The Gwinnett Stripers have released their initial roster for the 2026 season today, ahead of today’s first game of the season. The roster below is mostly as expected, though there is one big, surprising omission in Jhancarlos Lara not being part of it after spending a good chunk of time in Gwinnett last season.
Starters
The biggest story is probably that Lara is not here, though Brett Sears is also not after reaching Gwinnett last year and making 15 quality appearances in Columbus last season. Among the guys who are here, top prospect JR Ritchie is the best prospect on the team, and a candidate to quickly be promoted to Atlanta with a strong start to the season. Fellow prospect Lucas Braun is also back here after making three starts with the Stripers last year. The 39-year-old Carlos Carrasco may be the biggest name on the entire squad, making 286 career big league starts. They may also be looking to Dylan Dodd and Elieser Hernandez to round out the starting rotation. It is also in the plans for Didier Fuentes to join this group at some point, and this group will further deepen when Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and potentially AJ Smith-Shawver return to action at various points in 2026.
Relievers
Hayden Harris is probably the top relief prospect who is here, after the lefty dominated in his stint last year. Anthony Molina and Rolddy Munoz are also a pair of younger relief arms that the Braves like. Ian Hamilton, Javy Guerra, Tayler Scott, and Hunter Stratton are relievers with a decent amount of big league games on their resumes, and candidates to help the big club in some capacity this year – however the most interesting arm of the bunch may be James Karinchak. Karinchak seemed on his way to being one of the top young relievers with the Guardians not too long ago, but has dealt with injuries and hasn’t appeared in a big league game since 2023. Anderson Pilar and Austin Pope are the other arms here, though both of them are guys the Braves wanted for their Triple-A affiliate, which makes this a deep and talented relief corps.
Catchers
Sandy Leon is arguably the biggest name among this group, as the 37-year-old has 559 games of big league experience under his belt, but he will have to split time here. Chadwick Tromp has received big league time in Atlanta in each of the past four seasons, and figures to factor in heavily in the playing time. Jair Camargo is a younger option who has five games of big league experience back with the Twins in 2024. While they may not have a guy who stands out as THE guy, all three of these options are more than capable at the Triple-A level.
Infielders
Nacho Alvarez is easily the most interesting young hitter on this roster, though he has lost his prospect status last year as he surpassed the rookie maximum for at bats. That would make Jim Jarvis the most interesting hitter prospect on the roster, which is kind of telling as he is more of a utility type of prospect. Recent minor league signing Rowdy Tellez could absolutely mash in Triple-A, and is likely the reason David McCabe isn’t here to open the season. Former Georgia Bulldog and 2019 second round pick Aaron Schunk is also here and should add even more offense to a Striper team that has been inconsistent in recent years with their bats. Contact oriented Luke Waddell and utility piece Luke Williams round out the infield. This is another group which looks improved heading into 2026, as it isn’t hard to picture a group led by Alvarez, Tellez, and Schunk holding their own offensively.
Outfielders
Although there aren’t any true prospects, this may be the most talented outfield we’ve seen in Gwinnett since the group with Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, back in 2021. Ben Gamel, Brewer Hicklen, and even DaShawn Keirsey Jr should provide power, and will be candidates to get called up to Atlanta this year should a temporary bat be needed. Jose Azocar is more of a speed guy with limited power, and he too has some big league experience on his resume.
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