The Dragons will begin their 22nd season on Friday, April 8th against the Fort Wayne TinCaps at 7:05 p.m. at beautiful Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Dragons 2022 single-game tickets and information on season ticket plans and group outings are available at daytondragons.com or by calling (937) 228-2287.

This is the final installment 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 Relief Pitchers

Roster limits in the Midwest League in 2022 will be 30 players, the same number as 2021. Previously, rosters had been capped at 25 for more than 20 years, but the trend in baseball to more carefully limit the chances of overworking the pitching staff has resulted in larger rosters. Teams simply have too much invested in their prospects to risk an injury due to overuse that could lead to surgery and long recovery times. Starting pitchers now throw fewer innings than ever before, creating a need for more relievers. In 2021, the Dragons utilized a five-man starting rotation with a bullpen of 10 or 11 relief pitchers.

Off all positions, the makeup of the bullpen is traditionally the most difficult to predict of any area of the roster. Relief pitchers are more likely to repeat with the same club that they worked with the previous year, and at the same time, there are plenty of examples of a reliever skipping a level entirely. For today’s preview, we will assume that many of the more experienced relievers off of last year’s Dayton team will compete to play at Double-A Chattanooga, but it is possible that some familiar names that are not listed here could return to the Dragons.

We have one pitcher listed in this preview who spent most of last season in Dayton, Braxton Roxby, but he is a candidate to return since last season was actually the first year of his professional career. We have three others listed here who finished last season with the Dragons but spent only a partial year with the club (Vin Timpanelli, Ricky Karcher, and Jake Gilbert). We have three pitchers who spent part of last season with the Dragons but finished the year at a lower level or on the injured list (Evan Kravetz, Miguel Medrano, Johnnie Schneider). We have four pitchers listed who would make the move to Dayton for the first time (Joe Boyle, Nick Hanson, Kevin Abel, and Donovan Benoit). It is likely that there will be a few others not listed here who enter the picture and earn a job with the Dragons based on a strong showing in spring training, just as Roxby did in 2021.

Let’s take a look at 11 candidates for the Dayton bullpen.

Candidates: Vin Timpanelli, Braxton Roxby, Ricky Karcher, Joe Boyle, Kevin Abel, Donovan Benoit, Jake Gilbert, Nick Hanson, Evan Kravetz, Miguel Medrano, Johnnie Schneider.

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

Vin Timpanelli

Timpanelli is one of the best stories in the entire Reds organization and all of professional baseball. After completing a four-year college career as a catcher, first at NCAA Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, New York and then at Division III Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey, Timpanelli began playing in an adult men’s league, the Mid-Island Men’s League in Staten Island, New York. He was seen by Reds scout Lee Seras in August, 2020 and signed by the Reds, not at the position he played in college (catcher), but as a pitcher. It is a story so unlikely that if it happened in a movie, baseball fans would protest that “this could never happen.”

Timpanelli opened his pro career in 2021 with Low-A Daytona and was dominant, posting a 1.82 ERA with nine saves in 20 games. Opposing batters hit just .089 against him, collecting seven hits in 22.2 innings. Timpanelli was promoted to Dayton on July 24 of last season and earned five more saves in 17 games with an ERA of 4.35. Amazingly, Timpanelli allowed only 15 hits all season between Dayton and Daytona in a span of 45.1 innings while striking out 76 batters.

Braxton Roxby

While Timpanelli might be the best story, Roxby is not far behind. He played college baseball at NCAA Division II Pittsburgh-Johnstown and posted a career ERA of 6.90 ERA in 27 appearances including 16 starts. Not surprisingly, he was not selected in the 2020 draft. But the Reds saw some potential in Roxby and he rewarded them by living up to their highest hopes in his first season of pro ball in 2021.

Roxby opened the year with the Dragons at the High-A level, a big accomplishment right out of the starting gate for an undrafted free agent who had no pro experience. In the first game of the season, Roxby faced three batters in a late-inning, high-pressure situation, and he struck out all three of them on 15 consecutive sliders. Roxby did not allow a run over his first 11 professional appearances covering about six weeks of action.

