Wild Things preview: Rebuilt pitching staff holds key
Change is inevitable in minor league baseball.
Players come and go. Rosters turn over faster than omelets. And when a Frontier League season ends, players look for something better during the winter months, whether it’s a different team, different league or simply moving on to their life’s work by retiring from the sport they love.
So it comes as no surprise that change hit the Wild Things hard in the offseason.
Last year, Washington set a franchise record by winning 67 games and capturing its ninth division title. There was a playoff series sweep of Lake Erie but a bitter loss to Quebec in the league championship series.
Many of the key players who contributed to those Washington wins will not be returning when the Wild Things open their 23rd season tonight in Crestwood, Ill., against the Windy City ThunderBolts.
Manager Tom Vaeth is back, for his fifth season and with a contract extension. Also returning are many of the infielders from a year ago.
But what’s gone is 60 percent of the starting rotation, the entire bullpen and both catchers. So too is the worn out synthetic playing surface, replaced by a dazzling new one. Heck, even the ballpark has a new name. Gone is Wild Things Park, replaced by EQT Park.
While much has changed, Vaeth believes he has assembled another talented group of players who can reach the playoffs and make a run at that elusive first league championship.
“What I like,” Vaeth said, “is we competed in camp. You always want to see how it plays out the first couple of weeks, but we’re breaking camp with the best 25 players on the field.
“The unknown is we have a lot of guys who we don’t know for sure what we’re getting. You don’t know how consistent a guy is pitching, hitting and fielding until the lights come on and the games start counting. The biggest hurdle for me is figuring out what we have, who goes in what roles, me getting used to them and the players learning what I expect and how I like us to play.”
Vaeth likes his infield, where first baseman Andrew Czech is back for his fifth season. Designated hitter Tyreque Reed will give Czech days off at first base. Reed won the league’s batting title last year, hitting .341. Tommy Caufield returns at third base and provides speed, gap power and a good defense. Ethan Wilder is back after hitting .285 in his rookie season and showing that he can play both middle infield positions.
Added to the infield mix is Sammy Infante, a former second-round draft pick of the Washington Nationals.
The outfield has a couple of proven Frontier League standouts. Center fielder Caleb McNeely is back after winning the league’s MVP award last year. McNeely, a former West Virginia standout, hit .298 with 23 home runs, 74 RBI and 28 stolen bases in his first full season in Washington.
Left fielder Wagner Lagrange returns for his fourth year and has hit at least .297 in each of his first three seasons.
There are four other outfielders on the roster, including Robert Chayka, who was reacquired earlier this week. Chayka hit .293 as a rookie with Washington in 2023 and was traded to Windy City last year at the transaction deadline.
The catchers are new. Washington is the fifth Frontier League stop for Willie Estrada and Jommer Hernandez was signed out of the Toronto Blue Jays farm system.
The pitching staff has received a major overhaul. Staff ace Kobe Foster and closer Gyeongju Kim, who led the league with 28 saves as a rookie a year ago, are playing in the Mexican League this season. Only Zach Kirby and Jordan DiValerio return in the rotation, but both are coming off good seasons. Kirby had a 10-4 record and 2.42 ERA a year ago and DiValerio was 10-2 with a 3.39 ERA that included a two-hit shutout of Sussex County late in the season.
Lefty Marlon Perez, who pitched in four games with Washington last year, will be in the rotation along with Regi Grace, a seven-year veteran of the Minnesota Twins farm system, and Joe Oviedo, who had a brief stint in Class AAA with the Texas Rangers.
The bullpen, which has long been a strength of Vaeth teams, is a work in progress.There are plenty of options but only one lefthander is among them.
“What was my biggest concern in the offseason? That’s an easy one,” Vaeth said. “Rebuilding the bullpen. We have to get guys in defined roles. We’re trying to find the right pieces in the puzzle.
“There are enough returners, enough on the offensive side, to think we’ll still be OK there.”
The Frontier League has expanded to 18 teams with the addition of the Down East Bird Dawgs (Kinston, N.C.) and MIssissippi Mud Monsters (Pearl, Miss.). There 18 teams will be split into four divisions and two conferences (nine teams in each). Washington is in the Midwest Conference’s Central Division along with Lake Erie, Florence and Evansville. Four teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs.
Washington will play its home opener Tuesday night against the Ottawa Titans.