"This Otter Be Fun!" -- Gary Shannon, A GM on Baseball's "Frontier"

[jksander]

September 9, 2025: We’re in a position to win this series and move on to the next round, if we can leverage our nearly 7,500-strong home crowd’s energy and draw strong performances from our recent strong offensive performances. We could have done it the easier way, but instead had to lose both games here at home and then win three in on the road, but now it’s time to get down to business regardless. Adam Smith (0-1, 20.25 ERA, 2.2 IP, 3 K’s, 4.12 WHIP) struggled mightly in his start in game two, but he was solid all year and I’m hoping that was just an aberration. He’s pitching against Sean Harney (0-0, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 3 K’s, 1.91 WHIP) and we’re hoping to see his best stuff along with some good early hitting to get us going on the right note.

Both pitchers had much better command of their stuff this evening, and the first three innings only featured a single hit between them, a line-drive double by Tri-City’s Tanner Murphy in the top of the second. Smith got us through the top of the fourth without any additional baserunners, and with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Johan Lopez got us our first hit, a hard one into center-right that rolled to the wall and gave him time to eke out a triple, and Delgado followed it with a shot into center that I was sure would be caught, but it went over the head of the fielder and netted him an RBI double, sending us into the top of the fifth with a 1-0 lead. Smith allowed a leadoff triple in the top of the fifth, but got two quick outs off a grounder to first and a strikeout, but he hit catcher Christian Pregent to put runners on the corners ... but got the final out with a great catch by Dixon in center to keep our lead safe. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, scoring a second run thanks to a Dixon sac-fly to center, and with the bases again loaded by an Avelino single, Johan Lopez walked in a run to make it a three-run advantage!

Smith got us through the sixth unblemished, and was going to stay out for the seventh but he walked Jalen Miller and we went to the bullpen, bringing Wesley Moore out to keep the odds in our favor. He walked a batter and then got three quick outs to get us into the seventh inning stretch still leading 3-0. Matt Ball came out in the top of the ninth to try and close things out, and he got the first out but got sloppy, walking Jacob Pearson and hitting Tanner Murphy with a pitch ... the two runners both advancing thanks to a wild pitch that suddenly had right fielder Hugo Cardona batting with one out and two in scoring position. Cardona hit a line drive double into right field, scoring two runs, and pinch-hitter Justin Williams hit a single into left that drove in the tying run with a double, and still our manager kept Ball out there. He got the final two outs, keeping it tied and at least giving us a chance to walk this off before extra innings. Betancourt led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, and Tim Burden got a hit just past the shortstop and into left field, pushing Betancourt into scoring position. Alemais lined into a 4-3 double play, however, and Dixon grounded out to first -- we were getting extra innings again, whether we wanted them or not.

Incredibly, our manager kept Matt Ball out there, and he managed to pitch around a base hit and a stolen base, keeping the runner from scoring and getting us another shot at walk-off redemption. Avelino led off with a single and then stole second, and they intentionally walked Lopez with the open base. Delgado struck out swinging, and Estep hit into a fielder’s choice where they took the out at second, pushing Avelino over to third with Jeferson Morales coming to the plate. But he grounded out to first and pushed this game into an eleventh inning. Collin Baumgartner came out to pitch, and went pop out, strikeout, strikeout to get us into the bottom of the inning, but they did the same to us: popout, strikeout, groundout as the clock passed midnight and the game went on. Baumgartner got the first out easily in the twelfth, but Madison Stokes then hit a triple to the wall in right, so he struck out their next two batters swinging to keep us in this fight. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Johan Lopez picked up a single but Delgado struck out to keep it going. With one out and a runner on first in the top of the thirteenth inning, Brian Edgington came out, striking out two in a row as our fans roared in approval -- wasn’t nobody heading for the gates! With two outs in the top of the fourteenth, Madison Stokes got a hit off Edgington but he struck out Andrew Navigato and the game entered its fifth hour! With one out in the bottom of the fourteenth inning, Stephen Alemais got a hit into right for a single, but two popouts ended the inning with nothing changed.

At this point there began to be debating on the protocol ... would there be a curfew limit, for the game to continue on another day? How long could both teams withstand this?

As it stood, Edgington stayed out to start the top of the fifteenth, getting three more outs by soft contact to get through and give himself 2.2 innings thrown with just a single hit! We popped out three in a row to force a pitching change -- Trey Gibson came out in the top of the sixteenth, our sixth pitcher of the game and the 12th for both teams. He set their batters down quietly, and in the bottom of the sixteenth, with one out, Betancourt got himself to first base and they walked Tim Borden to give us a runner in scoring position. Alemais grounded out to first and pushed both runners over a base, but Jasiah Dixon grounded out to first and the game entered its sixth hour of play. So Gibson stayed out and got us through another with an excellent double play and a quick groundout to first. Casey Anderson came out to replace him in the top of the eighteenth -- we’re down to just two pitchers in our bullpen after him, and if this game doesn’t end with us on top, next game neither team’s going to have a bullpen that’s not strung out and miserable. Anderson picked up three strikeouts around a single hit, and in the top of the nineteenth he got two outs before Clay Dungan got to second off a deep hit into left. Madison Stokes walked, bringing up Andrew Navigato who grounded to third base, where we got Dungan for the third out! We led off in the bottom of the inning with a hit by Tim Borden for a double, and they hit Alemais with a pitch to give us two on, no outs. And FINALLY, after nineteen grueling innings, Jasiah Dixon got a line drive single into left field, driving in the winning run as we pulled this one out to clinch the 4-3 win ... that’s the series, folks, and how can the Championship Series even dare to live up to this?

This game lasted nine minutes shy of SEVEN HOURS ... more than two full baseball games played, and most of the crowd stuck it out until the final pitch at around 2:51 a.m. central time. That’s definitely one to tell your grandkids about!

Fifteen pitchers took the mound in this one ... Adam Smith gave us six excellent innings, allowing two hits, striking out four and walking one without an earned run, and Moore held it for two innings without a hit, striking out two and walking two. Ball blew the save, but got us through the 10th with three hits, two walks and three earned runs, but only one of those hits came in extra innings. After that, Baumgartner, Edgington and Gibson pitched through seven innings combined with three hits, one walk, eight strikeouts and nobody scoring. Anderson earned the win at last with a two inning effort, allowing two hits a walk and three strikeouts. In the end we outhit Tri-City ... barely .. by a 12-10 margin. Borden hit twice and scored two runs, Dixon hit once and drove in a pair including the winning run, and Lopez hit twice, walked twice and both scored and batted in a run apiece. Abiatal Avelino was named Series MVP, hitting .417/.432/.722 in our six games with three doubles, two homers and 14 RBIs.

[jksander]

September 11, 2025: We had just one day off before tonight’s Championship Series game one at Bosse Field, which gave us time to rest the bullpen, though most are still at least somewhat worn down due to the length of our clinching game in the Divisional Series. Hayden Minton (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP, 7 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) got the start against Adam Seminaris (0-0, 6.23 ERA, 4.1 IP, 6 K’s, 1.38 WHIP), and we’re hopeful he’ll have another solid start to keep us in a good position to take an early series lead. Bryan Arias is back in the lineup, batting second for us.

