2 Weeks out

 

As hard as it may be to believe the Flames are just 2 weeks out from the first pitch of the 2026 season.  The field is still half covered with snow/ice but the Flames got about a weeks worth of scrimmages in before the weather hit.  Fortunately, they have enough indoor facilities these days to do everything but full on scrimmage.  Most of the teams the Flames will play this year are also dealing with some level of weather as well.  

The 2026 season starts and ends with ace Ben Blair.  The Flames will trot the pre-season CUSA pitcher of the year out on Friday when the season kicks off.  Beyond that, Potts, Swink, August, Harrington & Lucas are battling for the 2 spots behind Blair and the midweek starter spot.  As of now transfer Ayden Decker-Petty is expected to be 1 of the key backend arms.  2 of the before mentioned group will also factor into the bullpen along with Josh Mcckusker had a solid 2025 for the Flames.  Beyond that it will just depend on how the rest of the guys perform.  Of course we've seen Swink & August look really good out of the bullpen so it wouldn't be the worst thing for the Flames if a couple of Cape Cod level arms fortify the bullpen.  

Lineup wise, it's too early to project a batting order but it starts with All CUSA SS Tanner Marsh who begins his 3rd year with the Flames.  WKU transfer Kyle Hvidsten has locked down the starting catcher role and will be a key cog in the lineup after a huge season last year.  The OF will feature some combo of Butler transfer Ryan Drumm, JUCO transfer Josh Campos, returner Nick Barone and Riley Decandido.  Decandido could factor in at DH/1B as well.  Richmond transfer Jordan Jaffe was cited as the top transfer into CUSA by Baseball America and was expected to begin the season at 3B.  However, he's nursing a fractured thumb and will probably be limited to DH the first couple of weeks.  Jaxon Sorenson was hit by a pitch this weekend and his status is unknown at the moment as is Landon Scilley.  The health status of that trio will certainly impact how the Flames line it up down in Charleston in 2 weeks.  2B is a battle between returner Easton Swofford and JUCO transfer Dylan Grabowski who will also be in the bullpen mix for the Flames.  That battle will likely go into the season and we could see some matchup/platoon in the early season since Swofford is a lefty and Grabowski is a righty.  

The Flames have more depth potential than they've had in some time.  Tucker Moore is a versatile player that could help in the OF, C & DH spots.  He showed some real pop last year but needed to put the ball in play more.  Anderson Fulk had a hot start at VCU in 2024 before his season ended due to injury.  Fulk never got in a rhythm last year but offers a pretty complete offensive profile.  He could get some DH at bats once Jaffe is ready to play the field.  Freshman Ethan Barnes has looked good in the scrimmages and has a couple homers while battling returner Charlie Brinkman.  The Flames have a talented pair of Freshman in Xavier McCoury and Kaleb Williams on the infield.  Both could be future starters for the Flames down the road but are likely to provide depth for the Flames this year.  Braden Weaver and John Simmons are back as well in reserve roles for the Flames.  

Keys to the Season

-Find 2-3 starting pitchers behind Blair - This is a must if the Flames want to break the cycle of recent years and push to get back to a regional

-Stay healthy, this goes without saying is fairly obvious but the Flames have to keep key guys like Blair, Jaffe, Sorenson, Marsh, Hvidsten, & Barone healthy.  

-2B has been up and down for a while and the Flames would really benefit from someone winning the job and holding on to it. 

-Lefty reliever has been a hole the last few years as well.  This years candidates are Matt Porter, Triston Dietrich & Spencer Williams.  I don't count Swink because he's going to be too valuable as a starter or long man if he doesn't win a rotation spot.  This is the guy that comes in in the 7th inning with 2 outs and 2 on and the other team has a left handed monster up with power.  

-If Ayden Decker Petty can become a lockdown stopper at the end early then the Flames can work backward and figure out roles pretty quickly.  If he stumbles and they need to go back to August that's 1 less SP option the Flames will have. 

*Wild Card - The 2 biggest wild cards on the roster IMHO are Landon Scilley and Bradley Zayac.  Zayac popped in the regional against Coastal for ECU.  The talent's there but he has to find consistency.  Scilley flashed the first month and half of last year before fading off as he was plagued by injuries.