Meet the 2016 Staten Island Yankees

The 2016 Staten Island Yankees opened their season this weekend with a series against the Brooklyn Cyclones. Here’s a look at the Baby Bombers playing in the Short Season NY-Penn League this year.

Coaches

Manager Dave Bialas takes over the helm of the 2016 Staten Island Yankees after guiding the High-A Tampa Yankees to a 66-72 record last season. Bialas has served on the major league coaching staffs of both the Padres and the Cubs and played ten seasons in the Cardinals minor league system from 1973 to 1982.

Former Yankees top prospect Eric Duncan returns as the hitting coach for the Baby Bombers. He was the team’s first round selection in the 2003 draft (27th overall) and climbed the ladder all the way to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes Barre, but ultimately failed to crack the big leagues. Travis Phelps will make his professional coaching debut in 2016, taking the reins of the Staten Island Yankees pitching staff. Phelps played three seasons in the big leagues as a reliever for Tampa Bay and Milwaukee from 2001-2004. Teuris Olivares has been coaching in the Yankee organization since 2011, and this will be his second season coaching defense for Staten Island. He spent nine seasons as an infielder in New York’s system from 1996-2004, reaching as high as Double-A Trenton.

Catchers

Despite missing the entire 2015 season to shoulder surgery, Luis Torrens was ranked the 12th best prospect in the Yankees system prior to this year, and has the potential to climb much higher with a strong campaign. This will be his second go-round with Staten Island. In 2014, he was named to the NY-Penn League All Star team as an 18-year-old and put together an impressive 21 game hitting streak, finishing with a .270/.327/.405 line while exhibiting standout defense. At 20, he remains almost a year younger than the average NY-Penn League player this season.

Backup catcher Keith Skinner was New York’s seventh-round selection in the 2016 amateur draft out of the University of North Florida. He hit .382/.466/.486 in 57 games as a 22-year-old this spring.

Infielders

The biggest name in this group is expected to be 2016 second round pick Nick Solak, who will reportedly make his signing official on Monday. The team is said to see him primarily as a second baseman going forward despite seeing outfield time at Louisville. Nine infielders are currently listed on the Staten Island Yankees roster, although a lot of these names will change as recent draftees sign and are assigned. Corner infielder Drew Bridges (.593 OPS in 204 PA) and 19-year-old middle infielder Danienger Perez (1.222 OPS in 9 PA), a member of the vaunted 2014 international free agent class, are among those returning from last year’s squad.

2016 eighth rounder Dalton Blaser looks likely to split time between first base and the outfield, while 17th rounder Mandy Alvarez appears to be the Baby Bombers’ primary option at the hot corner. 21-year-old middle infielder Ricardo Ferreira raked in the Dominican Summer League in 2015, hitting .382/.513/.492 in 305 PA, although it should be noted that he was 1.6 years older than the league average and he was in his second year at that level. First baseman/DH Kane Sweeney also put up a gaudy batting line in 2015 against younger competition, slashing .320/.437/.562 in 191 PA for Short Season Pulaski.

Diminutive utilityman Chris Godinez was signed as a free agent in March after playing 30 games for the Dodgers Rookie League affiliate in 2015. Entering his third year in the Yankee system, 19-year-old middle infielder Yonauris Rodriguez has a career .660 OPS split between the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. Rounding out the cast is longtime farmhand Jose Rosario, who joins the Baby Bombers on a rehab assignment after splitting time between Trenton and Scranton earlier in the season.

Outfielders

As the Yankees’ fifth round pick this June, Dominic Thompson-Williams has the distinction of being the highest selected member of this year’s draft class currently on the Staten Island Yankees roster. The speedy 22-year-old hit third in his professional debut with the Baby Bombers Saturday, and is expected to be a key cog in their offense. 21st rounder Timmy Robinson out of USC will join him in patrolling the outfield of Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

Unsigned Yankees first rounder Blake Rutherford is a possibility to play for Staten Island at some point in 2016, although it would be an aggressive assignment for the high school senior. 31-year-old former college linebacker Josh Thomas-Dotson is also listed on the official Staten Island Yankees roster. His last Baseball-Reference entry is in 2005 with the Padres Rookie League affiliate. Whether this is a mistake or a strange experiment by player development VP Gary Denbo and Co. remains to be seen. Kendall Coleman will provide further depth, after struggling with Low-A Charleston to begin the season.

Pitchers

The most exciting prospect on the pitching staff is 19-year-old righty starter Drew Finley, who ranked 16th in New York’s system by MLB Pipeline. The 2015 third rounder wasted no time making a name for himself in his first NY-Penn League start Saturday, throwing six no-hit innings while striking out five against the Cyclones.

Finley spent 2015 with Pulaski, striking out a solid 41 batters in 32 innings of work. His higher-than-you’d-like 3.94 ERA was a result of issues with walks (5.2 BB/9) and the longball (2.5 HR/9).

2015 Baby Bombers ace Kolton Mahoney (2.29 ERA and 8.2 K/9 in 55 IP) and 2016 Staten Island Yankees Opening Day starter Adonis Rosa (3.93 ERA and 6.9 K/9 in 55 IP for Pulaski) seem like two more locks for the rotation. Other potential starting options include Simon De La Rosa (3.71 ERA in 53.1 IP) and Jonathan Padilla (2.40 ERA in 30 IP) from Pulaski, 19-year-old Freicer Perez, who had a 3.23 ERA in 15 Dominican Summer League starts, and Justin Kamplain, who made 25 mixed-bag starts for Low-A Charleston last season. Literal giant David Palladino has two previous stints with Staten Island from 2013-2014, but was blown up in six appearances for Charleston earlier this year.

Returning relievers Michael Schaub and Josh Roeder will once again anchor the pen for the Staten Island Yankees. Former infielder Claudio Custodio last played for the Baby Bombers in 2012, but will return this year as a pitcher. Eduardo Rivera (3.06 ERA in 35.1 IP) and David Sosebee (2.31 ERA in 35 IP) will both make the jump from Pulaski, while Anyelo Gomez is down from Charleston to provide an extra arm.

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