Dayton Dragons 2026 Preview, Part 8--The Relief Pitchers
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons 2026 Preview, Part 8--The Relief Pitchers

Published on March 27, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dayton Dragons pitcher Cody Adcock
Dayton Dragons pitcher Cody Adcock
(Dayton Dragons)

The Dayton Dragons annual home "Opening Night" game is set for Tuesday, April 7 against the Lake County Captains at 7:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark.

The Dragons will officially open their season on the road a few days earlier, on April 2 against the Lansing Lugnuts in Lansing, Michigan. All home and road games can be heard on radio on WONE 980 AM as well as the Dragons Mobile app and the iHeart App.

This is part eight of an eight-part series previewing the 2026 Dragons. Players listed here are candidates for positions on the Dragons season-opening roster.

This preview is an unofficial projection of possible roster candidates. Minor League rosters are not established until March 31. Spring training variables including performance, injuries, trades, and additional player acquisitions will impact the roster accordingly.

For Dragons season ticket, group ticket, or single-game ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

The Relief Pitchers

Bullpens are always the most difficult (and nearly impossible) position group to predict each year because the final decision on the Dayton roster is so dependent on how many openings exist on the pitching staffs at Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, which are impacted by what happens with the Reds roster. Every year, there seem to be far more bullpen names than available openings at the higher levels of the minors and the end result is that some players will start the year a level lower than you might expect.

There have been many years when the Dragons team would arrive from Arizona a few days before opening night, and a reliever would be reassigned (promoted) to another Reds farm club due to some necessary reshuffling, before that pitcher had even stepped on the field in Dayton.

In this preview, we will look at several potential Dragons relievers with the understanding that the make-up bullpen is difficult to accurately predict.

Cody Adcock spent part of 2024 and all of 2025 with the Dragons and could return, though he might be one of the first to move up a level if a need arises. Adcock led the Dragons bullpen in appearances in 2025 with 40, posting an ERA of 4.19. Adcock, 23, was a 13th round draft pick in 2023 out of the University of Arkansas. He had a very strong finish to the 2025 season with the Dragons. From July 13 until the end of the year, his ERA was a sparkling 1.17 (23 innings, 3 earned runs) with an opponent batting average of .185.

Dylan Simmons also spent part of 2024 and all of 2025 with the Dragons and is another candidate to return to start the year. Simmons posted a 5.51 ERA in 34 outings for the Dragons last season. Like Adcock, he had a good finish with a 2.08 ERA after August 9 (8 appearances). Simmons, 25, spent most of his college career at Florida State before transferring to Pittsburgh for his final year. He was a 15th round draft pick in 2023.

Jimmy Romano also spent the entire 2025 season with the Dragons after being drafted by the Reds in the 16th round in 2024 out of Duke University. Romano appeared in 29 games out of the Dayton bullpen in 2025, posting an ERA of 5.07. Romano is just 22 years old and would be a strong candidate to show improvement in 2026, which will be just his second full season of professional baseball.

Jacob Edwards is a 5'8" left-hander out of the University of North Carolina Asheville. He pitched very briefly in the Minnesota Twins organization in 2022 and then spent time in the independent Atlantic League, playing in his hometown of High Point, NC. Edwards was signed by the Reds as a free agent early in the 2025 season and produced a good year at Single-A Daytona, finishing with a 3.88 ERA in 23 outings.

Trent Hodgdon also spent all of 2025 at Daytona in the Florida State League after being selected by the Reds in the 17thh round in 2024 out of the University of South Carolina Upstate, an NCAA Division I program in the Big South Conference (same conference as Edwards played in with UNC Asheville). At Daytona last season, Hodgdon appeared in 32 games and finished with a 4.11 ERA. He is a strikeout pitcher who throws hard (topped out at 98 mph in the 2025 playoffs with Daytona) but must improve on his walks total.

Drew Pestka is another reliever who spent all of 2025 at Daytona, where he pitched in 31 games and posted an ERA of 4.67. Pestka had an excellent second half to the season, pitching to a 2.38 ERA after June 17 covering 34 innings when opposing batters hit just .161 against him. Like J.P. Ortiz (profiled in the starting pitcher preview), the Reds selected Pestka as a "draft and follow" player in 2023 (Pestka was an 18th round pick) and then signed him after his 2024 junior college season came to an end. According to Baseball America, Pestka reached 99 mph with his fastball at John A. Logan College in Illinois. Pestka came up big in the 2025 playoffs for Daytona, earning the win in the deciding game of their first round series at St. Lucie with three shutout innings.

Cole Schoenwetter is an interesting player to consider for the Dayton bullpen or starting rotation. Coming out of high school in Santa Barbara, California, Schoenwetter was seen as one of the best high school pitching prospects in America. Baseball America gave him a second round grade, but he lasted until the fourth round of the 2023 draft, reportedly due to his signing bonus demands with a college offer as an alternative. The Reds liked him well enough to give him second round money ($1.9 million) despite being a fourth round pick. Despite a fastball that has reached 98 mph and a curveball that was identified by Baseball America as the best in the Reds farm system, he has not been able to develop consistency due to command issues and high walks. Used as both a starter and reliever at Daytona last season, he tossed 78 innings and finished the year with a 5.86 ERA. There were flashes of brilliance, such as a playoff outing when he fired four no-hit innings, but the overall results caused him to fall off the Reds top-30 prospect list. Schoenwetter could re-establish his prospect status with a good year with the Dragons and could be used as a starter or reliever if he makes the Dayton team.

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Dayton Dragons pitcher Cody Adcock
Dayton Dragons pitcher Cody Adcock
   



Midwest League Stories from March 27, 2026


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