Aviators Unveil Playoff Roster
The North Carolina Aviators confirmed that 22-year-old rookie shortstop Onel Elemia will miss the postseason. Elemia tore his groin September 21st and was rumored to be available in mid-October. The Aviators have pushed his recovery timeline back to early November. Elemia had only appeared in 18 games for the Aviators at the time of his injury, but the way his highlight reel defensive plays and aggressiveness on the field contrasted with his lazy demeanor off the field quickly made him a fan favorite. Elemia hit just .208 with 1 double and 4 RBI in 53 AB, but he also made 0 errors in 147 innings at SS while dazzling the crowd with his quick glove and strong throws. Pete Farmer, a poor man's version of Elemia, will take his place on the roster. While not quite as elite as Elemia with the glove, Farmer can hit a bit better and with more power as well. He hit .331-13-65 for AAA Raleigh this season.
Don Wilson, the only member of the Aviators to have appeared in the Aviators last playoff berth (2019), will be available. He is currently nursing a strained forearm. He will be sidelined for 5 more days, so he is thankful for the 163rd game between Georgia and West Virginia as it pushes the playoffs back a day. Wilson, 37, is on a bit of a hot streak. He has only allowed 1 run in his last two starts (0.67 ERA) and has 12 Ks in 13 innings during that span. He will probably not start any games, but rather come out of the pen during the postseason. Wilson is 1-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 9 career postseason games (4 starts), although those stats are very, very old (2015, 2017 and 2019 playoffs).
There are no other relevant injuries to report.
In an interesting twist, outfielder turned pitching prospect Gabe Wilkerson has made the playoff roster. Wilkerson spent the regular season in A OBX learning to pitch. He was effective as the closer for that team and is slated to begin next season at AA Greensboro. Wilkerson was a 40-man September call-up but did not appear in any games. He will be available as a pitcher and as a hitter this postseason.
Starting Pitchers
Order will be kept off record, but here's who is starting...
Jorge Luna - 12-9, 3.13 ERA - 29 years old - Acquired via Trade with Colorado (2022)
Ruben Soto - 18-11, 3.63 ERA - 33 years old - 12th overall pick (1st round) in 2020
Ron Carmichael - 11-10, 3.90 ERA - 27 years old - Acquired via Trade with Colorado (2022)
Bullpen
One of these guys is also available to start if needed
Don Wilson - 13-8, 3.16 ERA - 37 years old - Long Relief/Extra Starter - 34th overall pick (3rd round) in the Inaugural Draft (2013)
Yu-zeng Sung - 2-2-2, 3.09 ERA - 23 years old - Long Relief - Free Agent Signing (2030)
Edgardo Rosas - 1-2-1, 2.53 ERA - 29 years old - Middle Relief - Scouting Discovery (2020)
Bob Fisher - 3-1-3, 2.84 ERA - 26 years old - Middle Relief - 1st overall pick in 2024
Eric Conley - 1-1-2, 2.98 ERA - 27 years old - Middle Relief - 81st overall pick (5th round) in 2023
Gabe Wilkerson - 2-5-39, 2.75 ERA (with A OBX) - 26 years old - Middle Relief - 5th overall pick (1st round) in 2026
Bertil Aarden - 12-10, 3.55 ERA - 23 years old - Setup Man - 6th overall pick (1st round) in 2025
Tim Brown - 5-6-7, 2.04 ERA - 29 years old - Setup Man - 92nd overall pick (5th round) in 2020
Chris Beard - 5-3-31, 2.89 ERA - 30 years old - Closer - Acquired via trade with Colorado (2022)
3 key players on this staff came over in the epic 2022 trade between the Aviators, who were just beginning to rebuild, and the Colorado Bears. While the Aviators rebuilding project took longer that expected, this trade eventually paid off. The deal sent 1B Dax Rutherford, CF Crawdad Hicks, LF Alvin Kane, and SP Norberto Leon to Colorado in exchange for SP Ron Carmichael, SP Jorge Luna, CL Chris Beared, 1B Jorge Corral (retired), and Colorado's 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks until Colorado realized they had already traded their 2nd round pick, giving NC Colorado's 2nd round pick in 2023. as compensation (who turned out to be RP Jake Bane (just released), RP Ed Jenkins (AA Greensboro), RP Tim Wilder (5-2-1, 3.66 ERA with NC but not on playoff roster). Keep it straight, there will be a quiz later.
Starting Lineup
1 - 2B - Slappy Orozco - .325-3-60 - 27 years old - Scouting Discovery (2021)
2 - 3B - Goppy Gopalakrishnan - .325-9-83 - 29 years old - 1st overall pick in 2023
3 - CF - Cristobal Castillo - .362-3-68 - 25 years old - Scouting Discovery (2024)
4 - CA - Mashashi Ageda - .306-14-73 - 24 years old - Scouting Discovery (2024)
5 - LF - Sal Belcher - .271-10-81 - 23 years old - 9th overall pick (1st round) in 2027
6 - 1B - Eric Schultz - .275-19-85 - 27 years old - 21st overall pick (2nd round) in 2023
7 - RF - Rod Mosley - .240-31-91 - 30 years old - 1st overall pick in 2022
8 - DH - Shane Schute - .333-5-21 - 21 years old - 2nd overall pick in 2029
9 - SS - Pete Farmer - .261-0-5 - 27 years old - 101st overall pick (6th round) in 2022
Bench
C/1B - