SWB Railriders’ skipper Shelley Duncan answers questions on Media Day at PNC Field on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Railriders’ head coach Shelley Duncan answers questions on Media Day at the PNC Field on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders’ head coach Shelley Duncan answers questions on Media Day at PNC Field on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders’ skipper Shelly Duncan answers questions on Media Day at the PNC Field on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Railrider Nick Ramirez spoke to Times Leader’s Kevin Carroll during Media Day at the PNC Field on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Railriders outfielder Everson Pereira was available for questions from the media during preseason Media Day on Wednesday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Cody Poteet of the SWB Railraiders is looking forward to the season starting. He answered questions from sport reporters on Media Day at PNC Field.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
SWB Railriders’ catcher Carlos Narvaez is shown taking questions from reporters on Media Day on Wednesday at PNC Field.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Railrider infielder Caleb Durbin fields questions from the media on Media Day.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
MOOSIC — It’ll take a brief detour to Buffalo to start, but RailRiders baseball is just about back at PNC Field.
Two days before the Yankees’ Triple-A club hits on the road for a three-game set against the Buffalo Bisons to open up the 2024 season, the RailRiders held Media Day on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s the second season at the helm for manager Shelley Duncan, who piloted the RailRiders to a 73-75 record last season.
Duncan expressed his enthusiasm at the start of a new season, noting the many new faces added to the mix that will make this season’s team look very different than last season’s.
“It’s a completely different team than it was last year, that’s just usually how Triple-A baseball works,” Duncan said. “I’m excited to see these guys come together.”
The RailRiders roster heading into the season boasts a good mix of young prospects and some veterans with MLB experience, guys who have been to the big leagues and are looking for the opportunity to get back there.
At the intersection of those two archetypes sits outfielder Everson Pereira, who got a taste of major league action when the Yankees called him up at the end of last season, where the 22-year-old played 27 games.
Pereira will start the year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he played 35 games last season and hit .312 with eight homers and 33 RBI.
Currently ranked sixth in MLB.com’s list of the top Yankees prospects, Pereira will again be one to watch this year for Yankee fans looking to see which RailRiders may be getting the call up to the Bronx in 2024.
“I’m focused on getting good at-bats and getting on base,” Pereira said with the help of translator and teammate Carlos Narvaez. I feel 100% and I want to help the team any way possible.”
Pereira is one of three top-30 Yankee prospects (per MLB.com) to start the year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, along with reliever Yoendrys Gómez, who made a single appearance for the Yankees last season, and Will Warren.
Warren, who had a solid spring that saw him in contention for the Yankees’ final rotation spot eventually won by Luis Gil, will be the RailRiders’ starter in Friday’s season opener at Buffalo.
“(Warren) had a huge push last season at the very end. … He learned how to pitch a little bit, instead of just relying on his sinker and slider,” Duncan said. “I think this guy’s going to take it to the next level.”
After Warren, Duncan said that Cody Poteet is tentatively slated to get the ball for the second game of the series, and left-hander Tanner Tully will close out the Buffalo trip with the start on Sunday.
Poteet was one of a handful of candidates for the Yankees’ final rotation spot along with Warren. The 29-year-old broke into the majors with the Miami Marlins back in 2021.
Tommy John surgery came in 2022 for Poteet, who missed the end of that season and almost all of 2023 while rehabbing his arm.
“It’s a long process, it took a lot of people in my corner,” Poteet said. “It’s a mental grind, too.”
The Yankees signed him in February, and Poteet will look to get his season started on the right track while trying to make it back to the bigs.
Poteet’s one of several members of the RailRiders’ stable of pitchers with Major League experience, along with Nick Ramirez, Duane Underwood Jr., Anthony Misiewicz and Ron Marinaccio.
“I’m very thankful to be back healthy. … I feel good, I’m coming down here to work hard and be where my feet are,” Poteet said.
After returning from Buffalo, the RailRiders will open up at home on Tuesday against the Syracuse Mets, the first of a six-game series.
The excitement in the RailRiders locker room was palpable, particularly from Duncan, who got to experience a handful of Opening Days at PNC Field back in his playing days.
“We have a team that’s full of guys that have had a taste of the big leagues, and they’re hungry to get back,” Duncan said. “They’re even hungrier to get a chance to put on the pinstripes in New York, I’m excited to see that drive.”