Ottawa drew first blood in the top of the third with a two-out solo homer by left fielder Jacob Rhinesmith, his second of the season in the playoffs this year, and they added more damage in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by first baseman Spencer Henson. A third run scored on a sac-fly, giving us a 3-0 hole to dig out of. We responded with an RBI double by Riley Delgado to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth, and a groundout to first by Betancourt drove in another, cutting our deficit to a single run heading into the fifth inning. With two outs and a man on first, Collin Baumgartner came in to pitch, securing the final out via strikeout to keep us battling. But in the top of the sixth the Titans hit an RBI single to extend their lead, and in the top of the seventh they added another with an RBI double. Our bats were going to need to give the bullpen some help, or this would get out of hand quickly. Brian Edgington came in and got the final out, and Jasiah Dixon got us a run back with an RBI single in the botom of the seventh, stealing second with the count at two balls, no strikes for Arias, who they walked to fill the hole at first. Avelino got a great shot into right field, the ball bouncing into the corner and driving in another with a double that put two in scoring position! Lopez hit into a fielder’s choice, Dixon getting tagged out at home plate, a popout by Moralez sending us into the top of the eighth trailing still 5-4. Riley Delgado walked to lead off the bottom of the eighth, a move they regretted instantly as Tim Borden batted him around to score with an RBI double that tied things up. Just minutes later, Alemais hit a great drive into left and drove in the go-ahead with a single, Dixon batted in two more with a double, Oscar Silverio drove in another with a deep sac-fly to center, and we went into the top of the ninth leading by four massive runs. Edgington stayed out there, getting a groundout and a pair of K’s to wrap this one up as a 9-5 victory!

Minton and Baumgartner combined for 6.2 innings with seven hits, four walks, nine strikeouts and five earned runs, but Edgington remained razor sharp out there, throwing 33 pitches in 2.1 innings with one hit, two walks and four strikeouts as he earned the win. He’s now 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in the playoffs through 9.1 innings pitched! We outhit Ottawa 12-8, though five of those came in the bottom of the eighth as everyone in the lineup took at least a swing. Jasiah Dixon led with two hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Alemais hit twice for a run and an RBI and Lopez hit three times for a run. Arias walked twice but couldn’t score, and they sure wouldn’t give him anything to hit -- so everyone else made up for it!

September 12, 2025: Seth Lonsway (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 10.0 IP, 14 K’s, 1.30 WHIP) made his third start of the playoffs tonight, facing Joseph King (1-0, 1.69 ERA, 5.1 IP, 2 K’s, 0.94 WHIP) who was making his second. Somehow we packed just shy of 8,000 into this place, and they were making enough noise you could hear the place rocking half a mile away! But there weren’t a lot of offensive fireworks early on in ths pitcher’s duel. Lonsway walked three batters and allowed just one hit in the first five innings, and we picked up three hits and one walk during the same stretch, no runners getting past second base! But with two outs in the top of the sixth, Lonsway gave up back to back doubles, and just like that we were down 1-0 to the Titans ... it happened so fast you could hear all our fans gasp collectively. Another double followed, adding a second run, before he got the final strikeout to end the inning with us trailing 2-0 out of nowhere. Wesley Moore came out to pitch in the top of the seventh and he pitched brilliantly, keeping us in this one despite our offense’s inability to score any runs. He pitched through the top of the ninth without any further scoring by Ottawa, but we needed something big to keep our chances alive. It didn’t happen. They shut us down quietly and won this one easily 2-0 in a brutal defensive battle.

Lonsway lasted six innings with four hits, three walks and three strikieouts, allowing both runs -- he now has a 1-1 record with a playoff ERA of 3.38, which in this league is incredibly good. Moore gave us three no-hit innings, striking out two and walking another, giving him seven playoff innings without a run scoring on him. But though we outhit them 5-4, we just weren’t able to hit in the clutch. Avelino hit twice, and Morales hit and walked once each. But we never got a single runner past second base all night.

Now we head north of the border, and the Titans have home field advantage unless we can steal a game and take the momentum back.

September 14, 2025: Oh Canada, how cold as hell it is ... 6,700 fans showed up at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park, with clear skies and teamps in the low 40s for first pitch at just past 8:00. Isaiah Jackson (0-0, 16.20 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 K’s, 2.70 WHIP) is up in the rotation, going up against Reggie Lawson (0-0, 12.27 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.18 WHIP), both pitchers having started the playoffs with rough outings. And tonight Jackson’s outing started off just as shakily, giving up a triple to their first batter and then a one-out RBI double by Cadyn Grenier, their slugging shortstop, gave the Titans a 1-0 lead. Their third baseman, Jackson Glenn, hit an RBI double to make it 2-0, and a few minutes later he plunked a batter on the shoulder to load the bases, still two outs. Finally we got out of there with a strikeout swinging, but the damage had been done and he threw 37 pitches ... this is going to be a rough night for the bullpen. Their guy gave us nothing to hit, and Jackson settled in but wasn’t able to negate his first inning woes. Casey Anderson came in with one out in the bottom of the fifth, no one on base, loading the bases himself before finally getting a pop-out to center that ended the inning without Ottawa scoring. In the top of the sixth, Jefferson Morales then finally broke their pitcher’s no-hitter, slamming one out of the park to left to get us on the board! We kept it going in the top of the seventh, Betancourt hitting a two-run double with two outs, and just like that we’d gotten ourselves a one-run lead, heading into the stretch leading 3-2.

Wesley Moore came in to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and the Titans pounced quickly -- with one out they got a two-RBI double off right fielder Shane Selman that immediately flipped them back into the lead. Moore pitched around loaded bases to get us out of the inning, and Matt Ball came out for the bottom of the eighth, giving up back to back hits and then hitting their batter to load the bases, and the game completely fell apart from there. A two-run double, a run off a sac-fly, and then Breck Eichelberger came in with us trailing by four. They walked in another run with two outs, and with the bases still loaded they drove in two more with another double to kick us while we were down. Eichelberger got the final out, but we went into the top of the ninth trailing by seven Betancourt grounded out to first but drove in a run to cut the lead to six, and an Alemais grounder into right field got us a fifth run. But we weren’t able to keep it going further, and lost this one 10-5.
 
Jackson’s start was marred by that first inning, but he made it through 4.1 innings with just four hits, striking out six, walking one and giving up just two earned runs. And Anderson allowed just two hits with two walks and two strikeouts to keep us in the game and get us the lead after 1.2 innings. Unfortunately Moore, who had been lights out all through the playoffs, coughed up three hits, a walk and two earned runs, taking a blown save and the loss. Ottawa outhit us 13-6, however, so they were dominant throughout -- that we had a chance to win is impressive in its own right. Morales led the way with two hits, a walk, three runs and an RBI, while Betancourt hit once and batted in three.

