Life In The Minors

Greetings from Hunnicutt Field in Princeton!

At the time of this writing, it's exactly 72 hours to first pitch of the 2009 season for the Princeton Rays. That's not a lot of time.
Over the last few days friends and colleagues have been asking who'll be on the P-Rays roster this year. As of now, three days from Opening Day ... I honestly don't know.

The team hasn't officially released a roster, which is good -- General Manager Jim Holland began work on a first draft yesterday, only to see unexpected changes come up. Some players who were expected to be here won't be coming, and some players who weren't expected here will.

Appalachian League teams are allowed to carry 35 players on their rosters, with 30 players active for any given game. Right now, there are 26 players in Princeton, with another due to arrive tomorrow. So that leaves eight spots to be filled before Tuesday's first game.

There's been at least one newspaper story about the '09 P-Rays, based on that first-draft roster. But the unexpected changes have rendered part of that story already obsolete; three players the story mentioned aren't here at Hunnicutt Field and likely won't play in Princeton, at least for now, while some players not mentioned in the story are here and more of the same are on the way.

Friday night, at around 11:30, in Jim's office, he asked me, "Do you have that first roster from earlier today?"
I told him I did.
"Well, throw it out. We're making some changes."

That's how it goes in the minor leagues.

As the P-Rays' radio broadcaster, I'm allowed access to certain information and trusted to keep it mum before it becomes public knowledge. Like with this roster. I have a list of players that are here right now (so I can prepare for the broadcasts) but I can't officially say who they are.

But I can reveal a few things:

• Unlike 2008, when the majority of the P-Rays' roster was made up of players who were with the team the previous season, newcomers will outnumber the returners in '09.
• The P-Rays will have an entirely new infield.
• Two players who were infielders in the Tampa Bay organization will be converted to pitchers.
  
• The outfield, with three returning starters from '08 (Brian Bryles, Ty Morrison, Ramon Novas) could be the strength of the team, especially early in the season while the newbies adjust to professional baseball.
• This is mere speculation, but Jason McEachern could be Princeton's Opening Day starting pitcher. The youngster excelled with the P-Rays last year (3-0, 1.44 ERA, 25 IP, 17 H, 16 K in nine apperances) as a 17-year old. But, as the Violent Femmes once sang, "this is only a guess."

NOTE: For the second time in as many years, I'll be hosting the "P-Rays Preview Show" the day before Opening Day. It's an hour-long look ahead to the 2009 season. Tune in to Classic Rock 102.3 FM The New River (WMTD), Monday, June 22, starting at 6:00 pm EDT.