Please fasten your seatbelts and return your tray table to its full upright and locked position because the Las Vegas Aviators are set to take flight this week in their inaugural season. Formerly the Las Vegas 51s, the Aviators enter the 2019 season in a new home as well, shedding Cashman Field for the Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin.
The Triple-A franchise for the Oakland Athletics, the Aviators will still compete in the Pacific Southern Division in the Pacific Coast League. Las Vegas will open the season Thursday night at 5 p.m. PST. After the homer opener sold out in less than 10 minutes, Vegas has been abuzz about this new experience with the Sin City-based ball club.
“Everyone is excited about our new name,” said Don Logan, the team’s President and Chief Operating Officer, who has been with the franchise for 35 years. “With new ownership, our impending move into the Las Vegas Ballpark and our new professional affiliation, this is the perfect time to rebrand the city’s beloved baseball team.”
Check out the Aviators' new Downtown Summerlin ballpark ahead of the April 9 opener. https://t.co/5rmWvDKV9n pic.twitter.com/NH2shsLtXX
— Las Vegas Sun (@LasVegasSun) April 3, 2019
While fans are hooting and hollering over some of the new stadium’s amenities (including inventive hot dogs created by Chef of the Year Brian Howard and an in-house swimming pool area for parties), the inaugural opener is still a week away. The season kicks off on the road for the Aviators with a five-game set at El Paso through Monday before the flyboys return home for the much-anticipated opener. So, who are these newly minted Vegas diamond kings, you might ask?
Well, let’s get to know the 2019 Opening Day roster for the Las Vegas Aviators.
Coaching Staff
The Aviators will be navigated by 2018 Nashville Sound manager Fran Riordan. Riordan was in his first year as skipper for the Athletics’ previous Triple-A franchise before the Oakland announced its agreement with the organization that would eventually become the Aviators. The 43-year-old has coach in 18 seasons overall in professional baseball and four as a member of the Oakland Athletics organization (2015-18). Riordan has compiled a career 941-925 managerial record.
He is joined by hitting coach Erik Martins, who is entering his fifth season overall as a hitting coach in the Oakland Athletics organization. Martins spent the previous three seasons as hitting coach for Nashville, prior to the move to Vegas. Longtime Oakland Athletic (35 years) Rick Rodriguez enters his fourth season as pitching coach. The former A’s right-hander is in his fourth stint as pitching coach of Oakland’s top affiliate after previously serving in that capacity from 2000-02, 2004-10 and 2013-14. Former Southern California-area scout, Craig Conklin rounds out the Aviators’ coaching staff.
Position Players
Leading the way is arguably the top catching prospect in all of baseball, Sean Murphy. Murphy, 24, is a former third-rounder out of Wright State and is widely considered the best defensive catcher in minor league baseball. Murphy is projected to see some Major League service time at some point in 2019, but — at least while he’s in Vegas — young local aspiring catchers will have the best in the game to observe first hand.
After playing a limited season in 2018 thanks to surgery to repair a fractured right hamate bone, the talented backstop is returning locked and loaded. Murphy is 100 percent after hitting .285 with eight homers and 43 RBI over three levels (Rookie, Double-A and a cup of coffee at Triple-A) in 2018. The injury limited him to 306 at-bats but is not expected to be an issue going forward.
Murphy will be joined by teammate Dustin Fowler, who split time with Oakland (.224 BA in 192 ABs) and Nashville (.341 BA in 229 ABs), as well as utility specialist Franklin Barreto, another top A’s prospect who hit .259 with 18 homers and 46 RBI over 77 games last season. Barreto hitting .387/.457/.613 with a home run and four doubles in 31 at-bats
Outfielder Tyler Ramirez looks to continue his strong push for a big league look, joining the Aviators after hitting .287 with 10 homers, 79 RBI and 73 runs scored last season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds. Also joining the Aviators is 30-year-old two-bagger Corban Joseph, who hit 17 homers and drove in 68 while batting at a .312 clip for the Double-A Bowie Baysox in 2018.
