March 21, 2023 – Midwest League (MWL) – Dayton Dragons News Release
Dayton Dragons pitcher Connor Phillips
(Dayton Dragons)
Three weeks from today, the Dayton Dragons will take the field at Day Air Ballpark for their 23rd home opening night game. Opening night is Tuesday, April 11th against the Great Lakes Loons at 7:05 p.m. Dragons single-game tickets and season ticket plans are available now. The season ticket plans feature the Dragons new Business Club and Family Club and are loaded with special benefits. Call the Dragons at (937) 228-2287 or go to daytondragons.com/tickets for more information.
This is part seven of an eight-part series previewing the 2023 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 April 4. Spring training variables including performance, injuries, trades, and additional player acquisitions will impact the roster accordingly.
The Starting Pitchers
Candidates: Chase Petty, Javi Rivera, Steve Hajjar, Sam Benschoter, Julian Aguiar, Bryce Hubbart, Tanner Cooper.
The 2022 Dragons opening day starting rotation will go down as one of the best ever constructed in team history, and perhaps the very best. The 2006 Dragons rotation might currently hold the crown as the best in franchise history, featuring Johnny Cueto, Travis Wood, Carlos Fisher, Jeff Stevens, and Zach Ward. Four of those five went on to the Major Leagues, two pitched in MLB all-star games, one was a 20-game winner, and the one who did not reach the big leagues, Ward, set a Dragons single-season ERA record that still stands to this day.
The 2022 Dragons rotation featured Andrew Abbott and Connor Phillips, both currently considered high-level prospects in the Reds system, as well as flame-throwing Joe Boyle, highly-regarded hurlers Thomas Farr and James Proctor, and James Marinan, who was on the Reds 40-man roster at the start of the 2022 season. Of that group, Abbott went on to become the Reds 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Phillips rates as one of the top three pitching prospects in the entire organization, and Boyle might have the best arm of anyone in the system. Farr is likely to open the 2023 season in Chattanooga and shows promise. Proctor suffered a most-unfortunate career-ending shoulder injury and is now working for Major League Baseball. Marinan did struggle in 2022 and was released by the…
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