The Visalia Rawhide announce their roster ahead of the season opener against the Lake Elsinore Storm
VISALIA – Baseball season has arrived and so has the official roster for the Visalia Rawhide ahead of the season opener at Lake Elsinore. 18 players will return from the 2022 Rawhide.
The Visalia Rawhide will open their season with a three-game series against the Lake Elsinore Storm on April 6. The team’s roster for the 2023 season includes three players that are top 25 prospects within the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. 18 of the 30 players on the roster spent time with the Rawhide last season. The home opener will be on April 11 at Valley Strong Ballpark against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
The three players in the top 30 prospects for the Diamondbacks are Druw Jones, Manuel Pena and Andrew Pintar. Druw Jones was drafted second overall by the Diamondbacks in the 2022 MLB draft but suffered a left shoulder injury during his very first batting practice with the organization. He will make his professional debut with the Rawhide this season. He is the third best prospect in the Diamondbacks system and the 15th best prospect in the MLB.
Manuel Pena was an international free agent signed by the Diamondbacks that played with the Rawhide in 2022. He’s ranked as the 21st prospect for the Diamondbacks this year after last season’s performance. Pena batted .248/.344/.314 with the Rawhide in 36 games last year, but is three years younger than the average player in the league. The 19-year-old will be one to watch for improvement this season.
Another player making his professional debut with the Rawhide is Andrew Pintar, the 25th prospect in the organization. He was drafted from Brigham Young University in the fifth round last year. Pintar also injured his shoulder in March 2022 which is why he dropped to the fifth round after a promising sophomore season. Due to the injury, he’ll probably be limited to playing second base, so his batting will be important in determining his prospects for next year.
On the coaching side, manager Darrin Garner will be leading the Rawhide for the 2023 season. Garner has been with the Diamondbacks organization for eight years and was the bench coach for the Rawhide in 2021. This will be his second season with the Rawhide.
Joining Garner will be pitching coach Tyler Mark, who will be returning to Visalia as a coach after playing for the team in parts of the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Mark was a reliever for the Rawhide and retired at the end of the 2019 season. This will be Mark’s first season as a coach for the Rawhide after serving as the pitching coach for the Dominican Summer League last year.
The final newcomer for the Rawhide is Rolando Arnedo who will be the bench coach for the Rawhide this season. He has worked for the Diamondbacks organization in several different roles for the last decade, but this will be his first season in Visalia.
While the season opener will be an away game in Lake Elsinore on April 6, the Rawhide will make their home debut on April 11 at 6:30pm at Valley Strong Ballpark against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
