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St. Louis Cardinals: Peoria Chiefs Announce Opening Day Roster

By Patrick Karraker

Mar 6, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nick Plummer (93) field a ball during a spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nick Plummer (93) field a ball during a spring training game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cardinals’ Low A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs, announced its Opening Day roster on Monday, and it includes several top prospects.

With the excitement of Opening Day now concluded, one of the most exciting developments for avid baseball fans is the announcement of minor-league rosters. The first St. Louis Cardinals affiliate to announce its roster this year was Low A Peoria, and the Chiefs’ roster isn’t short on talent by any means.

Peoria’s initial roster includes 2016 first-rounder Dylan Carlson (16), 2015 sandwich pick Jordan Hicks (18), 2015 first-rounder Nick Plummer (23), 2014 second-rounder Ronnie Williams (25), and 2015 second-rounder Bryce Denton (26).

The roster includes 11 members of the Cardinals’ 2016 draft class, including four players who were picked within the top 10 rounds: Carlson, sixth-rounder Tommy Edman, seventh-rounder Andrew Knizner, and 10th-rounder Danny Hudzina.

The top returning player on the 2017 roster is catcher Brian O’Keefe, who had an .808 OPS and a team-best 13 homers in 101 games for Peoria last season. It should be interesting to see how the catching duties are divided up between O’Keefe, a seventh-rounder in 2014, and Knizner, who seems to be the flavor of the month after getting invited to big-league spring training this year. In fact, Knizner is the only player on Peoria’s initial roster who attended the Cardinals’ major-league camp.

Here’s the complete list of players who will begin the season with the Chiefs:

Starting pitchers: Bryan Dobzanski, Steven Farinaro, Jordan Hicks, John Kilichowski, Ian Oxnevad, Ronnie Williams

Relief pitchers: Estarlian Arias, Brady Bowen, Eric Carter, Dailyn Martinez, Ramon Santos, Greg Tomchick, Spencer Trayner

Catchers: Andrew Knizner, Ryan McCarvel, Brian O’Keefe

Infielders: J.R. Davis, Tommy Edman, Danny Hudzina, Stefan Trosclair, Andy Young

Outfielders: Dylan Carlson, Bryce Denton, Vince Jackson, Nick Plummer

Next: Cardinals Agree to Extension with Stephen Piscotty

Peoria kicks off its season Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels’ Low A affiliate, the Burlington Bees.

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