MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Monday released their preliminary roster for the 2018 season.
To no one’s surprise, two highly touted infielders and sons of former Major Leaguers highlight the list.
The first part of that duo, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., enters the season as the No. 3 ranked prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America. Guerrero Jr. finished off the Blue Jays’ spring training campaign with a walk-off home run at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, where his Hall of Fame father played for eight seasons.
Guerrero Jr. joins Bo Bichette, the No. 8 ranked prospect in the game by Baseball America. Bichette’s pedigree extends not just to father Dante, but brother Dante Jr., who is currently a prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization.
Bichette completed the 2017 season with a .362 average as part of the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts and Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays.
Cavan Biggio, son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, will also join Bichette and Guerrero Jr. in the infield. A Notre Dame graduate, Biggio earned All-Star nominations at Short Season-A Vancouver (2016) and Dunedin (2017).
Gunnar Heidt, Loudes Gurriel, Jonathan Davis, Andrew Guillotte, Harold Ramirez and Patrick Cantwell return to the Fisher Cats lineup as well, with Cantwell joining Max Pentecost behind the plate to replace the promoted Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire.
On the mound, the Fisher Cats lose Carlos Ramirez, Chris Rowley and Ryan Borucki to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and Thomas Pannone to a 80-game suspension after testing positive for Turinabol, a drug used by East German athletes in the 1960s.
However, New Hampshire will get former Red Sox closer Craig Breslow after signing to the Blue Jays organization in February.
Joining Breslow in the bullpen will be returning Fisher Cats Andrew Case, Danny Young, Justin Shafer and Jose Fernandez as well as newcomers Zach Jackson and Conor Fisk.
In the starting rotation, Sean Reid-Foley, Jon Harris and Francisco Rios return to Manchester, joined by Jordan Romano and Nick Tepesch.
The team arrived at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on Sunday evening, and is scheduled to play an exhibition game against Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
Their regular season begins on the road with a four-game series against the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) from April 5-8 and a three-game set against the Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees) from April 9-11 before returning for the home opener against Hartford on April 13.
