by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
April 2, 2024
With the Stockton Ports set to start their season on Friday, the opening day roster of the A’s Class-A affiliate in the California League has now become official. Class-A teams can carry 30 players on the active roster, and the Ports, led by first-year manager Javier Godard, are opening the season with 16 pitchers and 13 position players on their active roster.
The team’s catching corps will consist of last year’s 12th-round draft pick, Cole Conn, undrafted free agent signee Nick Schwartz and 21-year-old Venezuelan backstop Carlos Franco, who appeared in 33 games for Stockton last season.
Last year’s second overall draft pick for the A’s, shortstop Myles Naylor, and 14th-round pick, third baseman Luke Mann, are set to anchor the left side of Stockton’s infield. They’ll be joined by second baseman Casey Yamauchi, who was signed as an undrafted agent, Bjay Cooke, who primarily played second base and shortstop last season for Stockton, and switch-hitting first baseman Darlyn Montero.
Last year’s 2nd-round draft pick Ryan Lasko and 7th-round pick Nate Nankil are set to highlight Stockton’s outfield this season. They’ll be joined by high-profile international free agent signees Pedro Pineda and Robert Puason. Puason started out his career as a shortstop but spent more time in the outfield last season, and he’s expected to see more time there again this year. 22-year-old Nelson Beltran is also set to open the season as part of Stockton’s outfield mix.
The Ports are set to open the season with returning starting pitchers Alejandro Manzano, Tzu-Chen Sha and Chen Zhuang, who spent all of last season on the injured list. They’ll be joined by a number of college starting pitchers who were taken in last year’s draft, including Nathan Dettmer (5th round), Jackson Finley (8th round), Tom Reisinger (10th round), Drew Conover (11th round) and Diego Barrera (20th round). Meanwhile, Stockton’s bullpen is set to include returning righties Micah Dallas, Yunior Tur, T.J. Czyz and Franck De La Rosa along with righthander Mark Adamiak and 2023 draftees Corey Avant (9th round), Will Johnston (13th round) and Ryan Brown (16th round).
Stockton Ports Complete Roster
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