Infielders Wilmer Flores and Jefry Marte Return
Savannah, GA – The Savannah Sand Gnats, in conjunction with their parent New York Mets, released the team’s Opening Day Roster today.
Shortstop Wilmer Flores and third baseman Jefry Marte, both just 18 years old, each return for their second season with the Sand Gnats. Baseball America ranked Flores as the #2 prospect in the Mets system while Baseball Prospectus ranked him #3 this winter, coming off a 2009 season with Savannah in which he hit .264/.305/.332 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 20 doubles and three homeruns in 125 games. Marte garnered a #13 ranking from Baseball America and a #14 ranking from Baseball Prospectus.
On the mound, nine of the 13 pitchers on the Gnats roster spent 2009 pitching for the Brooklyn Cyclones, who finished fourth in the New York-Penn League in ERA (3.05) and allowed the fewest walks (193) on the circuit.
On Opening Night, sixteen players will put on a Gnats jersey for the first time. Right Fielder Cesar Puello headlines the newcomers. Baseball America ranked the 19-year old Puello as the 17th best prospect in the Mets system, while Baseball Prospectus had him ranked #13 following a 2009 season when he hit .296/.373/.423 for Kingsport in the Rookie level Appalachian League. RHP Brandon Moore, who will join the Gnats rotation, threw the first no-hitter in Brooklyn Cyclones history in a 5-0 win over the Aberdeen IronBirds on August 23, 2009 as part of a season in which he finished fifth in the NYP in ERA (2.09).
Marte and Flores are joined by ten other players who saw time with the Sand Gnats in 2009. Right-hander Armando Rodriguez is currently slated to be the Gnats’ Opening Night starter after making three starts for Savannah in 2009 with a 2.16 ERA. On the infield, second baseman Alonzo Harris and first baseman Jeff Flagg each finished the 2009 season by playing seven games with Savannah. However, both played exclusively on the road for the Gnats, so will be making their Historic Grayson Stadium debuts on Opening Night, 2010. Flagg hit .301/.365/.500 with 10 home runs for Kingsport, while Harris also bopped 10 homeruns with five triples. Behind the plate, Kai Gronauer, who played 67 games for the Gnats in 2009, returns for his second tour of duty with Savannah. In the outfield, returners include Juan Lagares, who has seen time with the Gnats in the three previous seasons, and Rafael Fernandez, who played all three outfield positions for Savannah in 2009. On the pitching staff, Mark Cohoon threw for in Savannah in 2008 and Erik Turgeon began last year as a Gnat before moving down to the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League. Cohoon finished sixth in the NYP in ERA (2.15) one spot behind teammate Brandon Moore.
The Gants have two players on their roster who call Georgia home: Collin McHugh and Taylor Whitenton. McHugh, a native of Covington, GA, started for Brooklyn on Opening Day last year, attended Berry College in Rome, GA. Whitenton, from Conyers, GA, also attended Darton JC in Albany, GA.
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