old with pitchers having an average age of 22 and fielders being slightly younger at 21 1/2. Eleven players on the 2018 roster spent time with the Suns in 2017. There are 13 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and four outfielders for a total of 25 active players for the opening day roster with two players starting the season on the disabled list.
Hagerstown starts the season on the road with a seven-game trip that begins on Thursday with a 7:00 PM first pitch against the Rome Braves. The Suns will return to Hagerstown Municipal Stadium for the home opener on April 12 against the Greensboro Grasshoppers for a 6:05 PM first pitch. Tickets are on sale now and fans can purchase tickets or learn more about the Suns ticket plans and promotions for the 2018 season by visiting www.hagerstownsuns.com or calling 301-791-6266.
###