Catcher Gabriel Moreno is the Toronto Blue Jays' top prospect heading into this season, but the Buffalo Bisons' presumptive No. 1 catcher is not expected at Sahlen Field for Tuesday's season opener. In fact, it's uncertain when he'll arrive.
With the MLB season not starting until Friday, Moreno has stayed behind in Florida to get extra work. Visa issues delayed his arrival to spring training, and he missed a week of workouts trying to get his travel papers in order. It's possible the Jays will keep him doing extended work at their player development complex before sending him to Buffalo.
The Buffalo Bisons are preparing for Tuesday's opening day game against the Iowa Cubs.
Moreno, 22, needs all the work he can get this year, whether it's at catcher or spending a few games at second base. He batted .373 last year at Double-A New Hampshire but only played 32 games after suffering a fractured thumb when he was hit by a pitch. He went 1 for 9 in three late-season appearances in Buffalo. And his limited work in 2021, of course, came after the 2020 season was canceled by the pandemic.
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"He'll work back there maybe 3-4 times a week and then move up to 4-5 times," said manager Casey Candaele. "He's a great catcher getting himself prepared to catch. ... He always takes ground balls in different positions, and I think that's a positive for any player to go out to different positions and take ground balls, take fly balls, do whatever just to get yourself well rounded. But he'll focus on catching when he's here."
On the docket
The Bisons' schedule format remains the same as in 2021, with virtually every series being a six-game set running from Tuesday through Sunday. Most Mondays are off days. The Bisons only played five opponents last year but teams are playing more this season.
The Herd will play last year's five teams (Rochester, Syracuse, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Lehigh Valley, Worcester) and will also add series against Iowa, Durham, Columbus, Gwinnett and St. Paul, which joined Triple-A last year.
"No bus rides over five hours was nice obviously," said infielder Cullen Large. "But get to the middle of August and you play the same 5-6 teams the entire year, it does kind of wear on you a little bit.
"This year, we get some new teams in town and we get to go to a couple new places, which is exciting. It's part of the fun of Triple-A. We get to fly this year, which will be fun because we didn't get to do that last year."
More schedule notes
• Tickets for Bisons games are up to $19 for this season for reserved seats and $16 for general admission in Sections 121-125 in left field ($13 for youth and senior GA). But the discount to buy prior to game day is also up to $3 a ticket. Groups of 20 or more pay just $12 a ticket.
• Wednesday night's game against Iowa starts Kids Week, with children's tickets available for $5 for the final five games of the series. The teams play Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 6:05, with 1:05 matinees set for Saturday and Sunday.
• After playing last year in the Northeast Division of "Triple-A East" in the first year that MLB has run the minors, league names in every class have reverted to their 2019 groupings. The Bisons are thus back in the International League, which is divided into two 10-team divisions.
• The schedule has been expanded to 150 games, the most for the Herd since 1964. There will be 75 home games. The entire schedule will be on The Bet 1520 AM with Pat Malacaro and Duke McGuire. Six games will be televised on WNLO CW 23, starting April 24 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
