A lot of familiarity and a lot of top Los Angeles Dodgers prospects highlight the opening-day roster for the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The Lookouts will open their Southern League season Thursday night at home against Huntsville with 24 players, 15 of whom suited up for Chattanooga last season. Among the returnees are starting pitcher Chris Withrow, the No. 2 organizational prospect according to Baseball America; left fielder Andrew Lambo, the No. 7 prospect; and center fielder Trayvon Robinson, the No. 9 prospect.
“There is some familiarity, but there are a lot of young guys in the mix as well,” Dodgers farm director De Jon Watson said Saturday night. “It’s going to be a fun group to watch that may experience some early bumps, but once they get themselves settled into the league, it should be a dynamic group to watch. They’ll have speed and gap power, and I think our pitchers will be very competitive.”
Also coming to Chattanooga will be 21-year-old shortstop Dee Gordon, the No. 1 Dodgers prospect and the organization’s minor league player of the year in 2009. The 5-foot-11, 150-pound son of former big-league pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon hit .301 in 131 games last season with Great Lakes in the Midwest League and stole 73 bases.
Robinson stole 47 bases last year, while new-to-Chattanooga infielders Elian Herrera and Jaime Pedroza stole 43 and 36, so the initial strength of the Lookouts would appear to be on the basepaths.
“They’re very excited about the team they’re sending,” Lookouts owner Frank Burke said. “I know for some of them it’s a big jump, but we’ll see how they do. It’s nice to know that they’re sending kids here that they believe will be in the major leagues before too long.”
The Lookouts’ manager this season will be Carlos Subero, assisted by hitting coach John Valentin and pitching coach Danny Darwin. Valentin managed the Lookouts to a 65-74 record last year.
Chattanooga’s opening rotation will not have any strangers, as Withrow, Alberto Bastardo, Mario Alvarez and Jesus Castillo either played throughout or finished with the Lookouts last season. Alvarez joined the team on Aug. 30 and made one start.
The starting pitcher with the most experience in a Lookouts uniform but new to the organization is John Koronka, who was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1998 and got promoted to Chattanooga in 2001. Koronka made 49 starts for the Lookouts from 2001 to ’03 before being traded, and he wound up making 30 big-league starts for the Chicago Cubs, Texas and Florida.
Five of the seven opening-day relievers pitched in Chattanooga last season, including former starter James Adkins, and they will be handled by returning catcher Lucas May.
“We’re looking for Lucas May to try and guide these guys through this thing,” Watson said. “He’s been in the league for a few years now and knows what it takes to get a starter deep into a ball game as well as helping guys on nights when they don’t have their best stuff. Lucas definitely will be a help for us.”
Chattanooga was in the running to obtain pitchers Aaron Miller and Ethan Martin, the Nos. 3 and 4 organizational prospects, but that pair will start out with Inland Empire in the high Single-A California League. Watson expects Miller and Martin to be with the Lookouts at some point this season.
Spring training ended Saturday for Dodgers minor leaguers, and those suiting up for the Lookouts are scheduled to fly to Chattanooga on Monday. The Lookouts will hold their media day Tuesday and play Chattanooga State in an exhibition that night.
This marks the first time in several seasons that the Lookouts will open a season at home.
“It makes no difference to me,” Burke said. “It’s all about having good luck with the weather anyway. I’m just glad it’s finally here.”