Mud Hens scheduled to face Wiemer, Windham in first two series
TOLEDO – The Toledo Mud Hens will have a new manager for the second time in two years when the team opens the season today at Fifth Third Field against the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers affiliate).
Tim Federowicz, will look to help the club in improve on its 37-37 record in 2023, while last year’s skipper, Anthony Iapoce, will take over as the Detroit Tigers’ first base coach.
An in-house hire, Federowicz, was the Tigers’ catching coach a year ago. He played nine seasons in the Major League Baseball for six different teams and won a silver medal as member of the United States national baseball team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The opening day roster will include 17 players (11 pitchers, six infielders) that have played in Toledo before and 12 players (five pitchers, six infielders) that will be in a Mud Hens uniform for the first time.
The team will also feature 11 members of the Tigers’ 40-man roster, including Matt Manning, who will be the opening day starter for the Hens.
Manning was optioned to Toledo as Detroit opted to keep Casey Mize and Reese Olson in the majors.
"This news is hard to deliver, it's harder to receive," Tiger manager A.J. Hinch told the Detroit Free Press. "He's vowed to go and do his part in Triple-A, but he wasn't happy. No player is at this point when their expectations weren't met."
Manning, the no. 9 overall pick by the Tigers in 2016, finished last year’s stint with the Tigers’ with a 5-4 record and a 3.58 ERA in 78 innings he pitched over 15 games.
Manning will lead a group of 16 pitchers that include: Drew Anderson, Beau Brieske, Mason Englert, Wilmer Flores, Sean Guenther, Brenan Hanifee, Garrett Hill, Brant Hurter, Keider Montero, Freddy Pacheco, Bryan Sammons, Devin Sweet, Andrew Vasquez, Brendan White and Trey Wingenter.
Two of the hurlers are top 30 prospects in the Tigers’ organization, according to mlb.com. 23-year old, Right-hander Keider Montero is ninth and lefty, Brant Hurter, 25, is ranked 16.
The 13 position players starting the season in Toledo are Infielders: Keston Hiura, Jace Jung, Buddy Kennedy, Ryan Kreidler, Eddys Leonard and Wenceel Perez.
Kreider was one of the final cuts by the Tigers.
"I think I should have made the team," he told the Free Press. "But it's out of my control. That's the attitude you have to have as a player, that you should make every team, and I do. I think I belong in the big leagues, and I think I'll be there when the time is right. All I can do is keep playing hard."
Outfielders for Toledo will be Akil Baddoo, Justice Bigbie, Bligh Madris, Justyn-Henry Malloy and Ryan Vilade.
Jung (4), Malloy (8), Flores (10), Bigbie (13), Dingler (14), Perez (21) and Leonard (22) are among Detroit’s top 30 prospects, according to mlb.com
Jung, 23, is the lone player ranked in the MLB’s top 100, coming in at no. 60. He was selected by Detroit with the no. 12 overall pick out of Texas Tech in the 2022 MLB draft. Jung posted a .318 batting average with five RBI’s and one home run in 22 at-bats during spring training.
The Mud Hens will start the season with a three-game series against the Sounds, with an off-day Monday, before traveling to Iowa for six straight games against the Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs affiliate).
More: SMCC's Bryce Windham comes home to play against Mud Hens
More: Bedford's Wiemer delivers walk-off hit, great catch for Brewers
Toledo will face a pair of Monroe County Region products in their first two series. Bedford graduate Joey Wiemer failed to crack the Brewers’ crowded outfield and will open the season with Nashville.
St. Mary Catholic Central’s Bryce Windham is a catcher for Iowa.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Mud Hens scheduled to face Wiemer, Windham in first two series