September 15, 2025: I didn’t think it could get colder and nastier than last night, but I was wrong -- outdoor Canadian September baseball is damned near a war crime. Adam Smith (0-1, 6.23 ERA, 8.2 IP, 7 K’s, 1.62 WHIP) pitched against Collin Sullivan (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 K’s, 0.79 WHIP). They scored a run off a sac-fly to take another first-inning lead and our luck seemed to be running out after our miracle performances in the Divisional Series. But Betancourt hit an RBI single in the top of the second to tie things up, and Alemais hit another single into right to drive in the go-ahead, helping warm our spirits in the bitter cold. Smith got us through the fifth inning without surrendering the lead, and with two outs in the bottom of the sixth Matt Ball came out to get the final out, keeping us precariously ahead by that single run. Wesley Moore came out again to pitch in the top of the seventh, safely getting us through the inning though I was concerned that our manager brought him out again when Baumgartner, Edgington, Gibson and Rivera were fully rested. Luckily we were able to string some hits together in the top of the eighth, Riley Delgado batting in an insurance run with a single, and we went into the bottom of the eighth with a slightly more comfortable two-run lead. Moore got us through that inning as well, and Jasiah Dixon hit a two-run homer over the wall in center to extend our lead to four in the top of the ninth! Erik Rivera came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and he promptly walked the bloody bases loaded, and they called a balk on him to cut our lead to three ... JESUS! A strikeout and a popout followed, but Gabriel Cancel, their third baseman, hit an RBI single, and he walked the bases loaded again, bringing out Brian Edgington to try and avoid disaster. Edgington immediately hit their star player, Cadyn Grenier, leaving us just a one run margin of error ... but we survived, a weak grounder to short and a fielder’s choice throw out at second ended this as a 5-4 win by the skin of our teeth. Do we absolutely have to survive on a razor’s edge?

Adam Smith improved to 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA thanks to 5.2 innings with six hits, a walk, four strikeouts and one earned run. Ball and Moore held the lead with a hit, a walk and two strikeouts between them over 2.1 innings, but Rivera damned near blew it with a hit, a walk and a strikeout while getting two outs. Edgington earned the save, throwing six pitches to get the final out, keeping his ERA at 0.93 through the playoffs. We outhit the Titans 10-8 as we evened the series, led by Dixon with two hits, a run and two RBIs and by Lopez with two hits, a walk and two runs. And at the very least this win does give us the chance to guarantee a return to Bosse Field in this series, so however we got it, we’ll take it.

[jksander]

September 16, 2025: Tonight’s game was even colder than the first two, with temperatures looking unlikely to rise out of the 30s, with a 13-miler blowing right to left across the outfield making it feel even colder. Hayden Minton (0-0, 4.82 ERA, 9.1 IP, 13 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) pitched against Adam Seminaris (0-0, 4.82 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K’s, 1.29 WHIP). And for the third game in a row we let the Titans take a bottom-of-the-first lead, Grenier hitting an RBI double to put them in the lead 1-0. We loaded the bases in the top of the fourth and got nothing out of it, and they added a run in the bottom of the fourth off an RBI triple by right fielder Jackson Glenn. Betancourt led off with a flyball double in the top of the fifth, advancing to third off a groundout by Alemais, bringing up the top of our lineup. Jasiah Dixon hit an RBI single to get us on the board, advancing to second off a wild pitch, and Arias tied it up with an RBI double to deep left! Minton got us two outs in the seventh, but with a man on first we brought in Matt Ball to get the final out. Still knotted up in the top of the eighth, Delgado hit into a double play to keep us that way, and Ball stayed out for the bottom of the inning. Top of the ninth, we did the same thing, this time with Alemais hitting into the double play to keep us knotted up. Ever the trooper, Ball stayed out and notched two quick outs, only to allow a triple into deep center, putting the winning run on third ... an intentional walk put runners on the corners, and then Edgington came out, only to give up a three-run walkoff homer as we lost this one 5-2.

If we’re going to earn a championship, we’ll have to win both games at home to do it, because we return to Evansville trailing in the series three games to two.

Minton did everything humanly possible to put us in a position to win, allowing just four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts through his 6.2 innings of work, throwing 90 pitches. Ball gave us two innings with a hit, a walk and a strikeout, but the walkoff homer applied two earned runs to his tab and he came out of it with the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. Edgington had a hit and an earned run without an out, giving him a 1.86 ERA in the playoffs. They outhit us 6-5 thanks to the walkoff homer, our five hits coming from five different players. Arias and Betancourt each hit and walked, Arias driving in a run while Betancourt scored one. Jasiah Dixon hit, scored a run and batted in one as well but that was the extent of our offense.

As the offseason approaches, I’ve been drawing some interest from clubs at higher levels. The Lexington Legends, holders of a 70-70 record and 5th place finish in the Atlantic League, have offered me a job as General Manager, while the Indianapolis Lookouts (85-47, Carolina League, A level) and the South Bend Cubs (61-71, Midwest League, A+ Level) have offered manager jobs. But I’m not sure I want to leave the Otters organization ... we’ve got a great fan base here, and as difficult as the job is, it’s just as rewarding. I’ll have to make tough decisions in the next week or so, but until then the focus is fully on winning these games and getting a title in Evansville.

[jksander]

September 18, 2025: Let me tell you, I’ve never felt better feeling a mid-sixties September breeze in the confines of Bosse Field than I did tonight after dealing with the Ottawa cold. Seth Lonsway (1-1, 3.38 ERA, 16.0 IP, 17 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) is up in the rotation, facing their red-hot ace Joseph King (2-0, 0.87 ERA, 10.1 IP, 9 K’s, 0.87 WHIP), and we need a win or we’re done. No more second chances! This place was so packed we had an overflow out in the parking lots, with fans showing up just to listen on the radio! But Ottawa smelled blood and struck quickly, the Titans scoring on an RBI triple by Grenier, driving in two more with a Shane Selman double, and a fourth thanks to a wild pitch just a few minutes later. Lonsway completely collapsed under the pressure, and with the score 5-0 with just one out, Baumgartner came in out of sheer desperation. He got the final two outs but our goose looked cooked after just half an inning -- Lonsway’s final stat line: one out, four hits, a walk and five earned runs.

But we came out kicking in the bottom of the inning ... Bryan Arias led off by reaching first on an E6 error, and Avelino hit a single that drove in a run thanks to an E9 throwing error as Arias took third and, without blinking, home as well. Avelino stole third with one out and Lopez up to hit, but he and Estep struck out swinging and sent us into the second inning trailing by four. The Titans piled on, however, adding a solo homer by Jacob Rhinesmith in the top of the second. Alemais batted in a run in the bottom of the second with a triple into center, but they got the run back again in the top of the third, and Wesley Moore had to come out with two outs and a man on as an eighth run scored as well. This is an abject failure across the board, and the fans weren’t shy about letting us hear about it. An RBI triple made the lead 9-2 before Moore finally got us the last out and sent us into the bottom of the third. They loaded the bases and walked in a run in the top of the fifth, with Edgington coming out midway through to try and put out the flames that were already consuming our chances. But you have to hit to score, and their ace had us completely stifled. Breck Eichelberger came out to pitch in the seventh and in the bottom of the eighth we got a run back thanks to a wild pitch. Eichelberger completed his mop-up job with a solid ninth inning, but we were spent ... most of the fans had cleared out by the time their closer put the nails in our 10-3 defeat, giving Ottawa the title after losing last year’s Divisional Series to Tri-City.

