The Dragons will begin their 22nd season on Friday, April 8th against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at 7:05 p.m. at Day Air Ballpark. Single-game tickets for Dragons 2022 games at Day Air Ballpark as well as information on season ticket plans and group outings are available at daytondragons.com or by calling (937) 228-2287.

This is part seven of an eight-part series previewing the 2022 Dragons. Players listed here are candidates for positions on the Dragons season-opening roster.

This preview is an unofficial projection of possible roster candidates. Minor League rosters are not established until April 4. Spring training variables including performance, injuries, trades, and additional player acquisitions will impact the roster accordingly.

The Starting Pitchers

There are several positional groups that look extremely strong for the Dragons heading into the 2022 season, but the group of starting pitchers that could be coming to Dayton might be the deepest and most talented in many years. The 2006 Dragons starting rotation featured future Major League all-stars Johnny Cueto and Travis Wood along with Carlos Fisher, who spent three years in the big leagues, and Zach Ward, who set the Dragons club record that season for earned run average at 2.29 (his record still stands). The six names on our list for the potential five-man rotation includes five pitchers drafted within the first five rounds (including two second rounders) and a sixth pitcher, James Proctor, who has had the most professional success of anyone in the group.

Let’s take a look at the candidates for the Dayton starting rotation.

Candidates: Christian Roa, Bryce Bonnin, Andrew Abbott, James Marinan, Thomas Farr, James Proctor.

Click links on each name for career stats and player information.

Christian Roa

Roa, the Reds second round draft pick in 2020 out of Texas A&M, is ranked by MLB.com as the Reds #15 prospect, and Baseball America ranks him #16. He features a strong four-pitch mix with a fastball, curve, slider, and change-up. His fastball reached 96 mph in 2021 with Daytona.

Roa played at Houston Memorial High School, where he was also an outstanding football player as a wide receiver, earning unanimous All-District 15-6A First Team honors as a senior in the fall of 2016. He enrolled at Texas A&M and spent three seasons in the program, emerging as a dependable starter as a sophomore in 2019, going 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 48 innings. His best outing came in a win against Vanderbilt, the #2 team in the country, on March 17, 2019. Roa tossed seven scoreless innings in that game to earn SEC Pitcher of the Week. He was the Aggies #2 starter in 2020 behind Asa Lacy, the eventual fourth overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Kansas City Royals.

After signing with the Reds, Roa opened his professional career with Daytona as the Tortugas opening night starter on May 4, 2021, but he left that game after one inning and was placed on the injured list with a right elbow flexor mass strain. He returned to action with Daytona on July 14 and made five starts, going 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA before being promoted to Dayton on August 6. He made seven starts and one relief appearance with the Dragons, going 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA and notching 37 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.

Bryce Bonnin

Bonnin was the Reds third round draft pick in 2020 out of Texas Tech, taken one round after the Reds selected Christian Roa. He is the highest rated prospect of the six starting pitching candidates in this preview, ranked as the Reds #10 prospect by Baseball America and #14 by MLB.com. He was also selected by Baseball America as the pitcher with the “Best Fastball” in the Reds organization entering the 2022 season. Considering the fact that the Reds organization also features Hunter Greene, to identify Bonnin for that designation is a statement of enormous proportions. He features a three-pitch mix with a fastball, slider, and change-up, and his fastball reached 99 mph in 2021 with good movement, averaging 95-96.

Bonnin played at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Texas (about 35 miles east of downtown Houston). He spent the 2019-20 seasons at Texas Tech after playing at Arkansas as a freshman in 2018. Bonnin played a key role as a sophomore in 2019 as Texas Tech went to the College World Series and finished #8 in the nation, serving as their Sunday starter. He went 7-1 with a 4.08 ERA for the year and beat Florida State in his only start in the CWS (June 19, 2019), tossing five innings and allowing one unearned run.

After signing with the Reds, Bonnin got a late start in 2021 with an injury, but joined the Daytona club at the start of July. In his first start with the Tortugas, he fired five perfect innings with 11 strikeouts, making quite an impression. After seven starts with Daytona, he was 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA to earn a promotion to the Dragons on August 27. He made three starts with Dayton and struck out nine batters over 4.1 innings vs. Lansing on September 3. Bonnin is poised to take a big step forward in 2022.

Andrew Abbott

Abbott was the Reds second round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Virginia, where he enjoyed one of the greatest careers in school history and a huge 2021 season. Abbott is ranked as the #13 prospect in the Reds organization by MLB.com and #22 by Baseball America.

Abbott played at Halifax County High School in Virginia, earning the 2017 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year award when he went 9-0 with a 0.28 ERA as a senior. He went on to the University of Virginia and spent four seasons with the Cavaliers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the top conferences in college baseball. Abbott finished second in school history in career strikeouts with 327 in 215 innings. In 2021 at UVA, he was a consensus 2nd Team All-American, going 9-6 with a 2.87 ERA while notching 162 strikeouts (second most in a season in school history) in 106.2 innings. His strikeout total led the ACC and ranked third in the nation. In one game on May 14, 2021 vs. Wake Forest, he struck out 16 without allowing a hit in 7.1 innings before his teammates successfully completed the combined no-hitter. He was one of 25 semi-finalists for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award that goes to the top player in college baseball.

After signing with the Reds, Abbott, like most draft pick pitchers who are coming off a long college season the same summer, saw his innings greatly limited. He tossed only 13 professional innings in 2021 and struck out 22 with a 4.15 ERA.

Abbott is not a flame-thrower but he is known to have three good pitches with outstanding control. He throws a fastball in the 92-93 mph range that can go higher, an excellent curve, and an improving change-up. He is known as a tremendous competitor on the mound.

