The Auckland Tuatara manager Steve Mintz has confirmed a 22-man roster for the franchise's Australian Baseball League debut series in Perth later this week.
The Tuatara side contains nine New Zealanders - one more than the league's minimum requirement.
Auckland Tuatara pitcher Josh Collmenter. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Mintz's pitching staff will be led by former Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Josh Collmenter and promising young New Zealander Kyle Glogoski. Those two along with Taiwanese player Chen Yu-Syuan and New Zealand representative Jimmy Boyce are likely to form the starting rotation in the four game series against the Heat.
Confirming their place after strong performances against the Brisbane Bandits in pre-season games are American outfielder Shawon Dunston Jr and infielder Luke Hansen.
Dunston Jr is the son of former Chicago Cubs star Shawon Dunston - a former number one overall pick in the MLB Draft. Hansen is from Auckland and is a product of the Howick Pakuranga Hawks club.
"We are very happy with the 22 we have picked, Mintz said. "I have made these rosters in the ABL before and this is by far the toughest one I have done. There were lots of good choices but in the end we went with these 22.
"We hope that we can use all involved to help us as we move forward in the season.
"The Tuatara are excited to begin this new tradition with baseball in New Zealand."
They make their ABL debut Friday night before a double-header on Saturday and a fourth match on Sunday.
The team then travels back across the Tasman for their first ever home game next Friday against the Bandits.
SQUAD
Pitchers
Josh Collmenter (USA)
Kyle Glogoski (NZL)
Chen Yu-Syuan (TAI)
Jimmy Boyce (NZL)
Elliot Johnstone (NZL)
Yuki Harada (JAP)
Scott Cone (NZL)
Brandon Marklund (CAN)
Ross Vance (USA)
Nathan Crawford (AUS)
Catchers
Te Wera Bishop (NZL)
Kuo Chun-Wei (TAI)
Infielders
Daniel Lamb-Hunt (NZL)
Duncan Izaaks (NZL)
Luke Hansen (NZL)
Tsai I-Hsuan (TAI)
Kris Richards (USA)
Outfielders
Eric Jenkins (USA)
Zach Clark (USA)
Max Brown (NZL)
Guiyuan Xu (CHI)
Shawon Dunston Jr (USA)