I’m not going to dig too deeply into our pitching collapse tonight, it just was what it was ... ugly as hell. But we also came up dry from a hitting standpoint, as Ottawa outslugged us 10-4 -- Avelino hit twice, Dixon hit once, and Alemais, who also got hit, drove in our only run, which Morales was only on base for because of an error. If we were batteries, consider them drained ... that’s all there was to it.

September 20, 2025: I’ve made the announcement officially on my local radio show -- my job isn’t finished here in Evansville, and there’s no way I’m taking a higher level job if I haven’t done what I came here to do, which is win a title in the Frontier League. So it’s back to the front office to start building next year’s team as we strive to take it to the next level.

[jksander]

September 26, 2025: We’ve managed to sign everybody but Michael Guldberg, Brack Eichelberger, Chase Estep, Adam Smith, Jefferson Morales and Trey Gibson to extensions that work reasonably around our cap limits ... and only Guldberg remains on our “would love to keep in Evansville” list. The cap rules are somewhat archaic, and I’ll admit I don’t know all of the idiosyncrasies, but we have until October 11th, when Free Agency begins, to have every duck in a row. It’s illegal to trade anyone who is still potentially a free agent, so now we can also open up discussions with other teams in the MLB Partner Leagues, to both stay under the cap and also potentially find solid prospects to add to our stable of players on minor league contracts.

September 28, 2025: Today the Frontier League honored its best fielders with Glove Wizard awards. Michael Guldberg won the award for his performance in left field this season, where he put up a total of 3.7 WAR this year, including his solid hitting (.349/.445/.612, 48 doubles, 16 triples, five homers, 86 RBIs). He’s on our list of guys who has the potential to draw the eye of major league scouts eventually, but if we can keep him on our roster for a little longer, the fans will certainly be thankful.

September 29, 2025: Guldberg agreed to terms on a one year deal worth $6,500, which puts us at least $7,500 over the cap, but we’ve got some time to make some trades to bring that down. It’s sufficient to say, however, that we’re not going into the upcoming offseason with as many holes to fill, which makes it easier to be in a strong negotiating position.

October 1, 2025: We made a deal this morning that sends backup catcher Oscar Silverio and his $3,200 contract, to the Gary SouthShore RailCats in the American Association in exchange for a pair of minor league prospects: 24-year-old center fielder Colby Shade (#38 prospect, AA) and 23-year-old right handed starter Jack Dougherty (#29 prospect, AA) plus minor cash considerations. Our owner has made it our priority to try and bring in the best young players of the future, and this gets us on our way toward reaching his goals.

October 2, 2025: Fox Beyer, our manager for the last two seasons, has been named Frontier League Manager of the Year! We recently signed him to an extension that will keep him here through the 2026-27 season, so hopefully this won’t be the last time he’s getting recognized for his work in Evansville. In other news, today we made a deal that sends Josh Bissonette and Isaiah Jackson to the Grand Junction Jackalopes in the Pioneer League, in exchange for four Pioneer League top 25 prospects: 24-year-old right fielder Trey Morgan (#21), 23-year-old right-handed reliever Angel Vargas (#9), 24-year-old first baseman Brennan Orf (#18) and 24-year-old second baseman John McHenry (#16). We’re now just $3,750 over the salary cap, and are hopeful to have budgetary room in free agency after another move or two.

October 3, 2025: We’re officially under our salary cap goal after making a massive trade with the Great Falls Voyagers of the Atlantic League. They’re getting Seth Lonsway and Tim Borden, who were ready for a shot at a higher level than the Frontier League can offer, along with a nominal cash amount, and we’re picking up five prospects: 23-year-old right handed starter Jaydenn Estanista (#20), 24-year-old second baseman Yoniery Acevedo (#31), 24-year-old second baseman Pierce Bennett (#19), 23-year-old right handed reliever Carlos Martinez (#8) and 22-year-old right handed starter Cesar Ayala (#16). As it stands we have a full core of solid starters ready to return in every aspect of the game, and will be in a position to go over top minor league talent in the free agent season.
 
November 24, 2025: We have purchased the contract of four-pitch reliever Juaron Watts-Brown from the Schaumburg Boomers, our goal being to develop him and Brian Edgington into stoppers who can consistently put up quality multi-inning bullpen appearances on a regular basis, along with Carlos Martinez as our lock-down closer.

March 24, 2026: Barring any sudden shocking changes in the next month or so, here’s an early look at our roster heading into the spring:

Roster
C - Jhoneiker Betancourt (25, $3,490) ... CON: 45/55, GAP: 50, POW: 60, EYE: 55/65, DEF: 50
1B - Michael Guldberg (26, $6,500) ... CON: 65/70, GAP: 50, POW: 40, EYE: 50, DEF: 50
2B - Yoneiry Acevedo (25, ML) ... CON: 45/55, GAP: 50, POW: 75/80, EYE: 45, DEF: 50
3B - Bryan Arias (28, $5,000) ... CON: 50, GAP: 55, POW: 45/50, EYE: 55, DEF: 35
SS - Johan Lopez (25, $7,400) ... CON: 60/65, GAP: 55/60, POW: 60, EYE: 60, DEF: 45
LF - Andrew Moritz (29, ML) ... CON: 65, GAP: 40, POW: 40, EYE: 50, DEF: 65
CF - Jasiah Dixon (24, $4,160) ... CON: 70, GAP: 45, POW: 45, EYE: 50, DEF: 70
RF - Trevor Boone (28, $4,000) ... CON: 50, GAP: 70, POW: 55, EYE: 50, DEF: 45
DH - Brennan Orf (1B, ML) ... CON: 45, GAP: 45, POW: 45/70, EYE: 55/60, DEF: 50

Bench / Reserves
C - Alex Stone (24, $2,400) ... CON: 45, GAP: 45/50, POW: 70/75, EYE: 40/55, DEF: 35
2B/3B - Pierce Bennett (24, ML) ... CON: 50/60, GAP: 40/45, POW: 40/45, EYE: 40/45, DEF: 25/40
RF - Colby Shade (24, ML) ... CON: 50/55, GAP: 45/50, POW: 45/50, EYE: 45, DEF: 55
CF - Devlin Granberg (30, ML) ... CON: 60, GAP: 60, POW: 45, EYE: 45, DEF: 25
2B - John McHenry (24, ML) ... CON: 50, GAP: 45/50, POW: 45/50, EYE: 55, DEF: 40
C - Garret Guillemette (24, ML) ... CON: 45/50, GAP: 45/50, POW: 50, EYE: 45/50, DEF: 40

