Photo from Chris Creamer's SportsLogos.Net
The Asheville Tourists, formerly of the Class A South Atlantic League, will be moving up one level to Class A Advanced following the realignment of Minor League Baseball. The Tourists will begin their third stint as a Houston Astros minor league affiliate on Tuesday when they host the Brooklyn Cyclones. Before the 2021 season, the Tourists were the Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, a distinction they had held since 1994. Before entering into that association, they were an Astros affiliate from 1982 to 1993 and they also spent the 1967 season as an Astros farm club in the Carolina League.
Asheville plays in High-A East, which is a mishmash of teams from various minor leagues on the East Coast. The league consists of six South Atlantic League clubs (Asheville, Hickory, Greensboro, Greenville, Rome, and Jersey Shore, formerly Lakewood), three New York-Penn League teams (Hudson Valley, Aberdeen, and Brooklyn), two Carolina League clubs (Winston-Salem and Wilmington), and Bowling Green, coming in from the Midwest League.
The Tourists will play in the South division along with the Rome Braves (Atlanta), Hickory Crawdads (Rangers), Greenville Drive (Red Sox), Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox), Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates), and the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays). The North division consists of the Hudson Valley Renegades (now a Yankees affiliate), Wilmington Blue Rocks (now a Nationals affiliate, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets), Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles), and the Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies).
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is the largest city in Western North Carolina. I've heard that it is a really beautiful place and it has compelled me to look up flights and drive times. It is home to the Biltmore Estate, the largest private residence in the United States, owned by the Vanderbilt family.
The Tourists play at McCormick Field, the third-oldest active ballpark in the minors. It was featured in the film Bull Durham. McCormick Field also boasts a reputation as being a hitter's park, though that bias is not nearly as extreme as Lancaster.
COACHING STAFF
Nate Shaver returns to manage the Astros' Class A Advanced affiliate. Now the question is... did he stay put by remaining at this level or did he move up since Fayetteville moved down a level?
Manager: Nate Shaver
Pitching Coach: Eric Nielsen
Hitting Coach: René Rojas
Development Coach: Kyle Brennan
Athletic Trainer: Brandon Zumbach
Strength Coach: Zach Reding
ROSTER
Freudis Nova, a million-dollar international free agent signing a few years back, moves up to the next rung on the ladder. He's had some mixed reports during his time at the alternate site and the instructional league, but he is also 20 years old. A solid season from him should at least quell the uncertainty a little. Korey Lee, the Astros' 2019 first-rounder, gets his first full-season assignment here. Colin Barber, who has drawn some rave reviews down in the alternate site, will also get his first shot for a full season with the Tourists.
Asheville's pitching contingent doesn't have the sexy names, but it looks to be a group of dependable guys. Felipe Tejada and Blair Henley are two to watch, and Baseball America tagged Jimmy Endersby, an undrafted free agent signing last year, as their sleeper prospect.
Italics - player bats/throws left-handed
Bold - player is a switch hitter
Pitchers
José Bravo - International free agent (Mexico), 2016; Bravo pitched at all four full-season affiliates for the Astros in 2019. The bulk of his appearances came with Quad Cities.
Tyler Brown - 3rd round, 2020 draft (Vanderbilt); making pro debut
Riley Cabral - 31st round, 2018 draft (Memphis); Fayetteville/Quad Cities
Chandler Casey - 26th round, 2019 draft (Lubbock Christian); GCL Astros
Yeremi Ceballos - International free agent (Dominican Republic), 2016; pitched for four different teams in 2019, mainly with Tri-City and Fayetteville
Danny Cody - 17th round, 2019 draft (Baldwin Wallace); Quad Cities/Tri-City/GCL
Devin Conn - 19th round, 2018 draft (Nova Southeastern); Quad Cities. with one appearance for Fayetteville
Jimmy Endersby - Undrafted free agent (Concordia-Irvine); making pro debut
R.J. Freure - 6th round, 2018 draft (Pittsburgh); Quad Cities
Layne Henderson - 30th round, 2018 draft (Azusa Pacific); Corpus/Quad Cities
Blair Henley - 7th round, 2019 draft (Texas); Tri-City, with one appearance in the GCL
Juan Pablo Lopez - International free agent (Mexico), 2016; Tri-City, with one appearance for Quad Cities
Cole McDonald - 15th round, 2019 draft (Iowa); Tri-City, with one appearance in the GCL
Jose Alberto Rivera - Rule 5 draft selection by Angels returned to Astros in 2021. Originally signed by the Astros as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2016. Pitched for Quad Cities in 2019.
Matt Ruppenthal - 17th round, 2017 draft (Vanderbilt); Quad Cities
Kyle Serrano - 10th round, 2017 draft (Tennessee); Tri-City, with two appearances in the GCL
Felipe Tejada - International free agent (Dominican Republic), 2014; Quad Cities
Catchers
Alex Holderbach - 16th round, 2018 draft (Eastern Kentucky); Quad Cities
Tyler Krabbe - 19th round, 2019 draft (Montevallo); GCL Astros
Korey Lee - 1st round, 2019 draft (Cal); Tri-City
Infielders
A.J. Lee - 34th round, 2019 draft (Maryland); Quad Cities/Tri-City
Freudis Nova - International free agent (Dominican Republic), 2016; Quad Cities
Luis Santana - Acquired via trade along with Ross Adolph and Scott Manea from Mets for J.D. Davis and Cody Bohanek, 2019; Corpus Christi/Tri-City
Enmanuel Valdez - International free agent (Dominican Republic), 2015; Fayetteville/Quad Cities
Outfielders
Wilyer Abreu - International free agent (Venezuela), 2017; Quad Cities/Tri-City
Colin Barber - 4th round, 2019 draft (Pleasant Valley HS, Chico, California); GCL in 2019, Chicago Deep Dish (City of Champions Cup) in 2020
Alex McKenna - 4th round, 2018 draft (Cal Poly); Quad Cities in 2019, Tully Monsters (City of Champions Cup) in 2020
Ramiro Rodriguez - International free agent (Panama), 2015; Corpus/Fayetteville/Quad Cities
Scott Schreiber - 9th round, 2018 draft (Nebraska); Fayetteville/Quad Cities
Glad to see you carrying on
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dustin ... you've come a long way and we appreciate your work.
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