Tomorrow the Dayton Dragons are scheduled to host their 20th Season Celebration Game. The 2019 Dragons team is supposed to face off against a team of “alumni” that is made up of former Dayton players who are still in the Cincinnati Reds farm system. That team was announced yesterday. Today we get a look at the 2019 Dragons roster (subject to change before opening day on Thursday).
Other Reds affiliate rosters
Louisville – Chattanooga – Daytona – Dayton
Here’s what it looks like:
Starting by looking at the pitchers, it would seem that the rotation would be made up of Jared Solomon, Lyon Richardson, Jacob Heatherly, James Marinan, and Alexis Diaz. All five worked as starters last season in Greeneville, Billings, or Dayton. There’s a chance that others with starting experience could fill a role there, too. Jhon De Jesus missed all of the 2018 season but has been a starter in the past. Adrian Rodriguez made 21 starts last year – having plenty of success in Billings, but he struggled with the Dragons.
On the infield there are a lot of very interesting parts. Both Miguel Hernandez and Jonathan Willems made my Top 25 Reds prospects this past offseason. Bren Spillane was the 3rd round pick for the Reds last season and should be playing plenty of first base for the team. Juan Martinez cracked the Top 20 Reds prospects for Baseball America after a strong showing in Billings. Claudio Finol is still just 18-years-old and coming off a season where he hit .294 in Greeneville while playing second, third, and shortstop. Dylan Harris is the elder statesman of the group, but the 24-year-old hit .314 last season for Billings – playing mostly second base.
The outfield for Dayton has two Top 10 prospects with Mariel Bautista (#9) and Mike Siani (#10) headlining the group. Bautista has hit .320 or higher in each of the last three seasons, and last year started showing game power. Siani was the Reds 4th round pick who signed for late-1st-round money. He went to Greeneville after the draft and showed off his defensive skills while hitting .288. Reniel Ozuna will be making his full-season debut after spending last year between Greeneville and Billings. Reshard Munroe will return to Dayton, where he spent the second half of 2018. He hit .252/.341/.404 between Billings and Dayton last season.