Starters
1 - Hayden Minton (25, $3,500) ... STU: 70, MOV: 60, CTR: 45, STA: 80, HLD: 45 ... FB: 75, SL: 75, CV: 75
2 - Angel Vargas (24, $2,400) ... STU: 55/65, MOV: 40, CTR: 50, STA: 65, HLD: 80 ... FB: 75/80, SL: 70/80, CG: 60
3 - Casey Anderson (25, $3,000) ... STU: 55, MOV: 60, CTR: 55, STA: 55, HLD: 40 ... FB: 65, SL: 65, CG: 60
4 - Wesley Moore (26, $3,000) ... STU: 50/55, MOV: 65, CTR: 45, STA: 50, HLD: 50 ... FB: 60, SL: 60, CV: 60, CG: 65
5 - Jaydenn Estanista (24, ML) ... STU: 50/65, MOV: 65, CTR: 55, STA: 65, HLD: 65 ... FB: 60/65, CV: 60/80, CG: 75/80

Bullpen
Closer - Carlos Martinez (24, ML) ... STU: 75/80, MOV: 65, CTR: 45, STA: 30, HLD: 50 ... FB: 80, CV: 80, CG: 75/80, KC: 45/55
Setup - Juaron Watts-Brown (24, ML) ... STU: 55/70, MOV: 55/65, CTR: 50, STA: 50, HLD: 55 ... FB: 60/75, SL: 60/75, CV: 55/75, CG: 55/75
Setup - Collin Baumgartner (26, $3,100) ... STU: 55/70, MOV: 45/50, CTR: 45, STA: 55, HLD: 75 ... FB: 70/80, SL: 55/80, CG: 55/65
Middle - Brian Edgington (27, $3,000) ... STU: 55/65, MOV: 45/50, CTR: 45, STA: 55, HLD: 60 ... FB: 55/60, SL: 55/60, CV: 55/70, SP: 60/75
Middle - Jack Dougherty (24, ML) ... STU: 50/65, MOV: 45, CTR: 50/65, STA: 55, HLD: 40 ... FB: 60/65, SL: 55/70, CG: 55/65
Long - Erik Rivera (24, $3,250) ... STU: 55/60, MOV: 45/60, CTR: 35/45, STA: 60, HLD: 55 ... FB: 70/75, CV: 60/70, CG: 55/65
Long - Cesar Ayala (23, ML) ... STU: 40/50, MOV: 50, CTR: 35/60, STA: 50, HLD: 40 ... FB: 50/55, CV: 45/55, CG: 45/60

We don’t currently have any reserve roster pitchers, though we’re looking for a few warm bodies to sign minor league deals with a shot to sneak onto the roster after spring training. But for right now I think our pitching is actually our strongest feature, particularly the bullpen, which we’ve bulked up with high stamina pitchers with solid hold and multiple pitch arsenals, to help with the problem we had at times last year with starters not going the distance and the bullpen having to handle a high volume of innings throughout the season.

March 30, 2026: We’ve added three reserve relievers to our roster:

RP - Justin Alintoff (27, ML) ... STU: 50, MOV: 45, CTR: 45, STA: 55, HLD: 45 ... FB: 55, CV: 55, CG: 50/55
RP - Stephon Asare (25, ML) ... STU: 70, MOV: 45, CTR: 25, STA: 30, HLD: 65 ... FB: 75, SI: 60, CU: 70
RP - Blake Adams (25, ML) ... STU: 45/55, MOV: 50, CTR: 50, STA: 50, HLD: 45 ... FB: 55/60, SL: 50/60, CV: 45/55, CG: 50/60

May 10, 2026: We’re almost done with Spring Training, but have started to see some small day to day injuries. Collin Baumgartner’s is the worst thus far, chronic back soreness that is going to keep him on the IL for at least two weeks. Stephon Asare will remain on the roster until he returns, playing middle relief in low-leverage situations.

May 14, 2026: We’ve finished our spring season, coming out of it with an 8-10 record in these low-stakes training games ... nobody was particularly dominant, with Windy City leading the West at 13-5 and Ottawa leading the way in the East with a 12-6 record. Jaydenn Estanista is now ranked #7 among all Frontier League prospects. We open the regular season this year with a three-game homestand against the Washington Wild Things, and aside from having Baumgartner on the IL and Asare filling in briefly, the opening day roster is unchanged. Devlin Granberg decided to retire from baseball when he didn’t wind up making the main roster, and once Baumgartner comes back off the IL we’ll have to determine one additional cut from the reserve squad but we’ll deal with that when the time comes.

[jksander]

May 14, 2026: We had more than 5,100 fans pack in here for a sold-out home opener, during which we took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first only to surrender it in the top of the fourth with a pair of Wild Things runs. They then held that margin, handing us our first home opener loss of my tenure. Minton was solid in his debut, going six innings with five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and the pair of earned runs, and our bullpen (Watts-Brown, Dougherty and Martinez) gave us three perfect innings with no hits, two walks and four K’s between them.

Unfortunately, Juaron Watts-Brown’s career with us ended with the single bullpen appearance, as the #48 prospect in the Frontier League had his contract purchased by the Texas Rangers, where he’s apparently joining their Arizona Complex League team. That’s a real kick in the balls right off the bat, let me tell you. Blake Adams will be moving into the main roster effective immediately.

May 15, 2026: This is getting ridiculous! The Yankees bought out the contract of Blake Adams, who just f---ing joined our major league roster, and they’re sending him to the Florida State league. I can’t blame them, but Christ, how the hell are you supposed to field a team down here? We lost our second game in a row tonight, this time by a 7-3 margin ... and Adams hadn’t even played well in it, making a one inning appearance with a hit, three walks, a strikeout and two earned runs. Justin Alintoff will move into the bullpen, and we’re now going to need to be on the lookout for potential reinforcements for the reserve squad if this keeps up. I seriously hope our owner is happy with the cash he’s getting in these deals, because it’s useless to me -- doesn’t help us with free agent bidding or anything.

May 19, 2026: It took six games to do it, but we finally got a win in this hellish start to our 2026 season. We beat the Tri-City Valley Cats (3-3) by a 19-7 margin, out-hitting them 21-8 thanks to three hit nights from Andrew Moritz, Trevor Boone and Bryan Arias. Erik Rivera improved to 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his third bullpen appearance, but Hayden Minton struggled, allowing all of their to come during his 3.1 innings of work. I’m glad our bats woke up, because we trailed 7-5 after four and only after he left the mound were we able to find our footing.

May 23, 2026: Trevor Boone tore his labrum tonight in a 12-6 road win over the 4-6 Ottawa Titans. The win was our fifth in a row, finally getting us back to .500 for the year, but at what cost? We’ve been doing what we can to keep the clubhouse atmosphere up, and the fans are still excited to be a part of a team that gives a damn ... but losing Boone for the season hurts big time. Trey Morgan will have some big shoes to fill, and we’re hard at work scouring the independent ranks to find unsigned free agents to give us a semblance of depth.

