Breaking down the Staten Island Yankees Opening Day roster

Today marks the beginning of the Staten Island Yankees season, allowing college players taken out of the draft and those still in extended spring training get to finally play in some affiliated baseball games. I previously previewed SI's potential roster back in April based mostly on guesswork, but now the official roster is out so I want to take a look back and see how I did.

My Rotation:

Ian Clarkin

Ty Hensley

Omar Luis

Cale Coshow

David Palladino

I only got two out of five right as the Yankees allowed Clarkin and Luis to get a chance in Low-A Charleston after a few weeks in extended spring training. I was right with Palladino, who will actually be tonight's starting pitcher. Coshow is listed on the roster, but it has yet to be seen if he'll be a starter or reliever, though I'm still sticking to starter.

Actual Rotation:

• David Palladino
• Sam Agnew-Wieland
• Jordan Cote
• Dillon McNamara
• One of Cale Coshow/Manolo Reyes/Elvin Perez/Matt Wotherspoon

Cote has been demoted from Charleston and will get a shot in the rotation. I assumed that McNamara and Agnew Wieland would be relievers going forward, but it looks like they'll get a chance for now. The Yankees have plenty of college pitching coming in through the draft and some could end up here.

My Bullpen:

Tim Giel

Conner Kendrick

Ranoy Bautista

Dillon McNamara

Sam Agnew-Wieland

Ethan Carnes

Chaz Hebert

I only got four out of seven right, but it turns out that both McNamara and Agnew-Wieland are getting chances in the starting rotation to start the season. Hebert and Kendrick have actually spent time in High-A and Bautista is in Low-A Charleston.

Actual Bullpen:

• Andury Acevado
• Andrew Beresford
• Ethan Carnes
• Jose Pena
• Chad Taylor
• Francis Joseph
• Cale Coshow/Manolo Reyes/Elvin Perez/Matt Wotherspoon

SI seems to be carrying a few extra relievers. With one rotation spot left, Coshow, Reyes, Perez, and Wotherspoon are the only pitchers who have starting experience.

My Infield

Isaias Tejada (C)

Bubba Jones (1B)

Derek Toadvine (2B)

Thairo Estrada (SS)

Kale Sumner (3B)

Kevin Cornelius (3B)

Radley Haddad (C)

Christopher Breen (1B)

Bryan Cuevas (SS)

I think I did pretty well for infielders. Tejada and Haddad are on the roster, Breen and Jones are there, and Estrada will likely get the brunt of the work at shortstop. Unfortunately, it only came to light recently that Cornelius had Tommy John surgery and Sumner was brought up to Charleston to replace the injured Luis Torrens. I have no idea where Derek Toadvine will be playing, but it's possible he's being held back in extended spring training to continue to work on his switch hitting.

Actual Infield:

• Jake Anderson (2B)
• Christopher Breen (1B)
• Thairo Estrada (SS)
• Jose Javier (2B)
• Bubba Jones (1B)
• Renzo Martini (1B)
• Ty McFarland (3B)
• Brady Steiger (1B)
• Bo Thompson (1B)
• Radley Haddad (C)
• Isaias Tejada (C)
• Collin Slaybaugh (C)

If you're keeping score at home, that's a total of five first basemen on one team. Breen and Martini have some experience at third base, and there will obviously be a designated hitter, but that seems like overkill, especially when it would be nice for Thompson to get regular reps there. As for the catchers, I imagine that newly drafted Slaybaugh will get a majority of the playing time behind the plate. Drafted as a second baseman, it looks like McFarland will be playing at third base.

My Outfield:

Nathan Mikolas

Daniel Lopez

Austin Aune

Dustin Fowler

I did well guessing the outfield, though Fowler is actually in Charleston right now. Aune and Mikolas will likely serve as starting outfielders to start the season, while Lopez acts as the fourth outfielder.

Actual Outfield:

• Austin Aune
• Devyn Bolasky
• Daniel Lopez
• Nathan Mikolas

The only difference between my outfield and their outfield is the inclusion of Bolasky, who will likely be a starting outfielder fresh out of the draft. Aune is going to need to really figure things out if he wants to regain some of his lost value as a second-round pick.

Remember, of course, that the Yankees still have plenty of draftees that need to be placed. I said in my original preview post that many on the players I had on the team would be displaced and even though the season is starting, that will likely still happen. The Yankees could be aggressive with many of their fresh crop of college players and place them in higher levels, but it's likely that someone else would be pushed down to Staten Island in that case. There are still many other moves to be made. Out of who we have her, who are you most interested in?