The Lincoln Saltdogs kicked off the 2024 season with the start of spring training and media day at Haymarket Park Thursday.
The 30-man roster under fourth year Manager Brett Jodie was able to get on the field and workout for the first time as a club as they prepare for opening night on May 10th in Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota.
“We’re excited about what we have, love the group, great group of guys. Pretty good resumes.” Jodie said. “A lot of these guys have been scouted heavily by myself, Kash (Beauchamp), or (Bryan) Kloppe. So, they come highly recommended and we’re just excited to see what they can do”
Lincoln has some new faces on the coaching staff as Kash Beauchamp takes over the hitting coach role and Bryan Kloppe as bench coach. Beauchamp won the Pioneer League championship managing Ogden in 2023 and Kloppe has an analytics focused background.
“Kash is like a dream come true. A guy that I’ve known for years, we’ve crossed paths in so many different leagues and places,” Jodie said. “Kloppe comes very highly regarded with the scouting reports, the analytics, and some of the positioning things and I think that’s an important aspect in our game right now.”
The Saltdogs return 11 guys from he 2023 roster including all-stars Nick Anderson and Drew Devine as well as former Husker Luke Roskam.
“I think it’s always important to bring back a core group. I think those are the right guys to bring back as well,” Jodie said. “We don’t have that veteran leadership, but we have guys that know what Lincoln baseball is about and know what this league is about and play at a high level, so we’re excited about what they will bring”
Anderson earned his first all-star appearance last year after hitting 20 home runs which is a career high.
“I loved my time here in Lincoln last summer. I had a pretty good year and I was comfortable,” Anderson said. “Brett was one of the first guys to give me a shot to play every day in pro ball so that was pretty much a no brainer coming back to Lincoln.”
Roskam was one of the biggest bats in 2023’s lineup, setting a franchise record 45 game on-base streak to go along with a .294 batting average, while hitting 14 home runs and collecting 62 RBIs. He enters his third season with the club.
“I’m always trying to grow whether it’s on the field or off the field,” Roskam said. “Relationships are number one for me because even outside of here like getting a job, it’s who you know, not the skills you have. So just building relationships and continue to keep building along the way.”
Lincoln hosts two exhibition games on Saturday, May 4th, and Sunday, May 5th, both against Winnipeg and starting at 1:05 p.m. Both games are open to the general public free of charge.
The Saltdogs open the 2024 season on May 10th at Fargo-Moorhead and begin their home schedule on Thursday, May 16th versus Cleburne.