Rochester Red Wings Season Preview

Calling the 2013 Rochester Red Wings season a roller coaster ride would be a dramatic understatement. Rochester started off the year at 2-11, went on to finish the season 77-67, clinched a wild card berth and made their first playoff appearance in seven years.

This year's team is completely different: none of the current pitchers were on last year's opening day roster and just three position players from opening day are returning. With the momentum from the 2013 team, manager Gene Glynn has more of talent on this team and the expectations are higher than ever.

Starting Rotation (With 2013 Teams & Stats)

Scott Diamond:

Fort Meyers: 0-0 7.20 ERA 5 IP 0 BB 3 SO

Rochester: 4-0 2.41 ERA 41.0 IP 9 BB 19 SO

Minnesota: 6-13 5.43 ERA 131 IP 36 BB 52 SO

Alex Meyer: 2013 Season

GCL Twins: 0-0 1.08 ERA 8.1 IP 3 BB 16 SO

New Britain: 4-3 3.21 ERA 70 IP 29 BB 84 SO

Glendale (AFL): 2-1 3.12 ERA 26 IP 7 BB 28 SO

Kris Johnson: 2013 Season

Indianapolis: 10-4 2.39 ERA 135.2 IP 43 BB, 94 SO

Pittsburgh: 0-2 6.10 ERA 10.1 IP 4 BB 9 SO

Trevor May: 2013 Season

New Britain: 9-9 4.51 ERA 151.2 IP 67 BB 159 SO

Logan Darnell: 2013 Season

New Britain: 6-6 2.61 ERA 96.2 IP 23 BB 77 SO

Rochester: 4-4 4.26 ERA 57 IP 22 BB 43 SO

Some familiar names are locked in the rotation for Rochester. Logan Darnell and Scott Diamond spent time with the Red Wings last season, and for Diamond it is the fourth straight year with Rochester. Alex Meyer, the 28^th overall prospect according to MLB.com Top 100 Prospect List, is the biggest name in the rotation and also the one with the highest expectations. 2014 is an important year for every player, but I would argue that it’s even more important for Trevor May. With the Twins' off-season free agent signings and the expectation Meyer will join the rotation by 2015, the opening for May to be a starting pitcher in Minnesota is a small one.

Standout Pitcher

The obvious choice is to go with Alex Meyer or Scott Diamond, but as previously noted, I believe Trevor May has the most to prove this season. For the past two seasons May has had an ERA well above four, and his strikeout to walk ratio has been around two to one. In order for this season to be a successful this ratio will need to improve to at least three to one, which would bring his ERA down as well.

Starting Lineup (With 2013 Team & Stats)

CF: Darin Mastroianni: GCL Twins - .143, 0 HR 2 RBI, 2 SB

Fort Myers - .400, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 SB

Rochester - .240, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4 SB

Minnesota - .185, 0 HR, 5 RBi, 2 SB

2B: James Beresford: New Britain - .316, 0 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB

Rochester - .298 0 HR, 21 RBI, 5 SB

RF: Chris Parmelee: Rochester - .231, 3 HR, 22 RBI

Minnesota - .228, 8 HR, 24 RBI

1B: Brad Nelson: Iowa - .271, 20 2B, 20 HR, 71 RBI.

3B: Deibinson Romero: New Britain - .355 3 HR, 6 RBI

Rochester - .266, 10 HR, 50 RBI 4 SB

LF: Chris Rahl: Syracuse - .293, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 14 SB

DH: Eric Farris: New Britain - .500 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Rochester - .248, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 23 SB

SS: Danny Santana: New Britain - .297, 2 HR, 45 RBI, 22 2B, 30 SB.

C: Eric Fryer:Rochester- .215, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB

Minnesota - .385 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB

Similar to the start of the 2013 season, the Red Wings have three catchers on their 25-man roster again. Eric Fryer is expected to be the everyday catcher, however Dan Rohlfing and Chris Herrmann have experience playing other positions besides catcher.

Breakout Pick

Danny Santana is known for two things: his speed and his “shaky” defense. One of the things the Red Wings prided themselves on last season was good defense and drawing walks, two things Santana has not done very well. Hitting coach Tim Doherty stresses plate discipline and that is something Santana can benefit from. Don’t be surprised to see him steal 40 bases in 2014 and to draw 40+ walks as well, which would both be career highs.

Season Prediction

While Rochester has a very good team, Pawtucket and Buffalo have good rotations and perhaps better overall offenses than Rochester. Last season I drank the Kool-Aid and predicted a playoff birth. This season I expect the same, with Rochester going 80-64 and for the first time since 1997 winning the International League North division title.