May 27, 2026: We’ve done what we can to beef up our offense, signing 28-year-old utility player Mike Jarvis, 26-year-old middle infielder Shawn Ross and 25-year-old left fielder Juan Duque to minor league deals. Jarvis will take over in right field on our main roster to take advantage of his 70-rated contact ability, while Duque, also a solid hitter, will take over as our designated hitter. Ross, a solid power hitter option, will give us infield depth out of the reserve roster and when Baumgartner comes back off the IL we’ll have to release John McHenry to make room.

June 1, 2026: No word on a return for Baumgartner, who is free to come off the IL but is still suffering from chronic back soreness. We’re off to a miserable 7-10 start, only two games out of last place in the FL West, and we’re showing no signs of being able to gel as a team and come out of this tailspin.

June 3, 2024: We signed an additional backup pitcher, 29-year-old Bear Bellomy, to a minor league deal just as Baumgartner finally came off the IL after missing the entire first month of the season. We therefore had to cut McHenry and Trey Morgan to make roster space, and for the time being Baumgartner has lost his roster spot -- he’ll have to earn his way back off the reserve squad. Bellomy, who has excellent control, will move into the starting five, while Casey Anderson will take over as a stopper out of the bullpen.

June 22, 2024: Somehow, in spite of all the insanity, the pieces have started to fall back into place. In the last two and a half weeks we’ve posted a 12-4 record and climbed back into the race in the West, where we’re now knotted in a four-way tie for first with Washington, Schaumburg and Windy City, with Gateway (19-17, 1 GB) and Florence (18-18, 2 GB) right there in the scrum. In the East, Ottawa leads the way with a 21-15 record, two games up on Quebec (19-17) and three up on Tri-City (18-18), so really the entire league is seeing parity like it’s never seen. With three and a half weeks before the All Star break from July 14-17, and a little over a third of the season complete, nothing is decided and everything is up for grabs.

Jaydenn Estanista (2-0, 2.70 ERA) and Wesley Moore (4-1, 4.89 ERA) have been our most consistent starters at going deep into games, while newcomer Beau Bellomy (1-2, 2.75 ERA) has done solid work in four starts since signing his minor league deal. He’d been desperate for a shot at playing ball after two years away from the game after being cut by the Pirates back in ’23, and he’s more than making a go of it. Minton and Vargas, meanwhile, are struggling to find their form -- Vargas is now looking like a better fit for the bullpen, with Erik Rivera getting his shot at the starting five -- we’ll see how it goes.

Newcomer Andrew Moritz has been raking the ball, hitting .408 with 16 doubles and 26 RBIs through 34 games, but he should ... he’s 29 and looking at the back end of his career. Johan Lopez, meanwhile, has picked up right where he left off last year, hitting a team high .414 with 21 doubles, 33 RBIs and 1.8 total WAR, leading the team in both runs and runs batted in. Michael Guldberg has done well as well, hitting .381 with 19 doubles and 26 RBIs, and those three are a big reason we’ve suddenly started climbing the standings again.

[jksander]

June 23, 2026: Angel Vargas’ contract was just sold to the Miami Marlins, who are sending him to play in AA Pensacola. He had been struggling as a starter for us and was about to get some time in the bullpen, having gone 1-4 with a 10.08 ERA through seven starts and 27.2 innings. He’s probably ready for a chance against some tougher competition, but it’s another moment for us to keep thinking on our feet to try and stay one step ahead of the scouts. This will give Collin Baumgartner a chance to come back into the bullpen after his early season injury sent him to our reserve squad.

July 14, 2026: Well hell, we’ve gone and fallen off the cliff -- this season’s headed down the drain as we head into the All Star break with a 24-33 record, riding a streak of 14 losses in our last 15 games. That we’re playing this poorly is unacceptable considering we have SIX all-star players on our roster. No matter how much off-the-field chaos we’ve had, it’s my job to have our team putting up wins out there and I’m honestly not sure how to put a finger on any one thing that’s leading us down this path. Bottom line is that we’ve gone from tied for first three weeks ago to dead last in the division and tied for dead last in the league, nine games back of the 34-23 Washington Wild Things. Here are our all-star selections this year:

SP - Bear Bellomy (1-3, 2.97 ERA, 33.1 IP, 1.41 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 0.5 WAR)
SP - Jaydenn Estanista (3-3, 3.99 ERA, 58.2 IP, 1.28 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 0.9 WAR)
C - Jhoneiker Betancourt (.221/.385/.441, 145 AB, 4 HR, 4 SB, 93 wRC+, 0.5 WAR)
1B - Michael Guldberg (.350/.440/.505, 200 AB, 1 HR, 1 SB, 126 wRC+, 1.0 WAR)
SS - Johan Lopez (.379..529/.649, 174 AB, 2 HR, 7 SB, 166 wRC+, 2.2 WAR)
LF - Andrew Moritz (.377/.447/.507, 215 AB, 1 HR, 9 SB, 128 wRC+, 1.6 WAR)

Brennan Orf has been diagnosed with a torn calf muscle and will miss the remainder of the season.

July 16, 2026: Johan Lopez was named All Star MVP as the West Division All Stars put on an 8-1 clinic to win the showcase. He had two hits in four attempts during the game, which at least gives him nice bragging rights, though we’re still hoping to find a way to earn wins instead when we come back from the four-day layoff.

July 17, 2026: We’ve signed a minor league pitching deal to get us Nathan Wiles, a 28-year-old veteran right handed starter who has a decent four pitch arsenal and above-average control. He’ll step into our top position, and we’re hoping he can help bring us some stability as our bats come out of their extended slump.

July 18, 2026: Bryan Arias strained his forearm and will miss at least three weeks, though he’s officially listed as Day to Day ... we’ve put him on the seven day IL just to be safe, and brought Pierce Bennett off of the reserve roster as a backup, with Mike Jarvis taking over as our starting third baseman.

August 1, 2026: Since the All Star break we’ve gone 8-5, so at least the downward plummet has been arrested somewhat. We head into the motnh of August with a 32-38 record, good for sixth place in the FL West, and we’re ten games out of first and 5.5 games out of the wildcard race. So there’s still a chance to fight our way into the playoffs, but it’s a much tougher path -- we have 14 home games and 12 road games left on our schedule, and we’ll need to be damned near perfect to pull it off. Nathan Wiles has been a big help out of the rotation, having gone 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in three starts ... he’s got a strikeout per inning of work, a 1.20 WHIP and half a game in WAR already ... but he can only pitch one in five games. I’d like to see us find our way to a .500 or better finish, but unless we start suddenly performing at a significantly better team level in this final month, I think the playoffs will be out of reach.

Andrew Moritz now has 100 hits on the season and a .382 average, by far the best on our team this year. Johan Lopez has hit .341 with a team high 37 doubles, and Yoneiry Acevedo has 30 doubles and a team high 53 RBIs, to go with a .271 average and five homers.

[jksander]

August 18, 2026: Andrew Moritz tore his labrum and will miss what’s left of our season -- and that should pretty much stick the nail in. We’re currently 40-46 and remain six games out of the wild card with just ten games remaining in our season.

