Sunday 1st April 2007

Pittsburgh Pirates’ top-rated prospects Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker and four other players on the Bucs’ 40-man roster headline the Altoona Curve’s Opening Day roster, announced Saturday

McCutchen, 20, and Walker, 21, enter the 2007 season rated by Baseball America as the Pirate organization’s No. 1 and No. 2 prospects, respectively

McCutchen, an outfielder, was named Pittsburgh’s 2006 Organizational Player of the Year after hitting a combined .294 with 17 home runs, 74 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 114 games with Hickory and 20 late-season contests with the Curve

Walker, a native of Pittsburgh who was converted from catcher to third base during spring training, played in 72 games with Lynchburg and 10 with Altoona in 2006, hitting a combined .271 with five homers and 38 RBI

The Curve’s Opening Day roster will also feature four pitchers currently on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, including three pitchers who appeared with Altoona during the 2006 season
Left-handers Dave Davidson and Josh Shortslef and righty Romulo Sanchez will each return for their second season with Altoona, while Cuban-born right-hander Yoslan Herrera will make his United States debut with the Curve

Several familiar names to Curve fans litter the club’s initial roster, including 19 who have appeared for Altoona in previous seasons

Returning players include
pitchers Jonathan Albaladejo, Davidson, Chris Hernandez, Matt Peterson, Jason Roach, Sanchez, Shortslef and Wardell Starling
catchers Dave Parrish and Milver Reyes
infielders Brandon Chaves, Javier Guzman, Taber Lee and Walker; and
outfielders Adam Boeve, Vic Buttler, McCutchen, Matt Meath and 2006 Curve Most Valuable Player Brett Roneberg

Because of the veteran nature of the club’s Opening Day roster, only three players will be making their Double-A debuts with the Curve this season
In addition to Herrera, pitchers Luis Munoz and Justin Vaclavik will be advancing past the Class-A level for the first time in their respective careers

Vaclavik makes the Curve’s Opening Day roster after skipping over the High Class-A level
The right-hander, who was selected in the 7th round of the 2005 Draft out of the University of Houston, went 4-2 with 18 saves and a 3.16 ERA for the Low Class-A Hickory Crawdads in 2006

Rounding out the club’s roster are several key minor league free agent signees, highlighted by first baseman Randy Ruiz, who has been selected to the Eastern League’s post-season All-Star Team in each of the past two seasons with Reading (2005) and Trenton (2006)

Also making the Curve’s Opening Day roster is starting pitcher Kip Bouknight, who was an Eastern League mid-season All-Star selection last season with the Harrisburg Senators

Right-hander Alay Soler, who hails from the same hometown in Cuba as Herrera, is back in the Eastern League after making eight starts for the New York Mets last season

Catcher Justin Elliott, outfielder Alex Fernandez and pitcher Mike Nannini round out the club’s roster

The team will be managed by second-year skipper Tim Leiper, who led the 2006 Curve to a 75-64 record and the franchise’s fourth consecutive Eastern League post-season appearance

Also returning to the Curve bench for a second straight year are pitching coach Ray Searage and hitting coach Brandon Moore

The Curve will open the 2007 regular season Thursday at Erie in the first game of season-opening six-game road trip, which also includes a visit to defending Southern Division champion Akron

The club’s Home Opener will take place on Thursday, April 12th at 6.35pm against the Reading Phillies