Meet the 2018 Tri-City ValleyCats

Now that the draft is complete, the short-season leagues are getting set to begin. For certain members of the Houston Astros draft class of 2018, their road to Houston will begin in Upstate New York. 

Photo from Chris Creamer's SportsLogos.Net

The Tri-City ValleyCats are members of the New York-Penn League and play at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, New York. The Tri-City moniker derives from its location in New York's Capital District, which consists of Troy, Schenectady, and New York's capital city, Albany. Why ValleyCats? That's because they are located in the Hudson River Valley.

This franchise began play in 1977 as the Little Falls Mets. The club relocated to Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 2001, which was the first year that it became a minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros. In 2002, the club moved to Troy.

Tri-City will begin its season tonight against the Vermont Lake Monsters.

2018 first-round pick Seth Beer will start his journey to Houston with the ValleyCats. He'll be joined by a talented cast of position players that includes third-round pick Jeremy Peña and Gilberto Celestino, one of the more exciting youngsters in the lower levels of the Astros system. Ramiro Rodriguez is looking to build upon a huge year in 2017 as he makes the jump straight to the New York-Penn League from the Dominican Summer League.

Luis Encarnacion received a $1 million bonus from the Phillies but could never quite put it together at the plate. Could this change of scenery ignite his bat and allow him to live up the expectations that were bestowed on him as an amateur?

Luis Garcia got his feet wet in the Quad Cities rotation earlier this season and acquitted himself well. Juan Robles had plenty of helium when he took the lower levels of the system by storm in 2015 but his momentum has stalled over two frustrating seasons. Can he right the ship? Chad Donato had a solid pro debut as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. The Houston native will look to continue building on his 2017 as he puts his surgery further in the rearview mirror.

This is the roster as it currently appears on MiLB.com.

Bold - player is making professional debut
Italics - player bats/throws left-handed
Asterisk - player is a switch-hitter

Coaching Staff

Manager - Jason Bell
Pitching Coach - Erick Abreu
Hitting Coach - Jeremy Barnes

Pitchers

Bryan Abreu - International free agent, 2013 (Dominican Republic); played with Greeneville in 2017
Luis de Paula - International free agent, 2016 (Dominican Republic); DSL Astros Orange
Chad Donato - 11th round, 2016 draft (West Virginia); GCL/Greeneville
Luis Garcia - International free agent signed for $20,000, 2017 (Venezuela); appeared in 9 games (4 starts) for Quad Cities prior to being assigned to Tri-City
Ian Hardman - 36th round, 2016 draft (Seminole State (Oklahoma) College); Greeneville/Tri-City
Tim Hardy - 18th round, 2017 draft (Tusculum); Greeneville
Carlos Hiraldo - International free agent, 2013 (Dominican Republic); appeared in 3 games with Quad Cities and 2 with Corpus Christi in 2018 prior to being assigned to Tri-City
Juan Pablo Lopez - International free agent, 2016 (Mexico); GCL
Hansel Paulino - International free agent, 2014 (Dominican Republic); Greeneville
Juan Robles - International free agent, 2014 (Mexico); appeared in 3 games for Quad Cities in 2018 prior to being assigned to Tri-City
Nivaldo Rodriguez - International free agent, 2016 (Venezuela); DSL Astros Blue/GCL
Felipe Tejada - International free agent, 2015 (Dominican Republic); Greeneville/Tri-City

Catchers

Oscar Campos - International free agent, 2014 (Venezuela); Greeneville
Jose Carrillo - International free agent, 2015 (Venezuela); DSL Orange/GCL
Alex Holderbach - 16th round, 2018 draft (Eastern Kentucky)

Infielders

Kyle Davis - 15th round, 2017 draft (West Virginia); Tri-City
Trey Dawson - 15th round, 2018 draft (Kentucky)
Luis Encarnación - Minor league free agent signing, 2018; was originally signed for $1 million by Phillies in 2013 out of the Dominican Republic
Jonathan Matute - International free agent signed for $215,000, 2013 (Venezuela); DSL Blue/GCL
Jeremy Peña - 3rd round, 2018 draft (Maine)
Juan Piñeda - International free agent signed for $100,000, 2014 (Panama); GCL/Greeneville
Ozziel Sanchez-Galan - International free agent, 2014 (Panama); DSL Blue/Greeneville, also appeared in one game with Buies Creek and one game with Corpus Christi
Enmanuel Valdez - International free agent signed for $450,000, 2015 (Dominican Republic); GCL/Greeneville
Michael Wielansky - 18th round, 2018 draft (The College of Wooster)

Outfielders

Seth Beer - 1st round, 2018 draft (Clemson)
Gilberto Celestino - International free agent signed for $2.5 million, 2015 (Dominican Republic); appeared in three games with Corpus Christi prior to being assigned to Tri-City
Austin Dennis - 20th round, 2018 draft (Middle Tennessee State)
Carlos Machado - International free agent, 2015 (Venezuela); GCL/Greeneville
Logan Mattix - 25th round, 2018 draft (Georgia College & State University)
Andy Piñeda - International free agent signed for $30,000, 2014 (Dominican Republic); Tri-City
Ramiro Rodriguez - International free agent, 2015 (Panama); DSL Orange/GCL