Aviators Searching for Signs of Hope

[Chappy]

CHARLOTTE, NC - On an unusually sunny November day, Jesus Gutierrez, Ken Kerfoot & Bob Sturm all said 'goodbye' to baseball. Three more faces from a franchise that once spent more time winning than losing have left us.  And left us with.... what exactly?

"It's a mess," one season ticket holder told us.  "I can't tell which guys are supposed to give us hope, because none of them seem any good to me."

Who can blame the fans for their pessimism?  Out of the 10 teams in the Patriot League, the Aviators finished dead last in Runs Scored, Batting Average, On Base Percentage, Bullpen ERA, and Defensive Efficiency.  They also allowed the 9th most runs and had the 9th worst Starters ERA.  When one team is so bad in all three facets of the game (Hitting, Pitching, Defense), there really is nowhere to go but up.  But how does one go up, exactly?

"It takes a lot of patience.  Winning is a culture we once had, but it crumbled," team manager Chappy told us in a recent interview.  "We need to restore that culture."

Team attendance peaked in the team's first year, when they drew 3.9 million fans.  That number dipped to around 3.4 million during the team's sophomore slump, but held strong between 3.7 million and 3.5 million from 2017 to 2020.  When the bottom fell out in 2021, the fans still showed up at a decent rate (over 2.6 million).  But as the team continued to struggle and the bigger stars were traded away, the fans vanished.  NC drew under 1 million fans in 2023 and just over 1 million this past season.

The Next Generation

The Aviators have the #4 ranked minor league system in the AFBL, and that doesn't include #1 overall pick Bob Fisher or any other picks from the amatuer draft currently taking place.  Hoping to fill some seats late in the season, the club called up several of their top prospects last September.  It was an audition for the players, and a glimpse at the future for the fans.  But there was little buzz or hope generated from the stunt.

Top prospect Ahilocana Gopalakrishnan, affectionately referred to as "Goppy" by the fans, rolled through rookie league (.380) and had no trouble handling AAA pitchers (.301), but managed just 16 hits in 27 starts for the Aviators (.154). 

"As the #1 overall pick in last year's draft, I think he should have been more of a threat at the plate," one fan said.  Goppy managed just 1 extra-base hit, a triple, during his call-up.

Rod Mosley, the #1 overall pick in 2022, made more of an impact in his big-league debut.  Mosley, a big-time star in college, hit .250 in 20 games (14 starts) with 5 doubles.  Still, fans who wanted to see the 22-year-old go deep were left disappointed.  Mosley had 21 homers between Greensboro (AA) and Raleigh (AAA), but none in the bigs.

Top pitching prospect Lars-Bjorn Grundvig's debut was worst of all.  Grundvig was 9-6 with a 3.81 ERA for the Raleigh Explorers, but 0-7 with an ERA of 8.77 in 9 outings including 5 starts for the Aviators. 

It is not all doom and gloom for North Carolina.  25-year-old SP Ruben Soto is coming off of a 9-14, 3.73 season and looks like he has the potential to be a beast at the top of the rotation some day.  Don Wilson, once the young phenom on a veteran staff, is now the veteran and default staff ace  He's been in the big forever and is not even 30 yet.  He lost 20 games last year but most of that was due to poor run support.  22-year-old Chris Beard was 7-15 with a 4.33 ERA in his first full season.  21-year-old Jorge Luna was 4-6 with a 4.27 ERA in 17 starts as a rookie.  The staff is young and developing nicely.  It's at the plate where the biggest mysteries lie.

23-year-old outfielder Kevin Howard hit 37 homers in his 2nd big league season, although his .216 average is cause for alarm.  Jerry King, another young slugging outfielder, missed the entire season with an injury suffered in spring training.  He hit just .199 with 21 homers as a rookie in 2023, but big things are expected from him if he is fully recovered for 2025.  Mexican phenom Slappy Orozco was an under-the-radar hit for the Aviators last season.  He hit .250 and led the team with 35 doubles and 36 steals while playing nice D at second base.  At 19, he's one of the youngest players on a young team.

And so the time has come for the youth to begin their upward swing.  To bring hope back to North Carolina.  Because without hope, the Aviators will never take flight.

