Second coming for Dragons

Second baseman Cody Puckett will be one of the many changes to the Dayton Dragons roster, as he is moving up to High A Sarasota, Fla., along with outfielder/first baseman Stephen Chapman. The Dragons kick off the second half of their season with a fresh start, and will travel to Lansing for the first of a four-game series.

Staff photo by Ron Alvey Second baseman Cody Puckett will be one of the many changes to the Dayton Dragons roster, as he is moving up to High A Sarasota, Fla., along with outfielder/first baseman Stephen Chapman. The Dragons kick off the second half of their season with a fresh start, and will travel to Lansing for the first of a four-game series.

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer 1:16 AM Wednesday, June 24, 2009

DAYTON — Opening Day for the second half of the Class A Midwest League season will look a lot different for the Dragons than the original Opening Day.

The Dragons hope the changes are for the better as they finished the first half 28-42 and in fourth place in the East Division.

The roster changed on Tuesday, June 23, when the parent Reds announced the promotions of second baseman Cody Puckett and outfielder/first baseman Stephen Chapman to Sarasota, Fla. Back with the Dragons will be outfielder Tony Brown and infielder Yen-Wen Kuo.

“We’ve had some injuries, so we had to move some players up,” Reds farm director Terry Reynolds said. Puckett and Chapman were already in Sarasota as the Midwest League completes its three-day All-Star break today.

Puckett played in 66 of Dayton’s 70 games, compiling a .271 batting average while leading the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (39). Chapman, picked up as a released player, hit just .219 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 37 games.

Puckett was also in the lineup Opening Day with shortstop Miguel Rojas, the only two infielders still starting.

Frank Pfister was the starting third baseman, but he has been replaced by Carlos Mendez, and Michael Konstanty has become the first baseman in place of Humberto Sosa, who was sent back to extended spring training and started the rookie season in Billings, Mont., on Tuesday night.

Mendez and Konstanty both arrived from extended spring training.

Dayton’s Opening Day outfield had Dave Sappelt in center, with Brown in left and Byron Wiley in right. Recently, the corner outfielders have mostly been Andrew Means (who joined the team from extended spring) and either Chapman or Kyle Day, who originally was used as a DH.

With the return of Jordan Wideman from a broken thumb, the catching will be as it was to start the year — Wideman sharing the position with All-Star Kevin Coddington.

As for starting pitching, All-Star Matt Fairel, Josh Ravin and Curtis Partch remain in the rotation, while Lance Janke and J.C. Sulbaran have secured the other two spots.

Reynolds said he was expecting to send this year’s sixth-round draft pick, Mark Serrano of Oral Roberts, to Dayton. But a hip injury has that assignment on hold.