by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
March 31, 2025
With the Lansing Lugnuts set to start their season on Friday, the opening day roster of the A’s High-A affiliate in the Midwest League has now become official. High-A teams can carry 30 players on the active roster, and the Lugnuts, led by new manager Darryl Kennedy, are opening the season with 16 pitchers and 14 position players on their active roster. The A’s minor league affiliates in Midland and Stockton are both expected to announce their rosters prior to their opening days later this week.
The team’s catching corps consists of a pair of returning Lugnuts supplemented by one new addition. CJ Rodriguez, a 5th-round pick in 2021, and Cole Conn, a 12th-round pick in 2023, will both be behind the plate for Lansing again this year. And the pair will be joined by Nick Schwartz, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
A couple of top picks from last year’s draft will be joining Lansing’s infield this season. Third baseman Tommy White, last year’s 2nd-round pick for the A’s, hit 48 home runs in 132 games over two seasons at LSU, while shortstop Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, last year’s 3rd-round pick, hit .324 in 28 minor league games in his pro debut last season. First baseman Darlyn Montero, last year’s hits leader for Stockton, is set to see plenty of time at first base for the Lugnuts this season. Familiar names T.J. Schofield-Sam, Sahid Valenzuela and Casey Yamauchi will all be returning to Lansing this season to be a part of the team’s infield mix. Schofield-Sam spent most of his time at second and first last season, while Valenzuela spent most of his time at second and third last year, and Yamauchi is primarily a second baseman who can also back up Kuroda-Grauer at shortstop.
Jonny Butler, Jared Dickey and Nate Nankil, who all spent time with the Lugnuts last year, will be in the team’s outfield mix again this season. Rodney Green, the A’s 4th-round pick last year, will make the jump to High-A this year. And Clark Elliott, the A’s 2nd-round pick in 2022, joins the squad after slashing .291/.436/.473 in 54 games for Stockton last season. Meanwhile, Ryan Lasko, the A’s 2nd-round pick in 2023, will open the season on the injured list for Lansing.
The Lugnuts are set to open the season with a six-man starting rotation that will be led by returning righties Jake Garland and Grant Judkins. They’ll be joined by fellow righties Steven Echavarria, Kyle Robinson and Yunior Tur and southpaw Gage Jump. Lansing’s 10-man bullpen is set to include returning righties Blaze Pontes, Hunter Breault and Yehizon Sanchez, along with fellow righties Corey Avant, Jake Pfennigs, Mark Adamiak, Tom Reisinger, Henry Gomez and Jake Christianson and lefty Garrett Irvin. Meanwhile, lefty Diego Barrera will start the season on the injured list for Lansing.
Lansing Lugnuts Complete Roster
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I saw that Casey Yamauchi make a beautiful play at 3b in an A’s spring training game . It was Matt Chapmen like so he can play 3b also .