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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday, April 5 (Opening Night)

April 5, 2024 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Friday, April 5, 2024 l Game # 1

Day Air Ballpark l Dayton, Ohio l 7:10 p.m.

TV: Dayton's CW (26) l Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Lansing Lugnuts (0-0) at Dayton Dragons (0-0)

LH James González vs. RH Rhett Lowder

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Oakland Athletics) in the 2024 season opener for both teams. This is the first game of a three-game series and the start to a 132-game season.

First Round Fever: The Dragons roster includes the last two Reds first round draft picks in starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (Reds #1 pick in 2023) and third baseman Cam Collier (Reds #1 pick in 2022). Lowder was the seventh overall selection in '23 out of Wake Forest, and Collier was the 18th overall pick in '22 out of Chipola College. This marks just the third time in Dragons history that a Dayton opening night roster featured the last two Reds number one draft picks. Previous occasions were 2014 (outfielder Phillip Ervin and starting pitcher Nick Travieso) and the inaugural Dragons roster of 2000 (starting pitcher Ty Howington and outfielder Austin Kearns).

The Dragons roster includes six players selected by the Reds in the first three rounds of the draft including Lowder and Collier; Jay Allen II (Supplemental 1st round, 2021); Sal Stewart (Supplemental 1st round, 2022); Logan Tanner (2nd round, 2022); and Bryce Hubbart (3rd round, 2022). Additionally, Ruben Ibarra (4th round, 2021) and Cade Hunter (5th round, 2022) were taken within the first five rounds. Pitcher T.J. Sikkema was a supplement first round pick by the Yankees in 2019.

Prospecting in Dayton: Five players currently ranked among the Reds top-10 prospects by Baseball America are on the Dragons 30-man roster. They are starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (Reds #2 prospect); center fielder/second baseman Carlos Jorge (Reds #6 prospect); third baseman Sal Stewart (Reds #7 prospect), middle infielder Leo Balcazar (Reds #8 prospect); and third baseman Cam Collier (Reds #10 prospect). Note that the MLB Pipeline rankings produced by MLB.com have Lowder at #2, Stewart at #6, Collier at #7, Jorge at #8, and Balcazar at #19. Additionally, shortstop Victor Acosta is ranked #19 by Baseball America, and outfielder Hector Rodriguez is ranked #20, giving the Dragons seven players ranked among the Reds top-20 by Baseball America. Outfielder Ethan O'Donnell and Jay Allen II do not appear on the Baseball America Reds top-30 list, but they are both on the MLB Pipeline top-30 list, with O'Donnell at #23 and Allen at #25, giving the Dragons nine players within the top-25 on the MLB Pipeline list.

Lansing Prospects: Outfielder Henry Bolte is ranked as Oakland's #11 prospect by MLB Pipeline and #13 prospect by Baseball America. He was the Athletics second round draft choice as a high school prospect in 2022. He is the only Lansing player ranked in the Oakland top-20.

Team Notes

The Dragons finished the 2024 season with a winning record for the third straight year. Previously, the Dragons had posted a winning record in three consecutive years once in team history (2000-02, their first three years).

The Dayton roster includes 15 players who spent all or part of the 2023 season with the Dragons, including first baseman Ruben Ibarra, who finished tied for the team lead in both home runs (18) and RBI (63). Ibarra is eight home runs short of the all-time Dragons franchise record of 30 by Chris Williamson, who played for the Dragons in 2000-02. Williamson's top season was 2002 when he hit 22.

Other Player Notes

Two Dragons players are continuing the long list of recent Dayton prospects who were acquired in trades for major league players. Outfielder Hector Rodriguez was acquired in 2022 as part of a trade deadline deal that sent MLB outfielder Tyler Naquin from the Reds to the Mets, and shortstop Victor Acosta was acquired the same week from the Padres for MLB infielder Brandon Drury. Dayton players from 2022-23 acquired in trades for major league players included Connor Phillips, Chase Petty, Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Jose Acuna, Andrew Moore, and Steve Hajjar.

Basics for 2024

This is the fourth year in which the league is classified at the High-A level of Minor League Baseball. The Midwest League was a Low-A league prior to 2021. The 12-team Midwest League operates with two six-team divisions.

Each team in the Midwest League is scheduled to play a 132-game schedule in 2024 (66 home games).

The Midwest League will continue to utilize a Pitch Timer to encourage a quicker pace of play. Pitchers are required to deliver each pitch within a 15-second time limit (or 18 seconds with a runner on base). Defensive positioning rules require at least two infielders on each side of second base, with at least four infielders positioned on the infield dirt. Pitchers are limited in the number of unsuccessful pick-off throws they can make to a base. The third pick-off throw must result in an out, or the runner will be awarded the next base.

Roster limits in 2024 are set at 30 players, the same as in 2021-23, after teams had played with 25-player limits in previous years.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)

Saturday, April 6 (1:05 p.m.): Lansing RH Jose Dicochea at Dayton RH Jared Lyons

Sunday, April 7 (1:05 p.m.): Lansing RH Jacob Watters at Dayton RH Javi Rivera

You can follow the Dragons through various broadcast outlets in 2024. Every home and road game will be broadcast on radio on WONE 980-AM as Tom Nichols and Patrick Geshan call the action. Games are also available at wone.com, on a mobile device through either the Dragons mobile app or the iHeart Radio app, or on HD Radio on 104.7 HD 2 WTUI. Additionally, the Dragons will televise 15 home games on Dayton's CW (Channel 26, available on Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013; available on DirecTV and Dish Network channel 26). Tom Nichols will handle the play-by-play on all games and be joined by WDTN TV's Jack Pohl on most telecasts.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from April 5, 2024


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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