PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Chiefs this weekend begin the 40th season of professional baseball in the River City.
The opening series against Cedar Rapids started Thursday and runs through Saturday at Dozer Park.
Eight of the top 30 prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals organization were assigned to Peoria, which is the Cardinals’ High Single-A affiliate.
Manager of Media Relations Cody Schindler says that’s tied for the most with AAA Memphis, the affiliate one step below the Major Leagues.
“That’s not an every year thing, it kinda just depends on how the parent club sees everything, and how they lay things out. But obviously a ton of talent on the Opening Day roster, ” says Manager of Media Relations Cody Schindler. Schindler is also the play-by-play voice of the Peoria Chiefs.
Tink Hence was the Opening Day starter for the Chiefs in their 3-2 loss to Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. He pitched four innings with six strikeouts. 2022 1st round draft pick Cooper Hjerpe from Oregon State is the Friday starter.
Other top prospects include catcher Jimmy Crooks III and outfielder Victor Scott II.
The new baseball season will also be a historic one in the organization, with Christina Whitlock serving as a coach for the Chiefs.
Whitlock is the first uniformed coach in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
“She’s coached for more than two decades, played in the softball U.S. National Team, led the University of South Carolina to the College World Series in 1997,” Schindler says. “So she’s done just about everything in this game.”
Schindler adds that Whitlock is also throwing batting practice before games.
