ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The start of the Delta League is set for March 24 and is played by three-game series spread across Monday, Wednesday and culminating on Friday across six different weeks. 

Some teams are returning with familiar faces, others with new faces, while there’s a new addition to the Delta League. 

The Wildcats were not available for comment at the time of publication, but they enter this season as the three-time reigning Delta League champion, which includes a Sac-Joaquin Section Championship in 2023.

Prep Baseball California ranks the squad led by head coach Bryan Kilby, at No. 10 among ball clubs in California. 

It’s clear why. 

The Wildcats return to the field led by top collegiate prospects like right-handed pitcher Dylan Wood, committed to the University of Arizona, infielder and right-handed pitcher Jason Harris, committed to the University of California, Berkeley, and first baseman and outfielder Dylan Minnatee, committed to Louisiana State University. 

At the 2024 Perfect Game Showcase at Chase Field in Arizona, Wood’s fastball topped out at 94 MPH and according to MaxPreps, he posted a 1.33 ERA backed by a 2-1 record across 21 innings pitched. 

Last season as sophomores, Harris hit .297 with 28 RBIs and four home runs while Minnatee hit .380 with 28 RBIs and a home run.

The Wildcats have talent around the diamond and the skills to be able to make a playoff run towards a section title, as last season they came up short as they fell in the semifinals to Rocklin. 

At the time of publication, the Wildcats hold a 4-0 record and their first test in the Delta League will be the newcomers to the league, the Laguna Creek Cardinals, for a three-game series beginning on March 24. 

The runner up in the Delta League last season, the Thundering Herd, came up just short of a Sac-Joaquin Section Championship after being walked-off by Granite Bay in the eleventh inning. 

They were led by tremendous pitching in Ned Frutchey and Russell Pettis, who regularly went deep into games, something that head coach Joe Bellotti, in his seventh season with the Herd, said they are missing this season. 

“We have a lot of guys who are able to pitch at this level, but when we had Frutchey and Pettis, those guys were able to command a pretty big workload because of their experience and I don’t know if we necessarily have two guys who can slide in and eat up that many innings,” Bellotti said. 

Despite missing two starters who can pitch deep in games, Bellotti said he feels confident that his team is in a decent spot to contend. 

With the start of Delta League approaching, Bellotti said he’s played around with different lineups and been cautious with pitching early during the pre-season. 

The pitchers that Bellotti highlighted that will make an impact for the Herd this season include Anthony Bascherini, Colton Lincoln, Brent Martin, Bryce Engle, Tristen Bartlett and Cooper Gannon. 

As far as the top end of the lineup last season, Bellotti said it was senior heavy so he’s now testing out who fits in those spots while still having a young team that includes four sophomores. 

A position player that will make an impact for the Herd this season is senior third baseman Brent Martin, who’s back after a knee injury at the end of the basketball season last year. Bellotti said the team is excited to have him back after helping the team out as a sophomore. 

Other names Bellotti mentioned are senior Matt Soares and junior Hudson Hall, with both taking over behind the plate, junior Chase Groves, sophomore Antonio Cuevas, who was a varsity player last season and will also pitch more this season

Despite not coming up with a section title last season, Bellotti said the experience the Herd got in playoffs and in the NorCal playoffs was huge as far as playing in big games. 

“It’s always our goal to push for the section championship and I think it’s a matter of staying healthy and once we get there,” Bellotti said. “We feel good against anybody, and we’ll try to find a way to win and hopefully we’re on the right side of it.” 

At the time of publication, the Herd hold a 3-3 record with their first opponent in the Delta League being the Pleasant Grove Eagles for a three-game series beginning March 24.

Two seasons ago the Eagles missed the playoffs; last season they were eliminated in the first round. Now, head coach Chris Terry, in his fourth year as head coach of the Eagles, said they’re as talented as they’ve been in the past couple years and look to make a deeper run in the postseason. 

“We’re senior heavy this year with 12 seniors and we also have four sophomores, so we have a mix of old and young on this team,” Terry said. “We have more depth, more pitching depth so we’re excited about the season. It’s just a matter of getting everyone on the right page.” 

With pitching depth comes the welcome problem of trying to figure out the right rotation, but they expect to have a four-year varsity starter in left-handed pitcher Justin Dougan factor in a lot in the starting lineup., as Terry said he’s “super critical for us.” 

The other pitchers that Terry thinks will make an impact for the Eagles are senior Jake Dougherty, sophomore Matt Emmons and senior Maddox Ali. 

Terry said the program is looking forward to having a good year out of seniors Breydon Boyle, Cole Davis, Darian Roberts Nolan Underwood and junior Zac Black

Given this is the most talented they’ve been over the past few years, the goal for the Eagles is to finish at the top of the league to be able to get into the postseason, Terry said.  

