An indication of how different Independent League baseball is from affiliated ball surfaced when the Wichita Wingnuts' spring training roster was released this week.
On it, a category of "Rank" is listed, indicating how many years of professional baseball a player has logged.
The ranks range from rookie to veteran, with Limited Service (LS) Nos. 1-5 in between. Only a select number of players from each rank can be included on a roster.
It's almost as complicated as it sounds, but Wingnuts manager Kash Beauchamp seems to have it figured out.
"You just need to know the facts that you're allowed four veterans (players with at least five years of professional experience)," Beauchamp said. "And we have to have four rookies if we go with a 22-man roster."
The Wingnuts open camp today at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, starting a process that will see the roster cut from 28 to probably 22, though the number can go as low as 20.
Teams in the American Association can carry 24 players during the first two weeks of the season. Wichita's season starts May 7 at home against Sioux City after a three-game exhibition schedule.
Familiar names inhabit the roster, from former Shockers Kevin Hooper and Derek Schermerhorn to ex-major leaguer Dustan Mohr to players who played in the Texas League against the now-departed Wranglers.
Hooper and Mohr played in the majors, but few others have gone higher than Double A.
The Wingnuts have plenty of players with promise, however. The ace of the pitching staff will likely be left-hander Brad Davis, a 25-year old who reached Triple A with the Oakland Athletics organization. He's 18-8 with a 3.76 ERA in three minor-league seasons.
"Everybody in Independent ball was after this guy big-time," Beauchamp said. "You just wonder why a guy with that kind of success got released."
Gustavo Mata and Kellen Raab are candidates to join Davis in the rotation.
The bullpen will be anchored by closer Byron Embry, a veteran of three major-league organizations and several independent teams who has 57 career saves and has struck out more than 11 per nine innings during his 11-year career.
"I got ideas of who may start, but this is going to be an extremely competitive spring training," Beauchamp said. "There's five starting (pitching) spots out there that are going to go to the five best starting prospects, and it's up for grabs."
Joining Embry, Mohr and Hooper as a veteran is David Gates, who peaked in Double A with the Los Angeles Angels.
He has a 16-homer season to his credit and will occupy a spot in the middle of the lineup.
He'll be joined there by Mohr, who has played for five major league teams, and Mike Thompson, a third baseman who hit 19 homers in Class A last season. Outfielder Chris Colton is another home run threat.
With as much power as Wichita has, Beauchamp isn't opposed to small ball. He'll call on his top- and bottom-of-the-order hitters to steal bases and sacrifice bunt to give RBI chances to the sluggers.
"We've got the right-handed power, which I think is going to play well in this ballpark," Beauchamp said. "But I think what people are going to be surprised with is the speed that we have. All of our outfielders can run."
