SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Now less than a week away from the start of the 2010 season, the Reno Aces Opening Day roster has been set and will include top-tier prospects Brandon Allen, John Hester and Cole Gillespie, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced today.
The Aces will begin the 2010 campaign with a number of familiar faces from their inaugural season in 2009. Allen, rated the fourth-best prospect in the D-backs chain by Baseball America, will begin his year in Reno after hitting 12 home runs and batting .324 in 38 games with the Aces last season. Hester, a 2009 Topps Triple-A All-Star, will begin his second-straight season with Aces behind the plate, and outfielder Cole Gillespie comes to Reno on the heels of collecting a .522 slugging percentage in Major League Spring Training.
The Aces pitching staff will be headed by Billy Buckner, who was named Arizona’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season. Bryan Augenstein and Cesar Valdez also will return to Reno in 2010, and the staff will be bolstered by the addition of Major League veteran Kris Benson and up-and-coming prospect Kevin Mulvey.
Reno’s bullpen will include Clay Zavada, who was a key cog in the Arizona bullpen a year ago, and returners Josh Ellis, Jose Marte and Jason Urquidez.
The 2010 season of Reno Aces Baseball kicks-off in earnest in just three days. On Opening Night, April 8, the Aces take-on the Fresno Grizzlies, Triple-A Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, at 6:05 p.m. Select general admission tickets are available. Tickets may be purchased at the Aces Ballpark Box Office, by calling (775) 334-7000 or visiting www.RenoAces.com. Fans are encouraged to pick-up their seats quickly, especially for Opening Weekend.
