The Somerset Patriots announced their Opening Day Roster for the 2022 season. This will be the team’s second season as the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate. Last year they finished the season with a 72-47 Record.
This year’s roster will feature seven of the Yankees top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. They include SS Anthony Volpe (#1), LHP Ken Waldichuk (#6), RHP Luis Medina (#12), RHP Randy Vasquez (#16), OF Brandon Lockridge (#18), C Josh Breaux (#26), and OF Elijah Dunham (#27)
The Somerset Patriots pitching staff includes Left-Handers Josh Maciejewski, Matt Minnick, and Ken Waldichuk. Right-Handers Sean Boyle, Jhony Brito, Derek Craft, Nick Ernest, Carlos Espinal, Michael Gomez, Steven Jennings, Barrett Loseke, Luis Medina, Charlie Ruegger, Mitch Spence, Randy Vasquez, and Kyle Zurak.
My pitchers to watch heading this season are Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk, Sean Boyle, and Randy Vasquez.
RHP Luis Medina played in 15 games for the Patriots last season posting a 4-3 record. He had a 3.67 ERA and 83 K’s in 73.2 IP. Luis is a hard-throwing pitcher. He features a 96-99 MPH fastball, a changeup, and a curveball. If Luis can have better location with his pitches this season there’s a good chance he could potentially get called up to AAA.
LHP Ken Waldichuk spent his 2021 season playing in both A+ and AA. He was one of the best strikeout pitchers in all of the minors having 163 K’s in just 110 innings. During his time in Somerset, he posted a 4-3 record in 16 games last season. In 79.1 IP he had a 4.20 ERA and 108 K’s. Waldichuk features both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.
RHP Sean Boyle is not a top prospect but he is an intriguing player to watch this season. Last season he spent his time in pretty much every minor league level. He posted an 8-3 record in 86 IP. He had an ERA of 1.99 and had 98 K’s. Boyle spent a little time in AA where he posted a 1.32 ERA in 13.2 IP. His repertoire includes a fastball, cutter, slider, and changeup.
RHP Randy Vasquez played last season in A, A+, and AA. Last season he had an 8-4 record in 23 games. He posted a 2.52 ERA in 107.1 IP. He netted 130 K’s and 38 BBs. His best pitch in his repertoire is his curveball, and he also features a fastball, changeup, and slider.
The catchers for this season will be Josh Breaux and Rodolfo Durán.
Infielders 1B Mickey Gasper, 1B Eric Wagaman, 2B Jesus Bastidas, 3B Chad Bell, 3B Andres Chaparro, 2B/SS Anthony Volpe, SS Max Burt, and IF/OF Oliver Dunn.
New Jersey native Anthony Volpe is an exciting player to watch this season. He was a 2019 first-round pick. He is ranked as the number 8 prospect in baseball and the Yankees number one prospect. Last season Volpe played in both A and A+. In 109 games he had a slash line of .294/.423/.604. Volpe also had an OPS of 1.027. He had 27 HR, six 3B, 35 2B, and 33 SB. Volpe has a lot of speed on the base path and power in his bat.
Outfielders for this season are Elijah Dunham, Brandon Lockridge, and Blake Perkins.
Elijah Dunham is heading into his first season with the Patriots. During his time in A and A+ last year, Dunham had a slash line of .263/.362/.463. He had 13 HR, 25 2B, 57 RBI, and 28 SB. Dunham seems to have a good eye for the ball while up at-bat. He was walked 47 times in 93 games played. He isn’t a guy who is going to mash tons of home runs but is a guy that can get on base with his contact hitting and ability to draw walks.
Brandon Lockridge is ranked as the number eighteen prospect in the Yankees organization. Last season, Lockridge played in 43 games with the Patriots where he had a slash line of .328/.382/.557. He had 57 Hits, 10 HR, and 10 2B. Lockridge looks like he can be a very good power hitter but needs to work on his approach at the plate.
Somerset Patriots Ready to Begin Season
The Somerset Patriots will play their first game of the season away on April 8 against the Reading Fightin Phils. Their first homestand will begin on April 12 against the Erie SeaWolves.
Jersey Sporting News will have complete coverage of the Patriots throughout the season.
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