Making a splash: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp take plunge into 2024 Triple-A baseball season

The magic words are here.

Opening Day. For Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp manager Daren Brown, in the game for more than three decades, the routine never gets old.

"They're all special," he said. "It kind of gets your nerves going a little bit."

The Jumbo Shrimp open Triple-A baseball against the Gwinnett Stripers when the first pitch flies at 7 p.m. Friday to begin the minor league baseball season at 121 Financial Ballpark.

The three-game set against the Stripers, the minor league affiliates of the Atlanta Braves, will ring in the First Coast's fourth year in the Triple-A International League.

For fans, it's the start of a new year of baseball fun. For the players who stepped into the ballpark for Thursday's media day, it's the latest step on a journey that they hope will lead them into the National League with the Miami Marlins before long.

A look at some of the significant storylines to watch:

NEW LOOK COMING FOR STADIUM

For Jumbo Shrimp fans in the coming months and years, big changes are on the way to the ballpark that's held games at two levels (Double-A and Triple-A and under two franchise names (Suns and Jumbo Shrimp) since opening its gates 21 years ago.

Now installed at 121 Financial Ballpark is a new, expanded video board in left field, while the former spectator areas in right field are already a construction zone, marked by a new outfield wall that's shorter, higher and now without the familiar bleacher seats that long topped the section.

General manager Harold Craw said the club has compensated for the loss of those seats by augmenting some of its seating down the right field foul line, where tickets are $7.

On the way, meanwhile, are an estimated $31.8 million in improvements funded by the city of Jacksonville, part of a Project Next plan designed to renovate the park into a top facility for minor league baseball.

Eventually, those plans will call for relocated team offices, a new right field entrance, expanded clubhouses and a "front porch" close to the current home plate entrance. Club owner Ken Babby said some of those renovations should be complete by Opening Day in 2025.

Also, a plus for fans comes from... fans. Newly installed are overhead fans on the concourse level, which should help cool spectators during the dog days of summer.

"Fans have been asking us for cooler temperatures on the concourse here in Florida since we got here seven years ago," Babby said. "We're really proud to be able to deliver that to the community."

BOUNCING BACK IN 2024

Off the field, the renovations are underway. On the field, the Jumbo Shrimp are entering their own construction zone.

Even Troy Johnston. The first baseman topped the minors in runs batted in and ranked among the leaders in numerous categories, but he's been hard at work to take that next step toward the big leagues.

"I've looked at a lot of different numbers analytically, and I know exactly where I can get better," Johnston said. "Even having such a good season last year, I do think there are a lot of places that I can get better… there's always that drive, that hunger to try to get up there."

After consecutive finishes comfortably above .500 in the start of their Triple-A era in 2021 and 2022, the Jumbo Shrimp slipped back to the pack in 2023. Jacksonville finished last in the International League East (32-42) in the first half of last season, and while they picked up the pace in the second half to go 38-37, they still finished 10 games behind the Durham Bulls.

A largely-reconstructed Jumbo Shrimp roster awaits fans this season, following an effort to strengthen a Marlins farm system that's slipped down the national rankings since the Marlins began their Triple-A odyssey in 2021. Entering the year, Miami stood 29th out of 30 teams — ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels — in this year's MLB.com preseason list.

Who's the next star on the road to the Marlins? There's a good chance that player will be making a stop in Jacksonville. Several of the top prospects of recent years, like Max Meyer, Braxton Garrett and Sixto Sanchez, have already made their way to Miami by way of the 904 area code.

Johnston, a Washington native who played at Gonzaga before his breakout 2023 (26 HR, 116 RBI, .948 OPS), is working to move himself into contention for a promotion sooner rather than later.

"There's different people to learn from, different types of pitches to hunt, different things to do," he said. "I think that part of it is trying to learn more about the game, become smarter and become better."

SIGNS OF STABILITY

In addition to Brown, in his third year as Jumbo Shrimp manager, nearly the entire coaching staff is also set to return to the ballpark.

That includes pitching coach Jeremy Powell, hitting coach Greg Colbrunn, defensive coach Jose Ceballos and athletic trainer Sandy Krum. The newcomer to the staff is Seth Gregorich as strength and conditioning coach. Brown becomes the club's first manager to return for a third full year at the helm since Andy Barkett steered the Suns in the Southern League from 2011 to 2014.

The continuity within the organization, Brown said, pays dividends.

"They go to Miami and they fit right in [with the Marlins] and they're comfortable, because a lot of the same things are happening [in Jacksonville]," he said. "That for me is important, and that's what we strive to do."

Fans will also spot familiar faces on the field, like Dane Myers. The converted pitcher, who returned to the outfield after a three-year break from competitive hitting, erupted with a batting average over .400 in his first three weeks in Jacksonville last year.

While his eyes are focused on a future with the Marlins, he still relives the memories from his 2023 Jumbo Shrimp tenure, from a walk-off hit to down first-place Durham to Devin Smeltzer's late-season no-hitter.

"A lot of good moments and looking forward to a few more this year," Myers said.

For Anthony Maldonado, who worked his way into the closer role with a 1.76 ERA last year, every chance to play ball again in the new season is something to look forward to.

"There's nothing like playing here in Jacksonville. The fans always get behind you," said Maldonado, a Florida native who grew up in Wellington and played in college at Bethune-Cookman. "Friday night's going to be crazy, so I'm really excited."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: 2024 Triple-A baseball season preview