A look at the 2010 Flying Tigers Roster

Pitching looks to be a strong point for the 2010 Flying Tigers and the ace of the staff could be Casey Crosby. A fifth round pick in 2007, Crosby came back from left elbow reconstructive surgery to become the Tigers' 2009 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Crosby was 10-4 with a 2.41 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched at West Michigan. The 117 strikeouts was third best in the Detroit minor league organization.

Other West Michigan hurlers that will join the Lakeland staff for 2010 include: Tyler Conn, who tossed 92.0 innings with a 3.21 ERA, 62 K and just 18 walks in 2009. Conn was a first-team All-American closer at Southern Mississippi with 18 saves ... Erik Crichton was a perfect 7-0 with a pair of saves and a 3.99 ERA last season. Out of Oral Roberts University, Crichton overcame right elbow surgery in 2008 to post his unblemished season in 2009 ... Luke Putkonen, a third-round pick in 2007, was just 7-8 at West Michigan but had a 3.13 ERA (third best in the organization) and 115 strikeouts (4th best in the organization) ... Anthony Shawler, who was 7-5 with a 3.76 ERA in 107.2 innings pitched with 98 K's last season. Shawler was named Oneonta's pitcher of the year in 2008 ... Tyler Stohr, who as 3-4 with an organization-best 19 saves and a 3.54 ERA and 55 K's as West Michigan's closer. Stohr was a 6th round pick in 2008 out of the Univ. of North Florida and now has 31 saves in two years with the organization ... Brayan Villarreal, who was 5-5 with a 2.87 ERA with 118 K (2nd best in the organization) in 103.1 IP. This will be Villarreal's fifth year in the Tigers' organization ... Adam Wilk, who was 2-1 with a 1.49 ERA in 36.1 innings. Wilk was an 11th round pick out of Cal State Long Beach whose baseball team is known as the "Dirtbags".

Returning Flying Tiger pitchers include: Charlie Furbush (6-7, 3.96 ERA, 93 K); Matt Hoffman (3-7, 6.79 ERA); Lester Oliveros (4-2, 4.17 ERA); and Mark Sorenson (1-2, 6.88 ERA). Scott Green (3-4, 3.25, 11 saves) and Austin Wood (just 5.0 IP in 2009) will start the season the season on the disabled list.

Two new catchers will be behind the plate as Andy Bouchie and John Murrian join Lakeland. Bouchie was a 7th round pick of the Brewers in 2006 and played last season for Brevard County. Murrian was a 9th round pick last season of Detroit's and was a mid-season all-star pick for Oneonta in 2009. His .296 average was seventh best among Detroit minor leaguers.

New infielders include: Rawley Bishop, who joined Murrian on the New York Penn League's mid-season all-star team. A 19th round pick out of Middle Tennessee State, Murrian set MTSU career records for homers, run scored, RBI and hit by pitches ... Alden Carrithers, who was the GCL Tigers Player of the Year in 2008 with a .316 average. He hit .307 last year at West Michigan ... Billy Nowlin, who was an all-star last season at West Michigan after hitting .311 with 130 hits, 29 doubles and 13 homers. His .311 average was second in the Detroit organization while his 77 RBI was second best ... Bryan Pounds, who hit .284 (10th best in the organization) with 97 hits, 27 doubles and 60 RBI for the Whitecaps in 2009 ... Brent Wyatt, who hit .242 with 115 hits and 23 doubles at West Michigan. His 23 stolen bases was the fourth most recorded by any Detroit minor leaguer last season.

Returning to the Lakeland infield are Carmelo Jaime and Gustavo Nunez who each played for the Flying Tigers in 2008. Nunez swiped 48 bases for the Whitecaps in 2009 (tops among Detroit minor leaguers) while collecting 146 base hits and a .315 average. His .309 average ranked 4th among all Detroit minor leaguers.

The only newcomer in the outfielder is Ben Guez, who hit .275 at West Michigan with 111 hits including 34 doubles, 7 triples and 12 home runs. Returning to Lakeland are Kody Kaiser (.267, 5 HR), Chris White (.235, 14 SB) and Josh Workman (.297). Kyle Peter (.222, 13 stolen bases) will start the season on the DL.

The coaching staff returns intact with Andy Barkett at the helm for his third year at Lakeland. Barkett is 122-145 in his two previous seasons with the Flying Tigers. Back as hitting coach is Larry Herndon for his sixth straight season in Lakeland while Joe Coleman is back for a fourth year as the pitching coach.

Fans can get their first look at the 2010 Flying Tigers on Wednesday, April 7 when they take on Southeastern University in a 7-inning game starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are only $2. Lakeland will open the 2010 season in Tampa on April 8 before returning home on Friday, April 9 at 7:00 pm against the Tampa Yankees. The first 1,500 fans will receive a 2010 Flying Tigers magnet schedule and BirdZerk will entertain fans during the game with fireworks following the game.