Ten years ago, Daytona Beach’s minor league baseball affiliate — and identity — changed forever.
The Cubs bolted for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, ending a 22-year agreement that resulted in six Florida State League championships. Several key members of the Cubs’ curse-breaking 2016 World Series team cut their teeth at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, including Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler.
The Cincinnati Reds filled the void as Daytona Beach’s MLB parent club, but ownership sought a permanent, independent team name. On Dec. 4, 2014, the franchise was christened the Daytona Tortugas, paying homage to Volusia County’s sea turtle population, whose nesting season runs concurrent with baseball season.
The Tortugas’ debut season was a successful one, posting a 77-58 regular-season record and making the first of their two appearances in the Florida State League’s championship series. They have not posted a winning record, however, since 2018 — twice finishing with .500 marks (2021, ’24).
In the midst of that tenure, the coronavirus pandemic canceled the entire 2020 minor league season, and the Tortugas avoided contraction as 43 teams were chopped during MiLB’s realignment. The FSL dropped down from High-A to Single-A during the restructure.
Hundreds of prospects have rolled through Daytona Beach over the last decade, and 59 Tortugas alumni have gone on to reach the big leagues. Some lasted long enough for the proverbial cup of coffee, and a few have blossomed into everyday regulars.
To commemorate the franchise’s 10th season, The News-Journal has put together a 26-man roster of the top Tortugas in the pros. This list is based upon each player’s success in the majors to date. For instance, Chase Petty is a promising 22-year-old pitcher who made his MLB debut at the end of April, but he was tagged for 13 earned runs in 5⅓ innings. For now, he’s among those to miss the cut.
One other notable omission are players who suited up for the Tortugas while on a MLB rehab assignment. Scooter Gennett, for instance, logged four games in Daytona Beach after making the 2018 National League All-Star team. By the time he arrived here, Gennett was an established big-league veteran.
Here’s the full squad, including a projected starting lineup and pitching rotation.
Daytona Tortugas MLB alumni starting lineup
As he was for a 50-game stint for the Tortugas in 2021, De La Cruz is the star attraction on this team. The 23-year-old Dominican has bashed 54 homers — including a recent stretch of homering in four straight games — and stolen 123 bases in 332 career MLB contests, posting an OPS of .786, as of June 19.
Friedl is a quality table-setter, posting a .381 on-base percentage in his first 70 games of the 2025 campaign for Cincinnati while providing a bit of pop (eight home runs). India won National League Rookie of the Year honors for the Reds in 2021 but has never quite replicated the offensive numbers he put up that season (.269 average, 21 home runs, .835 OPS, 4.1 bWAR).
First base has been a bit of a black hole as far as development in Daytona Beach is concerned, although Joey Votto manned the position for 17 years in Cincinnati. Stephenson, typically a catcher, can fill the void. When healthy, he’s been a productive source of power, belting a career-high 19 home runs in 2024.
A former No. 2 overall pick, Senzel never truly found his footing in the majors, posting a career .232/.299/.263 slash line in 451 games. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Aquino had a blockbuster stretch during his rookie year in 2019, launching 19 home runs, but was held back by a 33.5% career strikeout rate.
Siri, who fractured his left tibia in April, is sporadic at the dish but electric patroling the outfield and on the basepaths. Fairchild is best utilized as a platoon player against left-handed pitching, while Wallach logged 155 MLB games with 11 home runs over seven seasons.
Daytona Tortugas MLB alumni bench
Switch-hitting López had a respectable .265 average across his 74 games for the Reds, though just eight of his 45 knocks went for extra bases. Herrera, once acquired for Jay Bruce, provided a bit more pop (11 home runs in 272 plate appearances) but hit just below the Mendoza line (.199).
The 27th pick of the 2013 draft, Ervin was the Tortugas’ first major everyday prospect. His best major-league numbers came in 2019 when he had a .797 OPS in 94 games, registering 11 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs.
Rounding out the bench is Aruba native Tromp. Four of his five career longballs occurred with the San Francisco Giants in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Daytona Tortugas MLB alumni starting rotation
Former Virginia left-hander Abbott has emerged as a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter in 2025, limiting opponents to a 33.1% hard-hit rate (top 12% of MLB) while going 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 68⅓ innings.
Mahle is on pace for his first season of more than 150 innings since 2021 and back to his best with the Texas Rangers. He is 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA, 56 strikeouts and 27 walks in 77 innings.
The final three spots would be far more uncertain in this rotation.
Boyle shoved in his lone outing this year for the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out seven in five scoreless frames. Walks were a major issue in 2024 while with the Athletics, issuing 40 free passes in just 47⅔ innings and surrendering 34 earned runs (6.42 ERA).
Gutierrez finished eighth in NL Rookie of the Year voting back in 2021, going 9-6 with a 4.74 ERA and 88 Ks in 114 innings. He won just one of his eight starts the following year before undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he has pitched four MLB innings since.
Romano made 41 starts between the 2017-18 seasons for the Reds, sporting a career 5.15 ERA for the club as a sinker-slider specialist. He had brief stints out of the bullpen for both the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees.
Daytona Tortugas MLB alumni bullpen
There’s not a true closer in the bunch, but the group collectively has accounted for 45 saves in the majors.
Cincinnati repurposed both Garrett and Santillan, a pair of former Tortugas aces, into relievers.
Santillan remains a trusted, high-leverage option for the Reds (1-1, 2.65 ERA in 35 games) though his strikeout rate is roughly half of what it was in 2024, down from 13.8 Ks per nine innings to 7.1. Garrett’s walk rate ballooned in each of his final four MLB seasons, but he shone in 2019 with five wins, a 3.21 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 56 innings.
Herget has largely been a steady middle-innings arm for five teams, and he is currently maintaining a respectable 3.12 ERA with the Colorado Rockies. Bernardino has taken the mound 145 times over the last three seasons for the Boston Red Sox, keeping hitters off balance with a four-pitch mix (3.54 ERA, 9.7 Ks per nine).
Rainey produced huge strikeout numbers in his first four seasons with the Washington Nationals, but he has a 14.8% career walk rate, equating to nearly six free passes per nine innings. Stephens had a brief resurgence in Atlanta (3-3, 3.69 ERA in 2022) after a spell in Mexico, and he remains with the Braves’ organization in the minors.
Antone always possessed high-end stuff, averaging 96.8 mph on his fastball in 2021 (top 7% of MLB), but he has undergone three separate elbow surgeries. Last April, he tore the flexor mass tendon his right arm completely off the bone while partially tearing his ulnar collateral ligament.
Moreta is progressing from Tommy John surgery as well, expected to return to action for the Pittsburgh Pirates this summer. Last seen in the bigs in 2023, he was 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA and a 31.8% strikeout rate with his wipeout slider.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Creating Daytona Tortugas’ all-time MLB roster in honor of team’s 10th season
Reporting by Chris Boyle, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
