Scrappers excited to get the season started - WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers throw out the first pitch of their 19th season on the road on Monday in West Virginia and their home opener is Wednesday evening at Eastwood Field against the Auburn Doubledays. 

Luke Carlin begins his first season as a manager in the Indians organization after playing professionally for 14 seasons.  Carlin can't wait to pass some of his knowledge to his players. "We're here to create a learning environment, we're here to support these guys and partner these guys so they can move to the next level. This is an important stop on their journey but it's not the final destination," Carlin said. 

 Outfielder Will Benson is excited to be a Scrapper and understands this is part of the journey to the big leagues. "A lot of kids these days, or my age, always assume that they just land in the big leagues somehow and that they didn't go up through the system. So it was kind of warming to see Lindor and Kipnis' pictures when you first walk into the locker-room. That was very encouraging". 

Fourteen of the 19 on the roster played together in Arizona last season. Carlin said, "We've got a good core group of guys that we drafted last year and so they played last year together, they've played all spring and extended spring together. So the core group of players knows each other pretty well and knows what to expect."

Third baseman Nolan Jones said, "We had a good season last year in the Arizona League. So even adding these guys from the draft this year, I think it's going to be a lot easier to get closer to our teammate which is huge for team chemistry". 

The Scrappers have plenty of promotions for fans this season. There are seven bucks nights on Thursday, and seven fireworks nights; five on Friday, one after the opener on Wednesday and of course on July 4th.  There are three bobblehead giveaways sponsored by 21 WFMJ; Francisco Lindor on June 23rd, Jose Ramirez on July 29^th, and Paul Warfield on August 5th.