August 25, 2026: So hey, we rattled off seven wins in a row, and then lost Collin Baumgartner to a torn elbow ligament, which not only will derail his season but in fact his entire career -- he’s decided to retire. That’s a really disappointing way for him to end his time with us, particularly now that we’re actively in the fight for a wildcard spot -- we’re 47-46 and just two games out, but our final three games of the year will be on the road at Tri-City (50-43) who currenty just need one win to clinch.

August 27, 2026: We went into our first game against Tri-City and won a slugfest 14-10, keeping our hopes alive! The good news is we get Bryan Arias back after his long injury absence, but our playoff hopes lie in others’ hands at this point -- all we can do is try and win our final two games even though we don’t control our destiny.

August 28, 2026: Our win streak came to an end at eight games as we lost to Tri-City tonight by an 8-5 margin, and we were officially eliminated from the wildcard race. This year there will be no tie-breakers or other wildcard drama -- Gateway (59-37) won the West and will be our lone representative, as Ottawa (60-36), Quebec (51-45) and Tri-City (51-45) will represent the East. This is Ottawa’s third trip in a row to the playoffs, and they’ll get the chance to defend their title.
 
September 16, 2026: Ottawa’s Titans are officially the most dominant team the Frontier League has seen in years -- they beat the Tri City Valley Cats four games to two, making it to the FL Championship Series for the second year in a row, and they successfully defended their title, beating the Quebec Capitales in six games.

I’ve debated for the last month whether I wanted to come back to Evansville for another season and try to rebuild the program, but this time I had to consider my options for moving up to a higher level of play. So when I got a phone call from Carter Hawkins of the Chicago Cubs offering me the manager job in South Bend, I couldn’t turn down that opportunity. I’ll no longer be running a front office, but I’ll have a chance to be managing players who eventually will be the stars for the big-league Cubs, the team I’ve been following since I was a kid. Managing in the Midwest League (A+) won’t be easy ... the team hasn’t made the Midwest League Championship in the last three seasons, but they’re improving steadily, and the challenge will be helping to develop these players to work as a team while knowing any success will lead to the best of them movnig up in the system. And it’s a very good system -- the Cubs themselves currently are 95-64 and have clinched a playoff spot, and every single level in the minors had a winning record this season. So I’ll be expected to make sure that continues at the A+ level.

OOC: Since I won’t have control over GM-level duties now that I’m a manager in the minors, I’ll start playing out my games so I can take a more hands-on role in the day to day management of the team, but with the understanding that my lineups will be constantly changing and I’ll rarely know from day to day which players I’ll have on the team. Should make for an interesting challenge, and I tend to enjoy that kind of role more than I do overseeing a faster-sim process.

[jksander]

March 10, 2027: The South Bend Cubs are a month away from beginning their season in the Midwest League, and they’ll be under the new leadership of manager Gary Shannon, who was hired immediately after the team completed their slide into third place in the league, their fourth season in a row without a division or league championship. There’s a lot of buzz around Shannon, who, as GM of the Evansville Otters in the Frontier League, put together teams that posted back-to-back-to-back winning seasons in a league where turnover is even more chaotic than in the minor leagues -- his three year record is 166-122, though all in a front-office role. So this will be a different beast entirely, trying to win games and build a solid clubhouse atmosphere with players constantly moving up or down in the Cubs’ system. For now, at least, he has the backing of Carter Hawkins, the Cubs’ man at the top -- but it’s going to be a steep learning curve for sure. The parent club got swept in the wild card round last season, and with Craig Counsell in the final year of his contract, there are high expectations for a deeper playoff run with this team. Will that mean looking to the minors for chances for youth to help push the team over the top?

Here are the biggest prospects to keep an eye on, both at the A+ level in South Bend, and at the lower levels who might come up during the course of the season:

2B Johnny Lombardi (19) - South Bend Cubs (A+)
Drafted by the Cubs last summer in the first round, Lombardi signed a minor league deal with a $12,650,000 signing bonus. He already has great mechanics that are expected to contribute to a high batting average, and he has the raw speed to be dangerous on the basepaths. With the potential to become a solid defensive second baseman, right now he’s got a lot of raw talent and expectations on his shoulders. Currently ranked #26 in the BNN’s prospect rankings, he has all the upside in the world, but will he find success right away at this level? Most expect the parent club to give him time to learn the ropes, and few expect he’ll make it to the majors before the new decade. But fans are certainly excited to see him hit in South Bend!

CF Robert Arias (20) - South Bend Cubs (A+)
The Cubs acquired Arias in a trade with Cleveland last July, and he hit .250 in rookie league play with eight homers, 20 RBIs and nearly a game in total WAR. He’s expected to get the bump to South Bend this season to see how his power stacks up against a higher level of pitching. Not a top prospect, Arias still looks to have the potential to one day make the major league roster as a reserve.

1B Joshua Liranzo (20) - South Bend Cubs
Liranzo has been here since 2025 when he was traded by the Baltimore Orioles, and last season he hit .335 at the rookie league level, with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 2.4 WAR. He has great instincts on the basepaths despite limited speed, and his great pitch recognition and smooth swing / quick hands have led to high expectations that he can continue to rake at the upper-A level. But he needs time to build consistency -- loads of potential if he can handle the jump.

RF Jacob Parker (20) - South Bend Cubs (A+)
Drafted by Chicago in the second round back in 2025, he struggled to hit in the Arizona Complex League, and therefore may not start at the A+ level or stay there the entire season if he does. His potential is as great as it gets, but he’s been challenged by anything off-speed -- his ability as a fielder is what may keep him at this level even if his batskills need development.

CL Mirton Blanco (24) - South Bend Cubs (A+)
Blanco has a great fastball and slider combo and throws at 96-98 miles per hour, and signed with the Cubs out of the Frontier League in 2025. Last year in Myrtle Beach (A), he went 8-7 with 37 saves, putting together a 4.17 ERA while throwing 80 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. He has great raw stuff but is inexperienced, and will probably need to develop a third pitch to earn a spot on a major league roster ... this will be the year he gets to move up a level and see how he handles tougher competition from the plate. But if he does well, his time in the Midwest League may not be long.
 
SP Kellan Montgomery (22) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A)
A sixth round pick for the Cubs in 2025, Montgomery has quickly become a top pitching prospect within the organization, a lefty starter throwing four pitches, the bread and butter of which is a curveball with a late break. He’s a thinking man’s pitcher, which is to say he rarely breaks 90 miles an hour and has to rely on his ability to keep hitters off balance with a variety of pitches. He pounds the zone and has good movement on his pitches, and at the bare minimum he shows enough potential to be a back-end starter in the majors one day. He only got one start in Myrtle Beach last year, so there’s not a lot of raw data to work with. He’ll likely start out down there but has the potential to move up this year and get some serious innings in the Midwest League.

SP Kyle DeGroat (21) - Arizona Complex League
Traded to the Cubs from Minnesota in 2025, DeGroat picked up 11 ACL starts last season, going 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 80 K’s in 49 innings of work. He leans heavily on a swing-and-miss fastball, which is the best of his four pitches. He needs to improve his command and cut down on walks, and is expected to get time here and in Myrtle Beach this year to give him innings against better hitters.