[mstreeter06]

Nice write-up! Hopefully the youth begins to develop for you in NC. 

[BaseballAddict32]

Great write up. Well done!

[Chappy]

Thanks, guys.

A Quick Look at the Future Aviators
New Draftees A Welcome Sight

CHARLOTTE, NC - For the third year in a row, the Aviators have the #1 overall selection in the AFBL draft.  In 2022, they selected outfielder Rod Mosely.  In 2023, they chose infielder Ahilocana Gopalakrishnan.  This year, they've added a pitcher by the name of Bob Fisher.

Fisher is a bit raw; he didn't even play high school baseball until his senior year.  He only won 3 games in his 11 starts at Kirbyville HS, which was quite curious as Kirbyville had a pretty solid offense (2nd in runs scored in the Republic League).  Fisher posted 10+ K's in a game 7 times in those 11 starts and posted an ERA of 2.58, finishing as the runner-up in Republic League Outstanding Pitcher voting.

But it's well known that Fisher was selected first overall based more on his potential than what he's already accomplished.  Scouts look at him and see some of the best stuff in the game as a strong possibility. Combine that with a fair amount of movement and good control and he has the makings of a staff ace...  If he develops, that is.

In the 2nd round, the Aviators selected RF Jes?s Mart?nez, a cuban immigrant who has suited up for Sierra Vista Southeast High School for the past 3 years.  As a sophomore, he was named an All-American and blasted 17 HR with an insane 70 RBI in 48 games.  He topped his production as a junior, driving in 75 runs in just 47 games while posting a .385 batting average.  That led to him being named All-American for a 2nd time as well as earning him the 2023 AHS Republic League Outstanding Hitter Award.

So what was a player of his caliber doing hanging around in the pool at the start of the 2nd round?  His numbers plummeted in his senior year of high school.  Martinez managed to hit just .294 with 3 homers in 36 games.  Aviators scouts met with the Sierra Vista Southeast coaching staff, who reassured the team that Martinez was merely dealing with a sprained thumb for the bulk of the season.  Still, many teams steered clear of the young slugger, allowing North Carolina to get - perhaps - a steal in the 2nd round.

In the 3rd round, the Aviators picked up a very undecorated kid out of New York, Rod Strong.  Strong hasn't put up great numbers at Buffalo High (career 10-8, 5.06 with a WHIP of 1.53), but NC scouts really liked his movement and control.  He has been a starting pitcher in high school, but looks like he would be better suited as a good 3-pitch relief pitcher.  His coaches also tell the Aviator scouts he's a hard worker and very coachable.

The Aviators 4th round pick was towering, 6 foot-7 inch pitcher Chris Rowland out of Corpus Christi College.  While he is a largely under-the-radar player, North Carolina brass were impressed with the improvement he showed between his junior and senior seasons. 

5th round pick Kevin Stone was an All-American this past season, posting a .296-7-42 line.  In his career at Saskatoon High, he's .321-19-125 in 142 games.  He also won multiple fielder-of-the-year awards in Left Field. When choosing between 1/2 star players, the Aviators like to look for guys who've won awards.

We'll  keep you posted when the 6th, 7th and 8th round picks are in.

[Chappy]

North Carolina drafted Mel Cardinal out of San Luis Obispo College with their 6th round pick.  Cardinal was runner-up in the ACOL AC Outstanding Pitcher Award voting after going 6-2 with 25 saves and a 2.09 ERA.  He had been a lowly regarded prospect up until that point.  In fact, it was a bit surprising that he made a college team at all after posting a 6.46 ERA in his high school career.  He's a smart pitcher and has a good curve ball when he's on.  When he's off.... he's off.

In the 7th round, NC selected Anchorage College star Tim Brandon.  Like Cardinal, Brandon was so atrocious in High School that many wondered what Anchorage College was doing in offering him a scholarship.  But it paid off, as the young lefty posted a 16-11 record with 42 saves and a 2.84 ERA in his collegiate career.  He as an All-American as a freshman.  Brandon has a similar skill set to that of Tim Brando, but is even smarter and is a much harder worker.  Whether he has to tools to make the majors remains to be seen, but if he doesn't make it, it won't be for lack of trying.