On July 24, Roxby’s ERA stood at 1.30, prompting the Reds to promote him to Chattanooga. He struggled with the Lookouts and returned to Dayton after six outings. He finished his season in Dayton with an injury that caused him to miss the final month, but his 2021 ERA of 2.41 was excellent for a first-year player. He struck out 53 batters in 33.2 innings and allowed just 23 hits with an opponent’s batting average of .189. Roxby, with one of the best sliders in baseball, is returning from an injury and it is uncertain whether he will be ready for opening night or join the club shortly thereafter.

Ricky Karcher

Karcher opened the 2021 season with Daytona, making nine relief appearances and allowing only one earned run in eight innings while notching 19 strikeouts. His fastball reached 99 mph in his final outing at Daytona on June 10 before he was placed on the injured list on June 16 with shoulder soreness. He was activated July 4 and promoted to Dayton on the same day, posting a 5.12 ERA in 18 relief appearances with Dragons. Karcher’s ERA with Dayton was driven up by one bad outing on July 16 in which he allowed five earned runs without recording an out (his ERA was 2.79 in his other 17 outings with the Dragons).

Karcher spent his freshman season of college at the University of Michigan in 2016 and pitched briefly, then transferred to Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee for the 2017 season, going 7-3 with a 4.27 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) before being drafted by the Reds in the 13th round that June. He played at Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida before relocating to Saline, Michigan, for his senior season. He helped guide Saline High School to its highest win percentage in school history with a 35-3 overall record and finished his senior season at Saline with a 9-0 record and a 0.41 ERA. Ricky’s father Rick played three seasons in Atlanta Braves organization from 1990-92 as a first baseman.

Joe Boyle

Boyle is one of the hardest throwers in all of professional baseball and has regularly topped 100 mph with his fastball. His ability to improve his control will dictate his baseball future. He is ranked as the Reds #28 prospect by MLB.com and #36 by Baseball America.

Boyle spent three seasons of college baseball at Notre Dame as a reliever from 2018-20, making 32 appearances with a whopping 57 strikeouts in 36 innings with an ERA of 6.00. The Reds drafted Boyle in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. Prior to his time with the Irish, he played at North Oldham High School in Goshen, Kentucky (15 miles northeast of Louisville) and was selected First Team All-State. He was named by Perfect Game as the #2 high school prospect in Kentucky after his senior season in 2017, behind outfielder Jo Adell (current MLB player with the Angels; 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft). Boyle opened his professional career in 2021 and was limited to 19.2 innings over two levels in the Reds organization. In his last appearance with Low-A Daytona on September 14, he struck out 10 of the 17 batters he faced over four scoreless innings as his fastball averaged 96 mph. MLB.com says Boyle can “compete with fellow Reds prospect Hunter Greene for most velocity in the (Reds) organization.” MLB.com also said Boyle had the best arm strength of any player in the 2020 draft. He could be a very interesting pitcher to watch with the Dragons in 2022.

Kevin Abel

Abel was the Reds seventh round draft pick out of Oregon State University in 2021. He pitched on the national scene in 2018 when he tossed a nine-inning two-hit shutout in the deciding game of the championship of the College World Series over Arkansas to carry the Beavers to the national title. He was selected as the national Freshman of the Year in 2018 by both Baseball America and D1Baseball.com, when he went 8-1 with a 2.88 ERA and was selected to the College World Series All-Tournament Team. He made just three starts in 2019 before undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery and did not pitch in 2020. He came back to earn All-PAC 12 Honorable Mention in 2021 at Oregon State, going 3-5 with a 3.62 ERA in 16 starts. Abel opened his professional career by pitching very briefly in 2021 with the Reds affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.

Donovan Benoit

Benoit signed with the Reds as a 10th round draft pick out of Tulane in 2021. He impressed scouts in the Reds fall instructional league program after working briefly during the regular season, when he tossed 10 innings with the Reds affiliate in the Arizona Complex League. Benoit spent two years at Tulane (2020-21) after opening his college career at the University of Tennessee in 2018 and then transferring to Santa Fe Community College in 2019. Benoit played at Pensacola Catholic High School, setting the school record in ERA as a junior at 0.55. His team finished as state runners-up twice during his career.

