We’re only two days away from Opening Day in Omaha. Last week I tried to guess who would be taking the field Thursday night, but things happen in the Spring, so here are some updates.
Jarrod Dyson: OUT. Lee Warren reported yesterday afternoon that Dyson would start the season on the DL with a lat injury. Dyson would have been Omaha’s starting center fielder.
This is a bummer for the home fans in many ways. Though Dyson’s bat has never been anything to write home about, his fantastic speed is a joy to watch. As Rany pointed out the other day, Dyson has stolen 107 bases in his career even though he has only been on base 308 times. That’s unreal. And from what I can tell, he puts his speed to good use in the outfield — there is a difference between being fast and being good at defense, but apparently Dyson is both.
Jose Duarte: IN. He will be in Omaha in Dyson’s place.
Alex Gordon: OUT. Well, for now. Dick Kaegel reported this morning that Gordon’s rehab assignment will start in Wilmington, not Omaha. Kaegel didn’t mention whether a stop in Omaha is planned at any point, but he didn’t rule it out, either. We’ll keep an eye on this, because Gordon’s presence tends to bump attendance quite a bit.
Mike Aviles: OUT. Aviles was placed on the 25-man on Sunday in an unbelievable show of faith that his injury has healed. I’m thrilled for Mike, because I figured they’d play it safe and have him rehab in Omaha for a while before Yuni forces himself out and makes way for the Avilanche.
Shane Costa: OUT. I did mention this the other day, but for the sake of centralization I’ll repeat it here. Costa is not quite baseball ready yet. He had surgery on both feet in the offseason, and expects to arrive in Omaha in the middle of May.
David Lough: IN. When I made my first attempt at piecing together the roster, I wasn’t sure whether he’d be in Omaha yet. But he will be. This is exciting news for those of us who are hungry for more legit prospects to move up through Omaha.
Wilson Betemit: IN. I figured that Betemit would refuse an assignment to Omaha, but he took it and is now on the ORoyals roster.
Since I never did get around to predicting the Omaha pitching staff, here it is:
STARTING ROTATION via Lee Warren:
Bruce Chen
Gaby Hernandez
Philip Humber
Brad Thompson
Bryan Bullington and Josh Rupe will both serve as 5th starters.
Chen didn’t do much good at the Major League level last season, but he was quite good in Triple-A. He may not be a glamorous choice for staff ace, but he is pretty durable – In his first 13 starts for Omaha last season, he averaged over 6 innings per start. (He was pulled after just 2 innings in his 14th start so he could pitch 3 days later in the Majors.)
BULLPEN:
Adam Bostick
Chris Hayes
Matt Herges
Greg Holland
Victor Marte
Carlos Rosa
Blake Wood
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