North Carolina's final pick was a fine defensive outfielder out of Rochester College, Shawn Sims.  Sims only played one year of College ball, posting a .246 average and hammering 11 homers in 95 games.  He was named the best LF defender in the game, and looks like he has the ability to play the infield as well. 

Here is where our picks will begin their pro careers:

Bob Fisher - SP - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Starting Pitcher #1
Jesus Martinez - RF - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Starting DH, batting 8th
Rod Strong - RP - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Middle Relief, top spot, use more often
Chris Rowland - RP - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Long Relief, top spot
Kevin Stone - LF - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Starting LF, batting 9th
Mel Cardinal - RP - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Long Relief, third spot
Tim Brandon - RP - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Long Relief, fifth spot
Shawn Sims - LF - Delray Beach Grasshoppers - Liberty League (R) - Starting CF, batting 7th

Everyone looks like they'll get plenty of playing time, although I don't think it will be long before Fisher moves to single-A ball.

[Chappy]

Goppy, Randolph make Big League Roster
Mosely will start season in AAA

After a terrible September with the big league club, last year's #1 overall pick rode a healthy spring showing all the way to the North Carolina Aviators 25-man roster.  Ahilocana Gopalakrishnan (AKA 'Goppy') led the Aviators with 26 hits this Spring, leading to a .317 average and a second chance at life in the big leagues.  The 21-year-old shortstop should be on most watch lists for rookie of the year, which seemed like an impossibility after he went just 16-for-104 (.154) in his big league debut last September.

Goppy will pair with Slappy Orozco at the top of the order to give the Aviators the type of speed they once had with Crawdad Hicks and Curds Campos starting things off. 

One other rookie, 24-year-old Cliff Randolph, will also be starting on the left side of the infield.  Randolph struggled a bit more in the spring at the plate, hitting just .153, but he's great in the field and there aren't many other options for the Aviators at the hot corner right now.

One other player who will be interesting to watch (although not a rookie) is new starting CF Ezra Henneberry.  Henneberry appeared in 143 games last year, mainly as a pinch hitter, and hit .223 with 6 HR.  He's best known as the guy who hit .326-56-141 in AAA Raleigh in 2023.  If his power can translate to the big league level, he can be a real run produce in the #6 spot.

Projected Lineup - career big league 162 game averages
2B - Slappy Orozco - .250-1-50, 37 SB
SS - Goppy Gopalakrishnan - .154-0-30, 12 SB
LF - Kevin Howard - .211-31-61
RF - Greg Smith - .272-33-106
1B - Noel Campbell - .220-19-50
CF - Ezra Henneberry - .231-8-20
CA - Gravel Rhodes - .245-14-56
3B - Cliff Randolph - .231-8-41

[Chappy]

Opening Day Lineup - career big league 162 game averages
2B - Slappy Orozco - .250-1-50, 37 SB
SS - Goppy Gopalakrishnan - .154-0-30, 12 SB
LF - Kevin Howard - .211-31-61
RF - Greg Smith - .272-33-106
1B - Noel Campbell - .220-19-50
CF - Ezra Henneberry - .231-8-20
CA - Gravel Rhodes - .245-14-56
3B - Cliff Randolph - .231-8-41

Final Lineup - Season Stats (Green = exceeded expectations)
2B - Slappy Orozco - .251-1-35, 48 SB <----  predicted .250 with 1 HR, hit .251 with 1 HR
SS - Goppy Gopalakrishnan - .269-8-49, 33 SB <---- Currently 2nd in ROY voting
LF - Kevin Howard - .280-33-90
CF - Jerry King - .232-34-91
1B - Noel Campbell - .257-21-56
RF - Greg Smith - .267-16-44
3B - Steve Carr - .232-10-34
CA - Gill Pinay - .245-4-19

Notes:  Ezra Henneberry lost his starting job when Jerry King became healthy...  he managed a disappointing .182-3-22 line in 344 at bats.  3B Cliff Randolph was bumped from the starting lineup when NC claimed FA Steve Carr from Idaho.  Randolph hit .238-4-23 in 227 at bats.  Gravel Rhodes lost his job as the everyday catcher when NC claimed Gill Pinay from the FA pool.  Rhodes was successful at the plate, hitting a career-high .269-9-37.

