Sod Poodles prepping for another season in minor league baseball

Thin Lizzy once sang, "The boys are back in town." In that song, you could find the boys down at Dino's Bar and Grill. In this case, you can find them at Hodgetown Ballpark in downtown Amarillo.

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, a Double-AA MiLB affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, are back in town for year four of their existence. They marked the moment with Media Day on Tuesday before taking off to Frisco the next day to prepare for opening night Thursday against the RoughRiders.

There's a lot of excitement surrounding this year's team.

The Soddies entered last season with Corbin Carroll headlining the roster. Now, he's starting in the outfield for the Diamondbacks after signing a $111 million contract. This year, the opening day roster is headlined by Jordan Lawler, the sixth overall pick of the 2021 MLB Draft, the top rated prospect in the organization after Carroll, and the 11th overall prospect in all of baseball.

Make no mistake, though, this isn't just going to be the Lawler show.

"It's not just Corbin or Jordan, it's the rest of the guys too," Sod Poodles second-year manager Shawn Roof said. "We have some really talented guys that are future big leaguers. To see a guy like Corbin Carroll here one day and then to see him in the big leagues not long after just goes to show you how close these guys are and this is the time for the fans to get close to them. This is as close as you're going to get to seeing the future stars of tomorrow right here today."

Still, it's hard not to be excited about Lawler. He was promoted to Double-AA late last season and just finished participating with the D-Backs in spring training. He was all smiles Tuesday when talking about being back in the Panhandle.

"I feel really good," he said. "I'm excited to be back out here in this great stadium with a great team and great infrastructure. Everything around us is built for us to win, perform and get better. I'm excited to be back."

As Roof said, there's more to be excited about than just Lawler.

Deyvison De Los Santos, who at 19-years-old, is the fifth-ranked prospect in the organization and returns after getting moved up late last season. Third baseman A.J. Vukovich (14th rated prospect on the team) and pitcher Bryce Jarvis (27th) are also on the opening day roster. Jarvis is slated to start in the season opener.

There's a ton of other returning players from last season's team that went 68-68, including pitcher and Texas native Kyle Backhus.

"I'm feeling good," Backhus said. "It's always good to be back in Texas being a native. I'm nine hours away near Houston, but it's just great to be back in the great state. My emotions are pretty high, I love being here and I'm ready to go."

There will be some new changes this year from a team perspective, though.

The Sod Poodles announced last week that Hodgetown will switch to cashless transactions this season and there will be six games this year in which the team wears alternate uniforms and will be known as the Calf Fries

There will be plenty of promotional events throughout the year, as well, along with special guests.

Though the dates are still TBD, there will be guest appearances from celebrities such as Leslie Davis Baker, best known for playing Stanley on the TV series "The Office," and Troy Aikman, Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current Monday Night Football commentator.

There's also a new deal in place between MLB and the minors on a streaming service. Anyone with a subscription to MLBTV.com will have access to Double-A games. If you download the app and set the Diamondbacks as your favorite team, you can watch the Sod Poodles even when they're on the road.

You won't need a subscription to anything to watch the opener, however.

Download the MiLB app, the Amarillo-Frisco game is available to stream for free at 6:35 p.m. Thursday. The home opener is set for 7:05 p.m. April 11 against the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Regardless of whether the Soddies are at home or on the road, they players are eager to be back.

"I feel very optimistic," pitcher Blake Workman said. "I think we got a lot of good work in camp this year and did some new stuff that I think was very beneficial and will give us a leg up this year. I'm excited to see what all of that work is going to result in. I'm ready for the season.

AMARILLO SOD POODLES ROSTER

Pitchers (15): RHP Luke Albright, LHP Kyle Backhus, RHP Jeff Bain, RHP Jackson Goddard, RHP Jamison Hill, RHP Bryce Jarvis (No. 27), RHP Christian Montes De Oca, RHP Deyni Olivero, RHP Michel Otanez, RHP Chad Patrick, RHP Austin Pope, LHP Jake Rice, LHP Andrew Saalfrank, RHP Raffi Vizcaíno, and RHP Blake Workman

Catchers (2): Juan Centeno, Adrian Del Castillo

Infielders (6): Ryan Bliss, Deyvison De Los Santos (No. 5), Tristin English, Jonathan Guzman, Jordan Lawlar (No. 2), A.J. Vukovich (No. 14)

Outfielders (5): Neyfy Castillo, Nick Dalesandro, Roby Enriquez, Caleb Roberts, Tm Tawa

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Sod Poodles prepping for another season in minor league baseball