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LOS ANGELES — The Great Lakes Loons announced their opening day roster on Monday, three days before the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate opens Midwest League play.
The roster features 10 players drafted by the Dodgers in 2016, including pitchers Jordan Sheffield (first round supplemental), Dustin May (fourth), Devin Smeltzer (fifth) and A.J. Alexy (11th) and outfielder Cody Thomas (13th).
Switch-hitting catcher Keibert Ruiz begins the year in Great Lakes at just 18 years old, after hitting .354/.393/.503 with 22 extra-base hits in 48 games with rookie-level Ogden in 2016.
Also noticeable, both figuratively and literally, on the Loons roster is 18-year-old third baseman Oneil Cruz, part of the Dodgers’ 2015-2016 international amateur haul. He’s 6’8, and is stateside for the first time after playing last year in the Dominican Summer League.
@NorbertoPaulino Wondering about that 6-ft-8 3B? Photo has Oneil Cruz standing next to 5-ft-7 mgr Jeremy Rodriguez. pic.twitter.com/JHdpJMxZHO
— Bill Mitchell (@billazbbphotog) April 2, 2017
Great Lakes Loons listed in David Hood’s top 30 Dodgers prospects entering 2017 include Sheffield (15th), Davis (20th) and May (21st). Ruiz was unranked due to lack of video.
The Loons are managed this season by Jeremy Rodriguez, a 27-year-old in his first season in the Dodgers system. His coaching staff includes Fumi Ishibashi, hitting coach Jair Fernandez, and pitching coach Conor McGuinness.
First team workout at #DowDiamond#DiveIn #LoonsBaseball pic.twitter.com/JCa1uUjIEV
— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) April 3, 2017
Great Lakes opens their season on Thursday night with a 3:05 p.m. PT game at home against Lansing.
Great Lakes 2017 opening day roster
| Pos | Player | B/T | 40-man? | 2016 highest level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Player | B/T | 40-man? | 2016 highest level |
| RHP | A.J. Alexy | R/R | No | Rookie |
| LHP | Leonardo Crawford | L/L | No | Low-A |
| RHP | Tony Gonsolin | R/R | No | Low-A |
| RHP | Nolan Long | R/R | No | Low-A |
| RHP | Dustin May | R/R | No | Rookie |
| RHP | Lenix Osuna | R/R | No | Rookie |
| RHP | Vinny Santarsiero | R/R | No | Rookie |
| RHP | Jose Santos | R/R | No | Low-A |
| RHP | Sven Schuller | R/R | No | Rookie |
| RHP | Jordan Sheffiled | R/R | No | Low-A |
| LHP | Devin Smeltzer | R/L | No | Rookie |
| RHP | Willian Soto | R/R | No | Low-A |
| RHP | Christian Stolo | R/R | No | n/a |
| C | Keibert Ruiz | S/R | No | Rookie |
| C | Steve Berman | R/R | No | Low-A |
| IF | Gersel Pitre | R/R | No | Rookie |
| 1B | Luis Paz | L/R | No | Rookie |
| IF | Brendon Davis | R/R | No | Low-A |
| 3B | Oneil Cruz | R/L | No | Dominican |
| IF | Zach McKinstry | L/R | No | Low-A |
| OF | Saige Jenco | L/L | No | Low-A |
| OF | Darien Tubbs | R/L | No | Low-A |
| OF | Cody Thomas | L/R | No | Rookie |
| OF | Carlos Rincon | R/R | No | Rookie |
| OF | Gage Green | L/R | No | Low-A |