[Chappy]

Young Aviators Open 2027 Camp after Disappointing 2026 Campaign

After increasing from 46 wins in 2024 to 71 in 2025, the Aviators took a step back and won just 61 games in 2026.

Spring Training is opening with 50 hopefuls trying to make the first round of cuts (to 35 players) which will come halfway through the spring season.  While some spots are known, there will be lots of competition particularly in the starting rotation and the outfield.

While Ruben Soto (12-13, 3.89 last season), Jorge Luna (14-12, 3.61 last season) and Don Wilson (141-136, 3.82 in his career) are locks for the rotation, three players are battling for the final two spots in the rotation.

24-year-old Jeff Stephens was a pathetic 3-19 with a 5.25 ERA last year.  He doesn't have a chance unless he can turn things around in a hurry. 

25-year-old Tim Wilder was better in W/L at 9-11, but his ERA was a lofty 5.40.  That's not gonna get it done either. 

Finally, there's 22-year-old Ron Carmichael, who was 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA in his first 6 big league starts last year.  He was a respectable 12-6 at AAA Raleigh, but his control is not yet where it needs to be. 

Looking at the outfield, Kevin Howard (.251-39-98) and Jerry Burger King (.226-33-93) are cemented in as starters, leaving 24-year-old former #1 pick Rod Mosley (.240-10-49 in 449 PA), 19-year-old Cuban signee Cristobal Castillo (.341-1-38 at AAA Raleigh), and 26-year-old slugger Ezra Henneberry (.253-17-32 in 336 PA) battling it out for the center field job. 

[Chappy]

Aviators Cut Spring Roster Down to 35
King, Grundvig Placed on DL

Thirteen players were sent from Training Camp to either AAA Raleigh or AA Greensboro today as the Aviators trimmed their camp roster down to 35 players.  A pair of players who otherwise would have been sent packing were allowed to stay, as RP Lars-Bjorn Grundvig and OF Jerry King were placed on the disabled list.  Grundvig is out for a couple of months with an inflamed shoulder, while King was placed on the DL for precautionary reasons. 

Jerry 'Burger' King has a history of missing the start of the regular season, so when doctors told him he'd need to rest his hyperextended knee for 4 days, management when ahead and gave him the rest of the spring off to heal.  He is already cemented in as the opening day right fielder for the Aviators. 

On March 4th last spring, King strained his hammy and missed 3-4 weeks, including the start of the regular season.  On March 5th the year before, he broke his tibia and missed 6 weeks including the start of the regular season.  On March fifth 3 years ago, he tore his labrum and missed the entire 2024 season.  Yeah... he's safest on the DL right about now...

Besides, putting King on the shelf gives more playing time to Castillo, Mosely and Henneberry, who are all duking it out for the starting CF job.  Cristobal Castillo is hitting .213-0-3, Mosely .242-1-3, and Henneberry .167-0-1, so they all could use the extra plate appearances.

Perhaps the biggest surprise this spring has been the play of 3B JR Vazquez.  He leads the team with an OPS of 1.231 (.385-2-6).  While most scouts have him pegged as a career minor-leaguer, with 3rd base up in the air this season, Vazquez may have a legitimate shot at making the bigs.  Jose Carieda, who many feel has the best shot at winning the job, is off to a .125-0-0 start in 24 plate appearances.

Three of our starting pitchers have not given up any runs in 2 starts this spring; veteran Don Wilson along with Jeff Stephens and Ron Carmichael, who are battling for a spot at the bottom of the rotation.  Carmichael has walked just 1 batter in his 8 innings... if he keeps that up, he's got ace potential.

Stay tuned to see who makes the 25-man roster.

[Chappy]

This Just In...Aviators Can't Pitch
While Don Wilson is 3-0, the other four NC starting pitchers are a combined 1-13

While scrappy players like Ebbe Stevense, Pete Farmer, Ahilocana Gopalakrishnan, Cristobal Castillo and Slappy Orozco have given North Carolina an exciting, fresh style of play on offense, things could not really be more bleak for the Aviators pitching staff.

Staff ace Ruben Soto, who has posted ERA's of 3.77, 3.73, 3.13 and 3.89 the past 4 seasons and boasts a career WHIP of 1.37, is 0-5 in 6 starts with a lofty 7.55 ERA and a WHIP of 1.97.  Jorge Luna, 14-12 with a 3.61 ERA last season, is 0-4 with a 5.22 ERA in 5 starts.  The list goes on...

Only Don Wilson, who is 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA seems to be pitching as expected.  The team ranks 8th in ERA with a 4.70 mark, and is 9th in runs allowed. 

Serious lineup changes are expected in order to help improve the defense behind the pitchers, though the teams 81 walks (worst in the league) will continue to hurt unless the pitchers themselves can play a little better.

[Chappy]

Aviators See Signs of Improvement
...despite sending young stars to AAA

Since making personnel changes on the mound and in the field May 11th, the Aviators have posted a 15-14 record.  With the rough start, that makes them just 25-36 overall.

The Aviators made major adjustments to their starting lineup, improving defense at C, 3B, SS and LF in the process.  But some of those players have struggled to get on base, so management must make a choice between continuing to support the staff defensively, or trying to give the staff more run support.

Jeff Johnson has sured things up behind the plate defensively, but is batting just .189.  Jose Carieda is a gold glove caliber third baseman, but is batting just .192 with 4 RBI in 24 starts.  Could some sort of platoon be the answer to these offensive woes?

Back in May, the Aviators also sent some of the struggling bats down to AAA, where they have flourished.

22-year-old SS Pete Farmer was batting .179-0-6 in 18 starts for North Carolina, but has hit .344-4-28 in 30 starts for the Raleigh Explorers.  19-year-old CF Cristobal Castillo was hitting just .195-0-7 in 31 starts for the Aviators, but has hit .480-0-23 in 28 starts with the Explorers.  Former #1 overall pick Rod Mosley was hitting .214-1-3 in 22 games with the Aviators, and has exploded for a .381-5-28 line in 27 starts for Raleigh. 

All of these players have seen a significant shift in their moods and on field performance.  Staff ace Ruben Soto, who is off to an 0-11, 6.95 start (after going 12-13, 3.89 last year), has now joined the other 3 in Raleigh for a bit of a lift.  We'll see how long his mood takes to change.

As for when these players will be recalled to the majors... well, as long as the team is playing better, it will likely take some injuries to the current starters to get them back up.  Otherwise, September will be when we next see these guys in Charlotte.

[Chappy]

Aviators Propelled into Wildcard Race
Ruben Soto returns to staff after 3 starts in AAA Raleigh...

An 8-2 run over their last 10 games has put the North Carolina Aviators back into the wild card race, after looking completely out of it just 1 month ago.  The Aviators are 7 games out as of right now.

Ruben Soto, banished to AAA Raleigh after an 0-11 start, went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 3 starts for the Explorers, will return to Raleigh immediately to try to keep both his, and the Aviators', momentum. 

Also joining the Aviators is left fielder Kevin Howard, who has been on the shelf with injuries most of the season.  He will sit out the next 3 games before entering the lineup in the #3 hole.

Howard has started 10 games this season and batted .294-1-5 with an OPS of .793.  He was originally injured on April 10th, missing 7 weeks with a strained hamstring.  In his 3rd start after recovering from that injury, he strained an oblique and missed 5 more weeks.  Having Howard back in the lineup should help the Aviators' offense put up more runs.

Down on the farm, Rod Mosley is batting .393-11-46 and Cristobal Castillo is batting .455-0-30.  These two could return to Raleigh any day now, but with the team rolling, no moves will be made unless injuries occur.

[Chappy]

Mosley, Cristobal Return to Bigs
Aviators near .500 mark as league enters All-Star break

The North Carolina Aviators rode a 6-game winning streak into the All-Star break to finish the first half of the season with a 44-45 record (.494), good for 3rd in the division.  However, due to the hot play of the New York Twin Towers, the Aviators fall from 7 to 8 games out in the wild card hunt.

Ruben Soto was 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 2 starts last week, his first big league action since a confidence-building trip to AAA.  Now listed as being in a 'good' mood for the first time in months, the Aviators deemed the move a success, and promoted two other players who were in AAA trying to get things right.

NC sent catcher Gravel Rhodes (.077-0-0 in 6 games) and outfielders Tim Gibson (.267-4-15 in 35 games) and Spike McDaniel (.250-1-5 in 20 games) to AAA Raleigh and recalled Rod Mosley and Cristobal Castillo, while activating catcher Gill Pinay (.246-4-13 in 57 games before being injured) from the DL at the same time. 

Sources tell us that all three will be in the starting lineup when the Aviators face West Virginia following the All-Star break.  NC is 0-9 against West Virginia this season, and have struggled against them historically.

Castillo will start in Center Field and hit second.  He was batting .195 in 31 starts before being sent down to Raleigh to gain confidence.  After hitting .434-0-33 in 51 AAA starts, his morale is now great, and management things he will live up to his billing as one of the games elite contact hitters.  He was elected to the Explorer League's All Star team.

Mosley will start in right field and hit 7th.  He was hitting just .214 in 22 games (15 starts) before being sent down.  The 2022 #1 overall pick looked like an elite prospect as he hit .371-12-52 in 52 starts for Raleigh.  He was the EL's Batter of the Month for June.

Two other players who were sent down at the same time as Castillo and Mosley remain in Raleigh for the time being; Ebbe Stevense is batting .347 at second base and Pete Farmer is batting .344 at SS for the Explorers.  With Goppy and Slappy playing well in the middle infield, and with Cliff Randolph posting an .831 OPS at 3rd, it is unknown when Stevense and Farmer will be back in Charlotte.  With Stevense being 20 and Farmer 22, the playing time in AAA is probably more valuable than bench time in the majors would be.

The final question out of Raleigh is "when will Gabe Wilkerson be promoted?"

Wilkerson was NC's 1st round pick, 5th overall, in the most recent draft.  The 2025 ACOL NC Outstanding Hitter Award winner began his pro career in AAA Raleigh, bypassing the R, A, and AA levels.  He has already won a Batter of the Month Award, and Batter of the Week Award, and been named an All-Star in the Explorer League.  He's batting .407 (2nd to Castillo) with 7 HR and 65 RBI while posting an OPS of 1.046 (6th in the ELE).  But there's no room for him in Charlotte right now with Noel Campbell (.299-16-39) cemented in at 1B and Kevin Howard (.302-2-7 in 17 games) back from injury.  He's likely to get a call-up September 1st, but until DH Greg Smith deteriorates or hangs up his spikes, Wilkerson will probably be stuck in AAA.

[Chappy]

Aviators Cross .500 Mark with 7-3 Record in their Last 10 Games
Mosley, Goppy propel team to 53-48 mark

You could say that Rod Mosley and Cristobal Castillo have found their confidence.

Cristobal has hit .283 and Mosley has hit .333 in their 12 starts since being called back up.  Mosley, who had 1 HR in 22 games before being sent down, has 3 HR in 12 games since being recalled. 

The Aviators are now 5.5 games out of the wild card spot after an impressive sim that included a 3-game sweep of West Virginia.

On a less happy note, RP Tim Brown is done for the year.  Brown had been one of the Aviators most reliable arms in the bullpen, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.11 ERA in 46.1 innings of work.  He's been replaced by 27-year-old rookie Phil Kane, who was 5-0 in 21 appearances in AAA Raleigh.

[Chappy]

Aviators Finish with 78 Wins
Most wins in a season since rebuild began

The North Carolina Aviators took a big step forward this season.  Even though the team finished the year below .500 with a 78-84 record, they were able to cross the .500 plateau mid-season and finish with the most wins in a season since the rebuild began in 2021.  After falling from 71 wins in 2025 to 61 last season, this is indeed a good sign.

Goppy shattered the AFBL's record for triples in a season with 22.  The record was previously held by New Jersey's Derek Anderson, who set the high mark at 18 while with the Ontario Blue Pirates in 2016.

Goppy also came 1 hit away from tying Curds Campos' franchise record for hits in a season (212).