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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons Announce 2023 Opening Night Roster

April 4, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


DAYTON, OHIO - The Dayton Dragons, in partnership with the Cincinnati Reds, today announced the team's provisional opening night roster.

The Dragons open their 23rd season on Thursday, April 6 at the Lake County Captains at 6:35 p.m. (WONE 980 AM). The home opener at beautiful Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District is Tuesday, April 11 at 7:05 p.m. against the Great Lakes Loons. Ticket options for the 2023 season are at daytondragons.com/tickets.

The Dragons roster is headlined by shortstop Edwin Arroyo, who will begin the season as one of the most highly-rated prospects in Dragons history. Arroyo is rated by most services as the #3 prospect in the Reds organization, behind only Elly De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte, who both played for the Dragons in 2022. Arroyo will become the 10th player in Dragons history to play with the Dayton club while ranked as the Reds third best prospect or higher (based on Baseball America rankings) at the start of the season. He will join an exclusive list that has included Adam Dunn, Homer Bailey, Jay Bruce, Billy Hamilton, and Hunter Greene, among others.

Arroyo is currently rated by Baseball America as the Reds organization's "Best Defensive Infielder," and his offensive game is developing. Despite being the third youngest player in the California League in 2022, he batted .316 with 13 home runs at the Low-A level in the Seattle Mariners organization before being traded to the Reds in the deal that sent MLB all-star starting pitcher Luis Castillo to Seattle. For the year, Arroyo led the Low-A level of professional baseball (30 teams) in hits. He was originally a second round draft pick by Seattle out of the Arecibo Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. Interestingly, Arroyo can throw with both hands. He played shortstop right-handed in high school and pitched left-handed.

Here is the MLB Pipeline report on Arroyo:

"(Arroyo) has the chance to be a dynamic up-the-middle player. He swings the bat well from both sides of the plate and was productive each way, showing the ability to make hard contact with a line-drive approach. He's added a good amount of strength to his wiry build already, and that led to more power than anticipated out of the gate, though he's still more of a hit-over-power type. He could become even more of an impact hitter as he tightens up his approach...If he continues to hit at all, Arroyo could be an elite-level player because there's no doubt he's going to be able to play shortstop for a long time. He has excellent hands and actions at the premium position, with more than enough arm to make throws from all over the infield. Assuming he gets his bearings with his new organization, he should continue to prove he has the tools to be an everyday shortstop in the big leagues."

The Dragons roster also includes center fielder Jay Allen II, another high-level prospect in the Reds organization who was a first round draft pick in 2021. Allen joined the Dragons for the final 22 games in 2022, and his speed and energy spurred the team to a 16-6 record over those games to close out the season. Allen broke the Dragons club record for most stolen bases in a game with five on August 27.

The roster also includes outfielder Austin Hendrick, the Reds first round draft pick in 2020, who spent much of the 2022 season with the Dragons, finishing second on the team in both home runs and runs batted in, and catcher Mat Nelson, a supplemental first round draft pick in 2021 who led the nation in home runs that spring at Florida State University.

The Dayton opening night roster will feature many familiar names for Dragons fans as 20 of the 29 players on the club have previously played at Day Air Ballpark with the team. Four of the top seven in base hits for the 2022 Dragons return, including Justice Thompson (3rd in hits), Nelson (4th), Hendrick (5th), and Tyler Callihan (7th). Returning starting pitcher Thomas Farr led the 2022 Dragons in innings, and returning closer Donovan Benoit led the Dragons in saves while finishing second in the entire Reds farm system. Nine of the 10 members of the 2023 bullpen pitched for the Dragons in 2022.

Starting pitcher Chase Petty, the top pitching prospect in the entire Reds system, and first baseman Ruben Ibarra are expected to begin the year on the Dragons injured list. Both players are returnees from the 2022 Dragons.

Dragons 2023 Season-Opening Roster

Pitchers: Jose Acuna, *Julian Aguiar, *Donovan Benoit, *Manuel Cachutt, Tanner Cooper, Brooks Crawford, *Thomas Farr, *Myles Gayman, *Jake Gozzo, *Owen Holt, Hunter Parks, *Javi Rivera, *Braxton Roxby, *Carson Rudd, *Jayvien Sandridge, *Vin Timpanelli.

Catchers: *Hayden Jones, *Mat Nelson, *Michael Trautwein.

Infielders: Edwin Arroyo, Austin Callahan, *Tyler Callihan, Trey Faltine, Jose Serrano.

Outfielders: *Jay Allen, Blake Dunn, *Austin Hendrick, *Jack Rogers, *Justice Thompson.

*Player has previously played for the Dragons

All Dragons games can be heard on WONE 980 AM and are streamed via daytondragons.com and wone.com. The Dragons will televise 25 games on Dayton's CW (Channel 26).

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Midwest League Stories from April 4, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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