JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Are you ready for some baseball, Jacksonville?
The Jumbo Shrimp are.
Recommended Videos
Jacksonville opens its season on the road Friday against Gwinnett. That three-game series there precedes the home opener Tuesday night against Durham. That’s when the real fun begins for the Triple-A franchise and its fan base.
Owner Ken Babby’s catchphrase since he purchased the team in 2016 has been affordable family fun. This season includes 25 fireworks nights, more than a dozen giveaway games, six military appreciation nights and five where fans can bring their dog. Cats get their own night, too.
“We’re really excited for season to start. April’s our favorite time of the year. Opening Day. There’s really nothing like it,” Babby said. “It’s like a holiday in our household and it’s here. So, bring on the 2023 season for sure.”
Jacksonville manager Daren Brown, back for his second season with the team, said he doesn’t get to see much of the enjoyment around the promotions for fans
“Favorite promotion? Any time I get to hear the Jumbo Shrimp song after we win here at home,” Brown said. “They do have a lot of promotions. We’re not out here for all of them. Obviously, the jerseys, the different things that we do. They’re all fun to be a part of.”
From purely a baseball standpoint, Brown is overseeing a talented group. Jacksonville chased a playoff spot last year. It finished 5.5 games back of Durham in the International League’s East division. And,
Infielders Jacob Amaya (No. 9), Jordan Groshans (No. 10) and Xavier Edwards (No. 12) are all in Jacksonville to open the season. So, too, is the organization’s 11th-ranked prospect, righty Sixto Sanchez.
There’s a good chance that righty Eury Perez, who will begin the season in Double A, makes it to Jacksonville sooner rather than later. He’s the No. 13 prospect in minor league baseball.
Groshans got a taste of the bigs last season (61 at bats in 17 games). Sanchez is back in Jacksonville after spending two seasons battling various injuries. He had five decisions with Miami in 2019.
“I’m excited to get to get going. I mean, you never know, we had a good spring, a lot of guys showed us some things in spring,” Brown said. “A lot of new guys from last year’s Jumbo Shrimp team, so I’m kind of excited to get them under the lights and kind of see where we’re at. But I’m really excited to get going.”
The Marlins’ farm system has tumbled a bit since the start of last year. According to MLB.com, Miami had the No. 6 system in the minors last year. It dropped to No. 16 in the midseason rankings. It comes in at No. 18 to start this year, according to MLB.com. There’s a shot to reverse that slip and make a similar jump by midseason if players like Perez make strides and prospects like Amaya and Groshans can make the jump.
Brown said the most enjoyable part of his profession is delivering the good news to players that they’re heading up to the big leagues. Brown should have those conversations with several players in Jacksonville this year.
“Well, winning as a team obviously is fun, but I think really the best part of my job at the Triple A level is, I would say, calling a guy in for the first time he’s going [to MLB] is really exciting,” Brown said. “You know, it’s exciting for him. Probably for their whole career, when they get called into a manager’s office, it’s usually not good. And this is the one time that they come in and you know, you think about these kids playing in Little League, everything they’ve done, and all of a sudden, it’s like their dreams being realized.”