The Aviators have a wealth of options at first as well. Eric Campbell (.313 BA, 6 HR, 68 RBI for Triple-A New Orleans in 2018) and Seth Brown (.282 BA, 14 HR, 90 RBI for the RockHounds in 2018) could provide additional pop for the Aviators, who will be bolstered by some veteran leadership.
Pitching Staff
Finally, the arms. The Aviators look to a mix of youth and seasoned experience for success in 2019 but only one staff member ranks in the top 50 prospects for Oakland. The remainder are veteran arms looking for their opportunity with the big league club.
The two best statistical returners are Tyler Anderson (6-0, 3.59 ERA, 47 2/3 IP in the Mexican League) and Dean Keikhefer, who finished a combined 8-1, 3.39 ERA at Double- and Triple-A last season. Anderson is an interesting storyline, as the lefthander has twice been suspended for a “drug of abuse.” As a 27th round draft pick, he was suspended 50 games for a drug of abuse (not a PED) in 2015. He was then suspended again in 2016 for 100 games the next year after another positive test (they were all for marijuana, according to reports).
In other words, Alexander was suspended for cannabis, an arcane rule that needs to be eliminated in pro sports.
Alexander has the potential to be a strong back-of-the-rotation guy for the A’s. He set the league record when he fanned 167 batters in 148 innings playing independent league ball after coming just one strikeout away from setting the record the previous season. He has posted 169 strikeouts in 151 minor league innings (not including independent league stats). Alexander is definitely an arm to keep an eye on.
Cuban signee Miguel Romero has the potential to be a force out of the bullpen for the Aviators and, eventually, in the big leagues. The athletic right-hander can run his fastball up to 95 MPH and has late giddy-up. He misses a ton of barrels (108 Ks in 90 2/3 innings pitched) but hasn’t dominated opposing hitters as much as expect (.254 Opponents BA). He blew four saves in five chances last year at Double-A Midland.
While a majority of the staff has bounced up and down, one name may be familiar to local Brewers fans. Taiwanese lefty Wei-Chung Wang joins the Aviators after spending 2018 overseas with the NC Dinos of the KBO League. Formerly a Rule 5 pick by the Pirates, Wang struggled with the Brewers in 2017, appearing in eight games with a 13.50 ERA.
The Aviators will also look to veteran Jerry Blevins (29-13, 3.52 ERA, 42 2/3 IP at the Major League level), who is 35, as well as Parker Bridwell (11-3,4.60 ERA with the Los Angeles Angels from 2017-18), former Chicago Cubs reliever Brian Schlitter (21-of-25 saves in 2018 with a 3.36 ERA for the Oklahoma City Dodgers), and Andrew Triggs (3-1, 5.23 ERA for the Athletics).
Overall Outlook for 2019
As the Nashville franchise in 2018, the team finished 72-68, which was good enough for second place in the division and sixth overall in the PCL. It neither an upgrade nor a downgrade considering the team’s predecessor, the Las Vegas 51, finished 71-69 and in third place in their division.
With a few potent bats, the Aviators should benefit from the moneyball system A’s executive vice president Billy Bean and general manager David Forst has in place. Part of the battle is keeping the stadium filled during the dog days of summer, which doesn’t appear to be an issue in the new Las Vegas Ballpark’s inaugural season.
Of course winning is secondary when it comes to development, so plenty of players will be taxi-squading it this season to the parent team. Continuity and a winning mindset is valuable but not essential. Players like Murphy, Fowler, Barreto and Blevins will surely bounce back and forth (depending on their remaining options) as Vegas is much closer to the Bay Area than Nashville has in the past.
However the season turns out, it looks to play out with some new faces in new places with a brand new logo and a brand new philosophy. Will the Aviators soar to great heights? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure: Minor league baseball is back in Vegas in one of the most anticipated seasons in Southern Nevada history.
