DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—The Daytona Tortugas have announced their 30-man 2023 roster ahead of Opening Day on Friday, April 7.
As previously announced, the Tortugas will be led by manager Julio Morillo. He is joined by hitting coach Jason Broussard, the lone holdover from 2022’s staff in bench coach Lenny Harris, coach Dick Schofield, and pitching coach Willie Blair, a change from the original staff.
On the player side, the roster is headlined by infielder Cam Collier, who not only is the youngest player on the roster (at just 18 years old), but was also the Reds’ top selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, being selected 18th overall. Fellow first-rounder Sal Stewart, an infielder, and second-round catcher Logan Tanner also break camp with the ‘Tugas, meaning the top three 2022 selections for Cincinnati will begin the season on The Beach. Going back further, 2018 second-round pitcher Lyon Richardson breaks camp in Daytona, as does 2017 third-round pitcher Jacob Heatherly.
Additionally, five international bats—all of whom are 19 or under—who are among Cincinnati’s Top-30 prospects as ranked by MLB Pipeline will start the year in Daytona. They are infielders Carlos Jorge (#16 prospect), Carlos Acosta (#17), and Leo Balcazar (#24) and outfielders Ariel Almonte *(#21) and *Hector Rodriguez (#25).
On the top-30 list, Collier (#4), Stewart (#9), Tanner (#19), and Richardson (#30) give Daytona nine ranked prospects in the Reds system. Collier also checks in on all major Top-100 lists in Major League Baseball, landing at #69 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings, #70 on the Baseball America list, and #71 by Fangraphs.
The full roster features 16 pitchers: right-handers Lyon Richardson, Mason Pelio, Arij Fransen, Kenya Huggins, Ryan Cardona, Brody Jessee, John Murphy, Johnathan Harmon, Easton Sikorski, Jared Lyons, Chris McElvain, and Zach Maxwell, in addition to left-handers Joseph Menefee, Nicolo Pinazzi, Rob Hensey, and Jacob Heatherly
Positionally, three catchers make the squad: Logan Tanner, Cade Hunter, *and *Andruw Salcedo. They are joined by seven infielders, Carlos Jorge, Leo Balcazar, Victor Acosta, Sal Stewart, Michel Triana, Cam Collier, and Yassel Pino, and finally four outfielders: Malvin Valdez, Hector Rodriguez, Wendell Marrero, and Ariel Almonte.
Tortugas fans may recognize some names, as 11 players who saw time at The Jack a season ago return: Menefee, Pinazzi, Cardona, Maxwell, Tanner, Hunter, Salcedo, Triana, Pino, Rodriguez, and Marrero.
Daytona will open the season on Friday, April 7 on the road against the St. Lucie Mets at 6:10 p.m. The Tortugas will open up their home schedule on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:35 p.m. against the Palm Beach Cardinals.
Daytona Tortugas single-game tickets and ticket packages are on sale now at daytonatortugas.com, (386) 257-3172, or the box office at 110 East Orange Ave.
ABOUT THE DAYTONA TORTUGAS
The Daytona Tortugas are the Single-A Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and a member of Minor League Baseball’s Florida State League. The Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in downtown Daytona Beach, Fla. Jackie Robinson Ballpark also plays host to Bethune-Cookman University, the Jackie Robinson Ballpark Museum, and many community events and initiatives of all sizes throughout the year.