Jake Gilbert

Gilbert, who played at Air Force, was one of two Dayton players in 2021 who signed out of a U.S. service academy (Jacob Hurtubise of Army was the other). Gilbert opened the 2021 season with the Dragons, showed some potential but lacked consistency, moved down in the Reds system, and then returned to Dayton later in the year and looked strong.

To say that Gilbert comes from a sports family would be the season’s first big understatement. His father, Gary, played basketball at the University of Oregon. His cousin, Garrett Gilbert, has appeared in NFL games in each of the last four seasons and has started one game apiece at quarterback for Dallas (2020) and Washington (2021). His grandfather, Don Monson, coached men’s basketball at Idaho and Oregon. His uncle, Dan Monson, has been the men’s basketball coach at Long Beach State since 2007. Another uncle, Gale Gilbert, played quarterback in the NFL for Seattle, Buffalo, and San Diego.

Jake Gilbert graduated from Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia (10 miles from Augusta National Golf Course). He went on to the Air Force Academy and had a four-year career for the Falcons, earning Second Team Mountain West All-Conference in 2019, going 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 15 games with 10 starts. He was set to begin pilot training before signing with Reds as an undrafted free agent in the summer of 2019, becoming the first Air Force player ever to play in the Reds organization. After the canceled 2020 season, he opened the 2021 campaign with the Dragons and posted a 7.45 ERA in 14 relief appearances before being transferred to the ACL Reds on July 6. He returned to Dayton on September 1 and made six appearances, allowing just three earned runs in 10 innings (2.70 ERA). Gilbert, who stands 6’7,” could be a big factor in the Dayton bullpen.

Nick Hanson

Hanson has earned credit for persistence, a one-time high draft pick who has missed not one but multiple seasons due to injuries. Hanson was selected as the 2016 Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Baseball Player of the Year after posting a 0.57 ERA in his senior season at Prior Lake High School in Minnesota (20 miles south of Target Field, home of the Twins in Minneapolis). He intended to play at the University of Kentucky before signing with the Reds as a third round draft pick in 2016. He injured his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 but still ranked as the Reds #30 prospect after the 2017 season. He came back to throw four innings in 2018 but missed the entire 2019 season and saw the 2020 campaign canceled due to COVID. So over a four-year period from 2017-20, he was able to throw just the four innings in ’18. But Hanson appeared in 23 games with Low-A Daytona in 2021, posting a 3.55 ERA. He increased his velocity over the course of the season, topping out at 97 mph in final outing. Hanson has had to battle through a lot since he was drafted nearly six years ago and hopefully will put together another healthy season in 2022.

Evan Kravetz

The 6’8 Kravetz could combine with Jake Gilbert to give the Dragons the league’s best front court in a basketball game. Kravetz, a left-hander, played high school baseball at Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Florida and was named 1st Team All Miami-Dade County by the Miami Herald as a senior. He played college baseball at Rice University in Houston and was a 2019 2nd Team All-Conference USA selection, going 6-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 14 starts. The Reds drafted Kravetz in the fifth round in 2019. He opened the 2021 season with Low-A Daytona and made six strong starts (1.64 ERA) before going on the injured list on June 12 with left forearm soreness. He returned to join the Dragons on August 3, making six appearances with a 7.02 ERA. He was placed on the Dayton injured list from September 7 through remainder of season. Overall in the Reds system in 2021, Kravetz notched 82 strikeouts in 56.2 innings with a combined ERA of 3.49.

Miguel Medrano

Medrano was the 2019 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year with Billings in the Reds organization. He opened the 2021 season in extended spring training before joining the Dragons on May 24. He logged just nine innings with Dragons and struggled before being transferred to Daytona on June 19. He was used as both a starter and reliever at Daytona, where he finished the season with a respectable 3.64 ERA. Medrano relies on a change-up as part of three-pitch mix (also throws a curve) with a fastball that averages about 93 mph.

Johnnie Schneider

Schneider endured a tough 2021 season in which he struggled mightily to throw strikes, but he reportedly has had his game together in spring training in Goodyear, Arizona in recent weeks. Schneider was a 29th round draft pick in 2018 by the Reds out of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. He had a good year with Billings in 2019, posting a 3.34 ERA in 22 relief appearances.

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

Part 7: Starting Pitchers: https://www.milb.com/dayton/news/dayton-dragons-2022-team-preview-part-7-the-starting-pitchers

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