James Marinan

Marinan is one of two candidates for the Dragons roster who is on the Reds 40-man roster and has participated in spring training with the big league club (outfielder Allan Cerda is the other). He had an interesting 2021 season that got off to a slow start before concluding with a thundering finish.

Marinan was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a fourth round pick in 2017 out of Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth, Florida, where he went 8-1 with a 0.84 ERA as a senior in 2017 (his high school is about 15 miles south of West Palm Beach and produced current MLB star Trea Turner of the Dodgers). Marinan was ranked by Baseball America as the 59th best prospect in the 2017 draft, and he planned to play college baseball at the University of Miami before signing with the Dodgers. One year later, Marinan was traded to the Reds in a deal that sent Major League reliever Dylan Floro from Cincinnati to the Dodgers.

Marinan joined the Dragons for the 2019 season when the club was a Low-A affiliate and opened the year ranked as a top-20 prospect in the Reds system (#19 by Baseball America; #20 by MLB.com). But he struggled to a 5.56 ERA in 17 starts and finished the season on the injured list. After the cancelled 2020 season, Marinan opened 2021 in the Reds extended spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona, hoping to improve his game as many of his former teammates from 2019 moved up to higher levels. Eventually, Marinan was promoted to Daytona, now the Reds Low-A affiliate, and he battled inconsistency in his initial time with the Tortugas. Overall with Daytona, Marinan went 1-6 with a 5.30 ERA, but over his last three appearances, he posted a 1.38 ERA, allowing just two runs in 13 innings. That success earned him a promotion to the Dragons on September 10.

In Marinan’s return to the Dragons in 2021, he completely dominated opposing hitters and looked like a totally different pitcher than the youngster who had struggled in Dayton in 2019. He tossed 12 shutout innings in his only two starts with the Dayton club, notching 17 strikeouts while surrendering just four hits and six walks. His fastball climbed into the 96-97 mph range and his breaking ball was an effective strikeout pitch as well. Marinan was selected as the Midwest League (known in 2021 as the High-A Central League) Pitcher of the Month for September. He finished the year by playing in the Arizona Fall League and enjoyed some strong performances there against elite competition.

Marinan’s dominating finish to the 2021 season led to the Reds protecting him from the Rule 5 draft by placing him on their 40-man big league roster. He enters the 2022 season ranked as the Reds #35 prospect by Baseball America. If he can pick up in 2022 where he left off in 2021, he will climb much higher on the list. He showed electric stuff last September and the shutout performances were the proof.

Thomas Farr

Farr was selected by the Reds in the fifth round of the 2021 draft out of the University of South Carolina, where he pitched in the same strong conference as Andrew Abbott. He is ranked as the #40 prospect in the Reds organization by Baseball America.

Farr played at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia (25 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta). The school has produced some great athletes including former Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson and current Bengals defensive back Mike Hilton. Farr went on to play two years at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida, where he was named by Prep Baseball Report as the #1 junior college prospect in the state of Florida in 2019. He then transferred to the University of South Carolina, where he spent his final two college seasons. Farr went a combined 6-7 with a 3.53 ERA in 18 starts with the Gamecocks, striking out 104 batters in 99.1 innings. As a senior in 2021, he went 3-7 with a 3.87 ERA and pitched a season-high 7.2 innings in the 2021 NCAA Regional, allowing just two runs to Old Dominion.

Just like Abbott, Farr’s innings were limited after he signed with the Reds following a full college season a few months earlier. He threw just 10 innings in the Reds system including one outing with the Dragons on September 13 when he allowed one run in three innings.

Farr has a chance to make a big jump in 2022. His fastball has reportedly reached 96-97 mph and his has a good change-up along with a slider.

James Proctor

Proctor does not bring the same status of being a top-5 draft pick to his candidacy for a slot in the Dragons rotation, but he has had the most success at the professional level of any of the six pitchers in this group, and based on reports from some scouts in Arizona, he has looked as impressive this spring as any other pitcher.

Proctor played college baseball at Princeton University and generally struggled in the Ivy League, posting a career record of just 2-16 with a 5.88 ERA. He was signed by the Reds as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and has looked like an outstanding pickup.

Proctor opened his professional career in 2021 at Low-A Daytona and dominated the Florida State League, going 3-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings. He earned League Pitcher of the Month honors for May when he allowed just one earned run in 20 innings, going 2-0 with a 0.45 ERA. He tossed the first five innings of combination no-hitter on May 22, striking out 11 and walking just one. He missed nearly six weeks of action with a left oblique strain but returned to earn a promotion to the Dragons on August 31 and made four starts with the Dayton club, posting a 4.41 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.

Before going to Princeton, Proctor played at MICDS (Mary Institute and Country Day School) in St. Louis, Missouri, where the list of alums includes sportscaster Joe Buck, former Vice Presidential nominee/U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, and St. Louis Cardinals owner William DeWitt Jr. Proctor earned first team all-state honors in 2016 as his team won the 4A state championship. His grandfather, James, also played professional baseball.

Observers say Proctor has improved his overall pitching arsenal this spring in Arizona and is throwing in the mid 90’s with his fastball. One scout identified Proctor as the most improved pitcher in camp since last season.

Next up: Relief Pitchers

Part 1: Catchers: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dragons-2022-preview-part-1-catchers

Part 2: First Basemen: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dayton-dragons-2022-team-preview-part-2-the-first-basemen

Part 3: Second Basemen: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dragons-2022-preview-part-3-second-basemen

Part 4: Shortstops: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dragons-2022-preview-part-4-shortstops

Part 5: Third basemen: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dragons-2022-preview-part-5-third-basemen

Part 6: Outfielders: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dragons-2022-preview-part-6-outfielders

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