[jksander]

April 9, 2027: This evening we opened the 2027 Midwest League season with a home game at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium, facing the Quad City River Bandits in front of 4,900 fans. The weather was definitely not welcoming for baseball ... partly cloudy, 36 degrees and an 11 mile per hour wind blowing out to left. But hey, at least it’s not snowing! We started 23-year-old lefty Drew Grey, who was 7-2 last year with a 3.29 ERA, striking out 159 in 112 innings’ work here in South Bend. He went up against Juan Oramas, a 21-year-old Venezuelan right-hander who went 7-8 last year for the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State league, with a 4.72 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 116.1 innings.

Quad Cities got on the board with an RBI single in the top of the fourth by first baseman Jairo Mendez, but Grey was able to get us out of the inning without further damage. We took the lead in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a two-run homer over the wall in center by shortstop Luis Maza, and left fielder Alexis Hernandez, who had singled in the third, hit a power bomb out of left field to make it 3-1! We brought out right-handed middle reliever Yenrri Rojas in the top of the sixth, with Grey at 81 pitches. Our catcher Abel De Leon hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth to add to the lead, and third baseman Cristian Hernandez batted in another pair with a single as we took control. Rojas handled his business through the seventh, sending us into the stretch with a 6-1 lead, and he did it again in the eighth as he kept their hitters guessing every time. Starlyn Pichardo, another righty middle reliever, came in for the non-save opportunity in the top of the ninth with a five-run lead to protect, and he promptly loaded the bases, which had me immediately warming up our closer, Mirton Blanco. A run scored on a groundout to first by pinch hitter Sandro Gaston, but Pichardo then got their designated hitter, Roni Cabrera, to strike out looking, giving us two outs with men on second and third. He didn’t even blink, striking out their star center fielder in the leadoff spot to clinch the 6-2 win!

Drew Grey started the season out with a win and a 1.80 ERA thanks to just three hits in five innings with a walk, eight strikeouts and an earned run. Rojas then picked up a three-inning hold with three hits and a strikeout, and though he got into some trouble, Pichardo used his four pitch arsenal to finish with a hit, two walks, two strikeouts and just one earned run as we held on to win. We outhit the River Bandits 11-7, led by Cristian Hernandez with three hits, a run and two RBIs, while Alexis Hernandez added three hits, a run and an RBI.

April 10, 2027: This is some cold weather even for northern Indiana at this time of year ... we drew nearly 5,000 fans to the stadium this afternoon for game two of three against the River Bandits, despite 33 degree temps and a 10-miler blowing left to right across the field. Gabriel Hughes got the start for us ... he missed all of last year after tearing his UCL back in August of ’25 while he was part of the Colorado Rockies organization. We just picked him up as a minor league free agent in late March, and the 25-year-old’s future is riding on how well his new ligament lets him pitch. He has great command, so the Cubs are really hoping to see him do well early. He pitched tonight against Quad Cities’ Trevor Martin, who was signed out of the Frontier League last summer and went on to pitch to a 4-3 record and 2.19 ERA for the River Bandits in just the last two months of the Midwest League season.

Judging by his early results tonight, I’d say Hughes’ ligament was repaired perfectly. He struck out seven batters in the first four innings with just one hit against him, throwing just 55 pitches, and he got through the sixth thanks to a flyout to left and a heads-up 7-2 double play to stop a run from scoring at home, keeping the game knotted at zero into the bottom of the fifth. Middle reliever Runelvis Toribio came in to pitch in the top of the sixth, and in the bottom of the frame Cristian Hernandez hit a solo blast out of center, his first of the year, to give us a 1-0 lead! Irving Vasquez came out of the pen for the first time this season in the top of the seventh and he pitched around a runner on second to get out of the inning with our lead still safe. Vasquez got us an out in the eighth as well, and then we brought in Freilyn Silverio to combat the lefty-heavy portion of their lineup with a runner on first. Unfortunately, with two outs, he threw an ill-timed fastball to their shorstop Derlin Figueroa, and he hammered it out of the park for three runs and the lead. Juan Bello came out of the pen to pitch in the top of the ninth, trailing by a pair, and he struck out the side to keep us in this one. We just weren’t able to make anything happen, losing this one 3-1 to fall back to .500.

Hughes gave us five innings with three hits and eight strikeouts, but Silverio blew the save and took the loss, allowing a hit, a walk and two runs in the eighth before getting his two outs. Quad Cities outhit us 7-5 tonight ... leadoff man Cristian Hernandez’ homer was one of his two hits tonight, and he’s now hitting .625 through his first two games.

We’ve got one more game against Quad Cities tomorrow afternoon at 2:35, and then we’ll spend all of next week in Fort Wayne, playing the Tin Caps for a six-game series.
 
April 11, 2027: We’ve got 23-year-old prospect Cesar Ruiz, who is up from single-A ball for the first time after putting together a 7-13 record and 4.53 ERA last year, pitching against Quad Cities’ Oscar Rayo, a 25-year-old who got a brief glimpse of AA ball last year only to come quietly back down to earth. Last year in A+ he was 7-10 overall with a 4.17 ERA and 155 K’s, but he’s getting old enough that expectations are getting closer to “now or never” if he doesn’t make the jump up soon.

We took an early lead with an RBI single by Andrews Cruz in the bottom of the first, and in the bottom of the third we added on with a two-run double by Darlyn De Leon to put us ahead by three! Alexis Hernandez hit a three-run bomb out of center field in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 6-0 game, and with two outs in the top of the sixth we finally went to the bullpen, bringing out Adrian Santana to relieve Cruz, who had thrown 87 pitches. Alexis Hernandez hit another RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, and Santana made it into the eighth inning, getting an out while we warmed up his relief. Yafrerlyn Vasquez came out with one out to take control, pitching around an infield single to get two quick outs and preserve the shutout. Luis Maza hit his second homer of the year, a solo bomb out of center, to make it an eight run lead in the bottom of the eighth. Vasquez stayed out to finish the game, putting runners on the corners but holding tough as we won this one 8-0, our first shutout of the season!

Cesar Ruiz started his season out 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA thanks to a three hit effort over 5.2 innings, walking three and striking out eight! Santana and Vasquez covered the remaining 3.1 innings with three hits, a walk and a strikeout between them. We outhit them 14-6 this afternoon, led by Alexis Hernandez with four hits, three runs and four RBIs, while Luis Maza also hit four times, scoring three and driving in one. With Cristian Hernandez hitting .500 through our first three games as well, we have a legitimately solid top three in our lineup.

[jksander]

OOC: I'm bringing this one to an end ... something went way wrong in the database for this game, and my minor league team is apparently filled with a bunch of duplicated players, and it's just too ridiculous to try and keep up with. I'm going to start something fresh where I can be a minor league manager and rise up in the ranks, because I think it'll be a fun challenge, but I just can't immerse myself in this as the roster is now pretty much beyond repair.