BlueClaws begin 25th season with new manager and familiar faces

LAKEWOOD - For a quarter of a century, the Shore's strong baseball culture has been further nurtured with the presence of a minor league baseball team. It's been 25 years since the Cape Fear Crocs (then an affiliate of the Montreal Expos) relocated to become the Lakewood BlueClaws as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

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In 2026, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws will celebrate their silver anniversary with a new range of team alter egos with fresh uniform alongside the team's classic branding. There will be plenty of commemorative celebrations and themed nights throughout the season. But while the BlueClaws are perennial winners at the gate producing a one-of-a-kind experience for local fans, they'll try to get back to winning ways on the field as they open the season on the road against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Friday.

That task falls on the shoulders of Mycal Jones, the team's new manager. The 38-year-old will be the 17th manager in the history of the BlueClaws, indicative of the transient nature of the minor leagues and a testament to the strong work of predecessor Greg Brodzinski, who spent three years managing the BlueClaws and led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2018 in his first season.

"I'm really excited, and I've talked to Greg quite a bit over the course of spring training," Jones said. "He kind of gave me the rundown of what to expect here at Jersey Shore. He's a good friend of mine and he's done a great job here, and now it's on to me to kind of keep that tradition going and put a winning team on the field."

Jones will aim to replicate that first-year success as Jersey Shore is coming off a middling 62-65 season during which the team could never quite catch up to powerhouse division rivals Brooklyn, Hudson Valley and Greensboro, the top three teams in the entire South Atlantic League.

While Jones is new to the role of manager and get his first taste with the BlueClaws, the team has remarkable continuity coming into the new campaign with 18 of the 30 players on the roster spending time in Lakewood last season. There's potential for this year's team to hit all through benchmarks for a successful minor league franchise: develop promising prospects, win games and deliver a top-notch experience for fans.

Jones steps into manager role for Brodzinski

Jones takes the reins of the BlueClaws after seven years in the Phillies' minor league system at various stops. He was most recently the bench coach for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils last season. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round and played in their minor league system in 2015. He concluded his playing career in 2016 with the Somerset Patriots when that franchise was still an independent team, and now 10 years later he returns to New Jersey in his first managerial role.

"The biggest learning curve will definitely be that usually I'm the outfield, base-running guy," Jones said. "So I usually deal with four outfielders and maybe 13 base runners, but now I have 30 guys to deal with including the pitchers. So that's going to be different for me in making sure I develop a relationship with those pitchers and understand those guys and understand what they go through every night."

Gaining experience is naturally all part of the journey of minor league baseball, but the approach won't vary too much from the broader organizational philosophy that allows a fair amount of autonomy for managers and prioritizes the value of winning during the developmental process.

While it can be rare in the modern game to have an organization with that strong of an emphasis on competing game-to-game, it's certainly a boon for loyal fans at the Shore.

"With the roster we have constructed right now, I will have a little leniency on who to play and where to play them," Jones said. "You obviously have those priority guys that will play, but we as a staff, we'll try to put the best lineup out there every night."

With a roster comprised of experienced players with prior experience playing for the BlueClaws, it should help streamline the early season growing pains as the team aims to pick up where it left off in the second half of last season. Jersey Shore was 37-27 to finish 2025, only five games outside of the top spot and the playoff berth that comes with it.

"As far as the team, I just hope we go out and play competitive every night," Jones said. "Play the game the right way. Play aggressive. And I think we're going to have some fun."

Jersey native Dromboski leads group of returning BlueClaws

The BlueClaws' continuity will be key to starting the season strong, and one of the team's experienced centerpieces is also the only New Jersey native on the roster to begin the year.

Pitcher Ryan Dromboski, who played in high school for Northern Burlington and collegiately for Penn, has an outsized personality that makes him a perfect fit for the Jersey Shore. A lifelong Phillies' fan, he's made the most of his opportunity as an undrafted free agent and enters the season as one of the top arms on the staff after going 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA over four starts and 25.2 innings.

"The moment I got up here and I started pitching pretty well and I realized that once the season ended, I felt pretty proud of the first season I had," Dromboski said. "When I finally did get to see the rosters and see that camp broke and I made the Jersey Shore team, to say I was excited was an understatement. Not only am I close to home—my parents live 45 minutes from here—it's so nice to actually be back in my hometown."

As local product both to the Garden State and Philadelphia, where he led Penn to an upset of Auburn in the NCAA regionals in 2023, he's one of the most compelling stories as he aims to continue progressing through the Phillies' system.

"I've been a Phillies fan since I was born practically. The first set of pajamas I owned were Phillies attire," Dromboski said. "My dad introduced me to baseball, kept on playing. Didn't have many offers out of high school and then got committed to Penn. It was a dream come true for me because not only is it the Ivy League, but it's also a great brand of baseball. Coach Yurkow, Coach Schwartz, Coach DeMaria, they all do a really good job."

The highest-rated prospect coming into the season is another returning BlueClaw, Devin Saltiban. The third round pick out of Hilo, Hawai'i is still the youngest player on the roster after turning 21 in February and is the 21st ranked prospect in the Phillies' system. Despite his youth, the outfielder begins the season as one of the more experienced and familiar players on the roster after playing 66 games for Jersey Shore in 2025.

"It's a good thing that we have. The position players, there's not too many of us really trying to fill in spots and stuff," Saltiban said. "So it's just get out there and play as many games as you can. What I feel is just get out there and just compete. Whatever happens on the field, it just stays on the field."

Saltiban leads a group of outfielders that could be the strength of the lineup to start the season. He's joined by another third round pick in John Spikerman, who was drafted in 2024 out of Oklahoma. Spikerman also has experience with Jersey Shore after playing 24 games with the BlueClaws last season. For prospects like Spikerman and Saltiban, the stop at Jersey Shore is also the first extended taste of playing baseball in the colder Northeast, a necessary precursor as players aim to eventually reach the big show in Philadelphia.

"Being here is a blessing," Saltiban said. "You're in a different level, you're in a different atmosphere. So you need to adjust to things culture-wise and to the team as well. It's nothing different—same game, same environment. Maybe it's cold, but you've just to go out there and do your best to compete."

Potential prospects to watch for promotion to BlueClaws

While familiarity is the theme of Jersey Shore's opening day roster, there are plenty of strong Phillies prospects to keep an eye for call-ups as the season unfolds. In particular, several top pitchers could be passing through the BlueClaws based on their potential trajectories through the minor leagues.

2025 first round pick Gage Wood is at the forefront of the list of players who could see a swift promotion to High-A. The 22-year-old out of Arkansas flashed his potential in the spring breakout game against the Blue Jays. He is currently listed as the fourth prospect in the Phillies' system, but practically speaking he is second after Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter began the season in Philadelphia. As he begins the season at Clearwater, the only caveat is Wood might be fast-riser through the minor league ranks.

The team's 2025 second round pick out of Iowa, Cade Obermueller, is another intriguing prospect to keep an eye on. The left-hander out of Iowa would need to hit the ground running at Single-A Clearwater, but he'll turn 23 in July and is a strong candidate to be promoted for an extended stint in High-A with the BlueClaws.

The laundry list of pitchers that could potentially be promoted goes on with several top 20 prospects that may get the call with strong starts at the Rookie or Single-A levels. Ramon Marquez, the 11th-ranked prospect, has the early look of a gem as an international signing out of Mexico. Matthew Fisher (12th), Cody Bowker (16th) and Sean Youngerman (17th) are also pitchers that might join the BlueClaws this season.

Lastly, the top position prospect who might join the BlueClaws is outfielder Griffin Burkholder, the Phillies' second round pick in 2024. He'll turn 21 in August and was still finding his footing at the Rookie and Single-A levels in 2025, but with a surge he could join Saltiban as one of the team's youngest players in the outfield.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore BlueClaws baseball season preview

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