New mixes with old as Wild Things begin season
Logan Douglas/For the Observer-Reporter
Pitcher Rob Whalen will start for the Wild Things tonight in the Frontier League season opener against the New York Boulders.
Ed Thompson/For the O-R
Outfielder Hector Roa, who has played 459 Frontier League games with the Wild Things, will not be on the opening day roster.
Mark Marietta
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Shortstop Nick Ward returns to hit atop the Wild Things’ batting order.
In the ever-changing world of independent baseball, where rosters turn over faster than omelets and careers are either being built or ended, keeping a team together from year to year is impossible. As a result, continuing momentum from one season to the next is difficult.
The Washington Wild Things had plenty of momentum last summer, when they charged from nine games out of first place on July 5 to win a division title, then defeated Quebec in the Frontier League semifinals before losing Game 5 of the best-of-5 championship series to Schaumburg.
With only seven players from last year returning, the Wild Things will be starting over, trying to rekindle that winning formula and build momentum when they open the season tonight (7 p.m.) at home against the New York Boulders.
“Teams either have winning habits or losing habits,” Washington manager Tom Vaeth said. “We will not develop losing habits. We’re trying to show the new guys that the bar has been set high here. There are expectations.”
If the Wild Things are to meet those lofty expectations, their returning infielders will have to lead the way. Back for a second season in Washington are first baseman Andrew Czech (.271, 15 home runs), second baseman Scotty Dubrule (.374) and shortstop Nick Ward (.269, 21 stolen bases).
Ian Walters, who batted .286 last season for the now-defunct Southern Illinois, provides experience at third base and catcher Alex Alvarez played 45 games at the Class AA level.
“The infield should be the strength of the club, no doubt,” Vaeth said.
Outfielder Hector Roa is back for his sixth season in Washington, making him the second-longest tenured player in Wild Things history. He batted .296 with 12 homes runs a year ago and is chasing several franchise career records.
Joining Roa in the outfield are three interesting newcomers. Wagner Lagrange spent last year in Class AA and Class AAA in the New York Mets’ system, batting .268 with eight home runs. L.G. Castillo batted .280 with nine home runs in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system last summer and speedy Cole Brannen is a former second-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox.
‘We needs guys like L.G. Castillo and Wagner Lagrange to be impact-type guys,” Vaeth admitted.
The starting rotation is anchored by opening night starter Rob Whalen, who threw eight shutout innings and struck out 11 in the decisive Game 5 against Quebec last year. Whalen is the only former major leaguer to play for the Wild Things. If everything goes as planned, a second ex-big leaguer will be added in the coming weeks.
Adonis Rosa, who reached the majors with the New York Yankees in 2019, is currently on the inactive list because of visa issues but is expected in Washington as early as next week.
Daren Osby, who has 17 wins in three seasons in the Frontier League, returns to the rotation.
The bullpen was Washington’s strength a year ago. James Meeker and B.J. Sabol had consecutive scoreless innings streaks of 31 2/3 and 23, respectively, and Zack Strecker set the Frontier League’s career saves record. All three are gone. The lone holdover is hard-throwing Dan Kubiuk, who struck out 32 in 21 innings a year ago.
Expecting the relief pitchers to be as good as those last year is simply a pipe dream, but Vaeth likes the potential of Lukas Young as a back-of-the-bullpen option, and lefthander Bralin Gonzalez has experience at the Class A level.
“We’re going to let it play out. We have some unproven commodities in the bullpen, but I’m excited about what we have down there. Lukas Young has the reputation of being a hard thrower who has shown an ability to throw strikes and get ahead in the count, and Kubiuk had a taste of what it’s like last year.”
New division
The Frontier League moved Washington into a division and conference with former Can-Am League teams last year, and the Wild Things are on the move again this season. The Wild Things have been shifted to the eight-team West Division to play with its former rivals, the Evansville Otters, Florence Y’alls, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Lake Erie Crushers, Schaumburg Boomers and Windy City Thunderbolts.
The top three teams in the division will qualify for the playoffs.
The East Division will include New York, the Empire State Greys, New Jersey Jackals, Ottawa Titans, Quebec Capitales, Sussex County Miners, Tri-City ValleyCats and Trios-Rivieres Aigles. The Greys are a travel team – they will play all 96 games on the road.
For openers
Whalen (2-0, 1.76 last year) has pitched at every level of professional baseball but tonight he will experience something for the first time. This will be his initial opening day start.
“I haven’t pitched a season opener since, well, my senior year of high school,” he said, “so it’s exciting. In the minor leagues, I was always the second or third game starter. The opening day starter was always the guy whose day it was to pitch, based on when you last threw in spring training. It wasn’t anything that was done based on what you did last year, it was just to keep you on a regular schedule.”
Better start
The Wild Things could make it easier on themselves if they play better baseball in the first half of the season than they did a year ago, when they were 13-20 after 33 games. While Sussex County seemed to be running away with the division title, Washington struggled to build any momentum early in the season.
“We were bad out of the gate. We didn’t do the little things that help you win,” Vaeth said. “We didn’t do those things that prevent you from winning during the second half, when we turned it around.
“There’s an old saying that it’s not how you start that counts, it’s how you finish. A good start, though, would make it easier for everyone.”
And what about a better finish?
“We want to be one game better than last year,” Vaeth said.