The Eugene Emeralds, the Short-Season Class-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, opens its 2016 season on Friday at home against the Boise Hawks. The Emeralds released its Opening Day Roster. And the first roster of the Ems season is loaded with prospects.
RHP Dylan Cease and LHP Bryan Hudson headline the Emeralds’ pitching staff. D.J. Wilson, Kevonte Mitchell and Matt Rose standout on the positon player side along with Chris Pieters, Wladimir Galindo and Robert Garcia.
Dylan Cease is widely considered the best pitching prospect in the system. Cease can light up a radar gun with a fastball that touches triple digits. Cease was 1-2 in 11 games, eight starts, for the AZL Cubs last season with a 2.62 ERA and 1.16 WHIP.
Bryan Hudson was the Cubs third round pick in the 2015 draft. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound lefty has very good stuff. The 19-year old appeared in only five games after he signed last summer. With Cease and Hudson at the top of the Ems rotation, there will be a lot of eyes on Short-Season Eugene this year.
Jesus Feliciano begins his third season as a coach in Chicago’s organization and his first as a manager with Eugene after spending last season as South Bend’s hitting coach. He enjoyed a 16-year playing career from 1998-2013, including action in 54 games with the Mets in 2010. Joining the staff at Eugene will be pitching coach, Brian Lawrence, who enters his first season as Eugene’s pitching coach after serving in the same role with South Bend in 2015. Lawrence made his coaching debut in 2012 in the Independent Frontier League and spent 2013 as the pitching coach of Single-A Lake Elsinore in the Padres system. The former right-hander went 50-63 with a 4.19 ERA during a six-year big league career with the Padres and Mets.
Ty Wright, who spent seven years as an outfielder in the Cubs minor league system, is the team’s hitting coach after serving as a coach with Mesa last year. Gary Van Tol will serve as a coach after spending the last three seasons as Eugene’s manager.
Coaching Staff
- Manager: Jesus Feliciano
- Pitching Coach: Brian Lawrence
- Hitting Coach: Ty Wright
- Assistant Manager: Gary Van Tol
- Athletic Trainer: Logan Severson
- Strength Coach: Ryan Nordtvedt
Eugene’s initial roster consists of 15 pitchers, three catchers, six infielders and five outfielders.
Eugene Emeralds 2016 Opening Day Roster
Pitchers (15)
- Jesus Castillo, RHP
- Dylan Cease, RHP
- Jared Cheek, RHP
- Enrique De Los Rios, RHP
- Scott Frazier, RHP
- Bryan Hudson, LHP
- Michael Knighton, RHP
- Mark Malave, RHP
- M.T. Minacci, RHP
- Tommy Nance, RHP
- Jose Paulino, LHP
- Tyler Peitzmeier, LHP
- Manuel Rondon, LHP
- Alex Santana, RHP
- Pedro Silverio, RHP
Catchers (3)
Infielders (6)
- Wladimir Galindo
- Andruw Monasterio
- Jose Paniagua
- Yeiler Peguero
- Chris Pieters
- Matt Rose
Outfielders (5)
- Alex Bautista
- Robert Garcia
- Ricardo Marcano
- Kevonte Mitchell
- D.J. Wilson
• Official Eugene Emeralds 2016 Roster