The Texas Rangers announced the initial roster of players that will be assigned to Hickory to begin the season. The initial 29 players include 15 pitchers (3 left handers), 3 catchers, 6 infielders, and 5 outfielders.

Six players are ranked in the Rangers’ Top 30 Prospects: Kumar Rocker (#10 and the 3rd overall pick in the 2022 draft), Mitch Bratt (#17), Emiliano Teodo (#21), Alejandro Osuna (#25), Maximo Acosta (#26), and Josh Stephan (#30).

Only 9 new players will be suiting up for the Crawdads this season as the roster is made up of 20 returners, many of which joined the team in the second half of last season.

The roster features a diverse selection of players, hailing from six different countries: the US, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. The five outfielders on the roster each are from a different country.

The current break camp roster is at 29 players, meaning they will have an open roster spot.

Jose Jaimes will also return to the Crawdads coaching staff, replacing Jon Goebel as pitching coach. The role is familiar to Jaimes as he oversaw the Crawdads staff from 2016 through 2019.

The team will arrive this weekend and prepare for next Tuesday’s exhibition against the Catawba Valley Community College Red Hawks. The regular season will start Thursday, April 6th as the Winston-Salem Dash come to town for a three-game series. Tickets for all 66 Crawdads games and the exhibition game are currently on sale at hickorycrawdads.com.