“That’s definitely in our sights (a section title); it’s in our long-term sights and I think we have a lot to do to get there,” Terry said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of meat left on that bone before we have to worry about that so right now, we’re just trying to focus on each day getting better and learning to play with some confidence.” 

The Eagles at the time of publication hold a 3-3 record and will start league play with a three-game series against the Elk Grove Thundering Herd beginning on March 24.

The Wolfpack look to turn the page after a 5-21 overall record last season.

Head coach Scott Congress said that with the departure of Jesuit and Davis from the league, his team is in a better situation to be more competitive. 

“Our pitching is not walking as many players, we’re not striking out looking as much so we’re evolving, it’s not just that everyone’s weaker around us,” Congress said. 

One of the impact players for the Wolfpack is senior Massimo Jimenez, who has five RBIs and a home run on this young season as a four-year varsity player and is getting looks from a few different schools, Congress said.

Junior right-handed pitcher Aaron Jeremic, one of Congress’ starting pitchers, is touching 90 mph in, Congress and the Wolfpack expect big things from him heading into league play.

Congress also highlights some of the young talent on his squad with his two freshmen, Michael Bourtayre and Jay McIntyre; McIntyre is currently hitting .667 in six at-bats with five RBIs and Bourtayre is hitting .333 on this young season. 

Despite the rough season last year, Congress and the Wolfpack are taking steps towards improving this season as they have a 3-1 record, at the time of publication.

“Coming here and not having the baseball IQ and talent here and having to start from a different area was difficult,” Congress said. “We are now finally at a point where we are playing a cohesive defense with some strategy and able to implement some play calls.”

Congress said his team is much stronger and expects them to be much more competitive as they start league play in a three-game series against the Sheldon Huskies beginning on March 24.

The newcomer in the Delta League are the Cardinals, who had a successful season in the Metro League last season. The squad is learning to adjust after graduating 13 seniors last season.

As third-year head coach Zach Evans said, they were just short from advancing to the Sac-Joaquin Section Championship to having to suddenly hit the reset button. 

“When you graduate 13 guys, you’re definitely going to hit the reset button whether you like it or not and things are going to look different,” Evans said. “So far, we’ve thrown the ball well and it’s been hit or miss with hitting, but we’ve played really good defense.”

Evans said that naturally there’s pressure as a coach when it comes to filling the voids of those 13 graduating seniors but they’re taking this situation head on. 

“There’s years where coaching comes a little easier and others where you’re doing everything possible to get everyone up to speed and that’s why we coach, right? So far, the guys who are returning from last year’s team are stepping up and they’re showing they want to step up,” Evans said. 

As the new team in the league, Evans wants his team to be loose and have fun, but they know the level of talent they will be faced with.

Despite the tough work and challenges ahead, Evans said it’s exciting to have an opportunity to play against the best talent in the area and we the Delta League the Cardinals are able to do that. 

“We wanted to step into a league that pushed our program even further,” Evans said. “You step into a league like that and with the talent around that Elk Grove’s got as a town has, so yes it;s daunting but it’s a huge opportunity to show what our program’s got.” 

Evans said he’s excited to see growth from junior Ryan Eddy. Eddy, in his third varsity season, who will be the backstop and play some outfield, Evans said, and will look to build off a season where he hit .339 with 16 RBIs as the three-hitter. 

Senior Connor Elliot has been a positive thus far for the Cardinals as he’s currently hitting.444 through seven games and Evans said he’s expecting big things from him. 

A pitcher to look out for is senior Dom Rivera, who was a bullpen arm last season as he was learning behind some experienced pitchers but is now stepping up and showing what he’s learned with Evans confident in him when he takes the mound, he said. 

Along with Rivera, junior Ian Larot will be a starting pitcher as well as middle infielder for the Cardinals. Evans said Rivera has shown great mound presence in this young season and will get better each inning on the hill.

As the new team in the league, Evans has clear goals for his team to be able to compete this season. 

“We want to win every inning, compete every inning,” Evans said. “As I’ve explained to the guys that when you’re playing teams with guys throwing 95 it’s tough to get things going and it’s tough to stay positive so I think as long as we can prove we belong and compete that’s a win for us.” 

The Cardinals will begin their journey in the Delta League with a three-game series against the Franklin Wildcats beginning on March 24. 

The Huskies were not available for comment, but they are coming off a season with a 5-22 record. 

They are led by head coach Freddy Saldaña who will look to turn this ship around for the Huskies as they currently hold a 2-3 record and have not had a winning record since the 2016 season. 

In their five games played, their batting average, hits and RBI leader are all junior Freddy Saldaña with a .500 batting average with six hits and five RBIs, according to MaxPreps. 

Saldaña also leads in innings pitched and strikeouts as he’s pitched 11 innings and struck out 16 batters across two appearances. 

The Huskies start the Delta League season in a three-game series against the Cosumnes Oaks Wolfpack on March 24.