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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders outfielder Aaron Judge hoping to build on last year’s numbers

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William H. Pugh: Raise mandatory retirement age of Pennsylvania judges from 70 to 75

<p>MOOSIC &#8212; The playing surface at PNC Field is ready.</p><p>The staff and personnel have prepared as much as they can.</p><p>As for the players, 7 p.m. on Thursday can&#8217;t come soon enough.</p><p>Opening Day has arrived for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and expectations are high for a team, fresh off an International League North Division championship and loaded with prospects from that squad.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m excited. We&#8217;re stacked from up and down the lineup, and even the pitching staff we got a lot of good guys,&#8221; said slugging outfielder Aaron Judge, the organization&#8217;s No. 2 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. &#8220;I&#8217;m excited to see us get out there and perform. We know we had a great season last year here and we&#8217;re looking to build off that.&#8221;</p><p>The great season Judge refers to was one filled with memories at PNC Field. Something special appeared to be brewing from Opening Day a year ago when the RailRiders scored six runs in the final two innings to pull out an 8-3 win over Syracuse.</p><p>From there, they went on an incredible run in the second half of the season playing nearly .600 ball to win the division by four games with one of the defining moments during that run was a walk-off, inside-the-park home run by reigning International League Rookie of the Year Ben Gamel in an August win over Pawtucket.</p><p>Judge and Gamel are two-thirds of the three outfielders that return from last year&#8217;s club along with the passionate Slade Heathcott. Throw in the organization&#8217;s No. 3 prospect, catcher Gary Sanchez and the clutch Rob Refsnyder, who is the ninth-ranked prospect, and the RailRiders are looking like the team to beat in the division once again barring roster moves and injuries.</p><p>&#8220;I think it (the potential) is the same as last year,&#8221; Gamel said. &#8220;When we came in last year, we thought we could win it all. I think we could be in a good spot again where we&#8217;re in every game and can compete, and that&#8217;s all we can do really.&#8221;</p><p>If the RailRiders are in that spot again this year, it will be mainly because of those prospects, but also thanks to a pitching staff that packs a punch in the &#8216;pen and the rotation.</p><p>Chad Green, who came over to the organization in a trade with Detroit in the offseason, gets the Opening Day nod from new manager Al Pedrique and new pitching coach Tommy Phelps.</p><p>The hurlers are a veteran group of players with nine of the 13 having Major League experience. Newcomers to the organization with limited time in the Big Leagues are Tyler Cloyd, Tyler Olson, Vinnie Pestano and Anthony Swarzak, while Nick Goody, Diego Moreno, James Pazos, Branden Pinder and Nick Rumbelow all got valuable time in New York last season.</p><p>&#8220;Makes it easy,&#8221; said Phelps about working with veterans. &#8220;Especially the guys that have been in the organization because they know the Yankees code and how to go about business and how we prepare so it makes it easy. And that helps when new guys from different organizations come in because they see how these guys are going about their work and fit right in.&#8221;</p><p>Perhaps the biggest news about the pitching staff is that Rumbelow and Tyler Webb will be piggy-backing each other in the starting rotation in an effort to stretch them out in case the Yankees call down for bullpen help. The two were huge parts of the RailRiders bullpen last year combining for 98 strikeouts in 90 2/3 innings.</p><p>&#8220;They all have three pitches they can throw for strikes and use them anytime in the count,&#8221; Phelps said. &#8220;The big thing for a lot of these guys is stretching them out and getting them ready because if they go to New York, most likely they&#8217;re going to need them for some length.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of these guys we&#8217;re going to stretch out and keep stretched out throughout the season in case New York needs them they&#8217;ll be ready to give them some length and help them out.&#8221;</p><p>The pitching staff isn&#8217;t the only members of the squad with veteran experience. The infield, including Refsnyder, is loaded with guys who have been around the game a long time.</p><p>Jonathan Diaz, Pete Kozma, Chris Parmelee and Donovan Solano all played in the Majors last year for periods with different teams, while Deibinson Romero has been around the International League for the last several seasons.</p><p>&#8220;So far I feel good about it (the roster),&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;I think defensively we are solid. The infield up the middle with Solano, Kozma, Diaz and guys on the corner like Refsnyder, Romero and Parmelee at first base, our defense should be solid throughout the year, obviously if they stay healthy.&#8221;</p><p>Everyone in the clubhouse is feeling good heading into the first few days of the season as the SWB franchise starts a campaign where it looks to claim consecutive division championships for the first time since winning five straight from 2006-10.</p><p>The expectations are there for this club, now the team just has to produce to fulfill the goals.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The RailRiders are relaxed heading into the 2016 season as seen in this picture taken from Media Day on Tuesday where several players watch the Yankees play on television. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL040616railriders11-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>The RailRiders are relaxed heading into the 2016 season as seen in this picture taken from Media Day on Tuesday where several players watch the Yankees play on television. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_RROpeningDayLogo-1.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Nick Rumbelow, seen pitching for the Yankees during a spring training game last month, is a big part of this year&#8217;s RailRiders team as they look to repeat as division champs. Rumbelow will be moving to the rotation in an effort to get stretched out in case he&#8217;s needed in New York. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_RR-Rumbelow-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Nick Rumbelow, seen pitching for the Yankees during a spring training game last month, is a big part of this year&#8217;s RailRiders team as they look to repeat as division champs. Rumbelow will be moving to the rotation in an effort to get stretched out in case he&#8217;s needed in New York. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders start season looking for repeat performance