Trenton Thunder Announce 2014 Roster

Feb 28, 2014; Lakeland, FL, USA; New York Yankees catcher

(right) runs around the bases and high fives third base coach Rob Thomson (59) after he hit a solo home run during the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats come to Arm & Hammer Park this Thursday, April 3rd to take on skipper Tony Franklin and the reigning Eastern League Champion Trenton Thunder. The Thunder, the Yankees Double-A affiliate, announced their final roster Monday afternoon. They will begin the 2014 season this Thursday with 19 spots on the 25-man roster returning from last season’s championship club.

The Thunder appear to be ready for a big season. Gary Sanchez, the Yankees number one prospect in the entire farm system, will be behind the plate leading this team. Joining him are three other of the Yankees’ Top 30 prospects: number three prospect, OF Mason Williams, number 21 prospect, pitcher Bryan Mitchell, and number 29 prospect, IF Rob Refsnyder. Sanchez and Mitchell were on the 40-man roster this spring. Sanchez held his own before his early reassignment, batting .364 with two HRS in just 8 games. Mitchell registered a win in his brief 2 appearances. There was a lot of hype surrounding Williams coming into this spring, however, he under performed compiling a .154 batting average with only 4 RBI in 26 at bats. Refsnyder was hitless in his three at bats.

A few other notable stars made brief appearances with the Yankees this spring. Infielder Ali Castillo, who was named MVP of the 2013 EL Playoffs, made 6 appearances in Tampa. Back-up catcher, Francisco Arcia made some noise when he blasted a home run off of Orioles’ Opening Day starting pitcher, Chris Tillman. Outfielder Ben Gamel made six appearances and recorded one hit, while third baseman Zach Wilson went hitless in his one opportunity. Pitchers Jeremy Bleich and Brandon Pinder both made one appearance before being reassigned.

Joining Mitchel, Belich, and Pinder on pitching coach Tommy Phelps’ pitching staff are:

Manny Barreda
Joel De La Cruz
Aaron Dott
Jairo Heredia
Cole Kimball
Diego Moreno
Zach Nuding
Charley Short
Matt Tracey
Pat Venditte

Filling out the rest of the offense will be:

C Tyson Blaser
IF Carmen Angelini
IF Rob Segedin
OF Taylor Dugas
OF Yeral Sanchez

The Thunder have the pieces in place to make a run at back-to-back championships. We will find out for sure when they get their season underway this Thursday.