Rome Braves announce opening day roster
The Rome Braves, brand new High-a affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, have unveiled its opening day roster for the 2021 season which begins Tuesday on the road in Winston Salem.
As ranked by Mlb.com, the Rome club features seven of the Atlanta Braves top 30 prospects including Jared Shuster (No. 7), Michael Harris (No. 10), Bryce Elder (No. 12), Bryce Ball (No. 13), Jesse Franklin V (No. 16), Kasey Kalich (No. 23), and Logan Brown (No. 25).
The roster includes three of Atlanta’s five 2020 draft selections including Shuster, the first-round pick out of Wake Forest, who struck out struck out 43 batters in 26 and 1/3 innings through a COVID-19 shortened season in his last collegiate season. Franklin V, a third-round pick out of University of Michigan last year, sat out his junior season due to injury, but earned honors as an NCAA College World Series Alltournament selection and had a career .287 batting average and 102 runs driven in through 115 games with the Wolverines. Elder, the fifth-round pick for Atlanta out of University of Texas, boasted a 2.08 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched through a COVID-19 shortened season.
Coleman Huntley, who the Braves signed following the 2020 draft, will make his professional baseball debut after his collegiate playing career ended at Point Loma Nazarene University in 2016.
Eight position players from last year’s club are set to return along with seven pitchers. In addition to Harris II, Ball, and Brown, Rome fans will see familiar faces on the infield in Kevin Josephina and Riley Delgado, and outfielders Shean Michel, Andrew Moritz and Jose Bermudez. For the pitchers, Kalich returns to Rome in 2021 alongside right handers Zach Daniels, Ricky Devito, Trey Riley, and Alan Rangel, and left handers Tanner Lawson and Gabriel Noguera.
The Rome Braves home opener is set for May 18 at 7 p.m. against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Season tickets, mini ticket plans and individual game tickets are on sale now.