Burlington Bees prepare for second Prospect League baseball season

There's snow on the ground and the air is chilled, so it might be time to dream of summer sunshine.

And the crack of the bat.

The Burlington Bees will open their second baseball season in the Prospect League on Wednesday, June 1, hosting the Quincy Gems at Community Field. The post-game will feature the first of six fireworks displays.

Prospect League players come from colleges around the country and swing wooden bats. There will be no ping of the aluminum.

With the Bees entering their second season in the league, general manager Tad Lowary hopes for no surprises, but "you never know."

"We're a little more familiar with how this league operates, what to expect," Lowary said Monday. "We're a little more prepared for it."

The Bees' final season in the Class A Midwest League was supposed to be 2020, but that entire season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Late that year, the Bees lost their affiliation when Minor League Baseball downsized. Shortly later, Burlington joined the Prospect League.

But the Bees now play less than half the number of home games that they did in the Midwest League.

"We went from 70 home games in the minor league system to now 30," Lowary said. "It definitely affects what kinds of things we can do. We put about the same amount of promotions in fewer dates. There are a lot less dates when we don't have anything going on, which I think kind of helps. I think our average attendance was up last year over previous years. So people were coming out. Close to 1,000 was our average (attendance). We're hoping to build on that."

For promotions, "you'll see some of the same things we've done in the past," Lowary said. "We're looking to get some new things set up. We don't have any specifics finalized yet. We do have our season schedule, but we haven't finalized our promotions at this point."

More: Community makes Burlington Bees buzz better in first Prospect League season

One promotion will be Veterans Night on Saturday, July 2. Sponsored by Des Moines County AMVETS Post 29, all military veterans will be admitted free to that game.

In addition to the opening game on June 1, there will be fireworks on June 17 and 25 and July 3, 23 and 30.

The Bees will again play in the Great River Division of the league's Western Conference with the Quincy Gems. Clinton LumberKings and Normal CornBelters.

Clinton is also a former Midwest League club that lost its minor league affiliation.

Lowary hasn't formally announced a field manager yet, but expects to do so soon. Players are being lined up.

"We've got several that I've seen that have signed contracts," Lowary said.

The Bees finished 28-32 last season in their maiden voyage in the Prospect League. The 2021 roster included Jackson Jones, a catcher/outfielder from Young Harris College in Georgia.

Jones was named the league's Mike Schmidt Player of the Year. He led the league in home runs (18) and doubles (17) and was second in the league with 51 RBIs. Jones, who was also on the Western Conference All-Star team, was chasing the league home run record of 20.

Related: Prospect League baseball: Bees' Jones named league's top player

But on July 28 he sustained a hand injury after being hit by a pitch and managed just one hit in his last 13 trips to the plate. He finished with a .295 batting average in 57 games.

The Burlington fans enjoyed the Prospect League.

"We got really good feedback, actually, as far as enjoying the game itself, the way the kids play the game," Lowary said. "It looked like they were having more fun. Fans had more fun. They scored more runs, I think, which helps the fans. The fans like that. You know, baseball folks like to see that one to nothing pitchers game, but your everyday fans like to come out and see a lot of runs scored and some home runs. Things like that. I think we had more of that last year than what we're used to."

The Bees will have longer home stands this season. There will be one five-game home stand July 7-11 and a four-game stand July 22-25.

Games Monday through Saturday will generally be 6:30 p.m. starts with Sunday games starting at 2 p.m. The Sunday, July 3 game, however, will be a 6:30 p.m. start due to the fireworks following the game.

Burlington Bees 2022 Home Schedule

June

1— Quincy; 2 — Quincy; 6 — Normal; 7 — Normal; 8. Springfield; 16 — O'Fallon; 17 — Quincy; 21 — Quincy; 22 — Clinton; 24 — O'Fallon; 25 — Cape; 29 — Illiinois Valley; 30 — Illinois Valley.

July

2 — Clinton; 3 — Clinton; 7 — O'Fallon; 8 — Normal; 9 — Cape; 10 — Clinton; 11 — Springfield; 19 — Clinton; 20 — Springfield; 22 — Illinois Valley; 23 — Alton; 24 — Alton; 25 — Normal; 29 — Quincy; 30 — Normal.

August

3 — Illinois Valley; 4 — Alton.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Burlington Bees set to open season June 1 at home against Quincy Gems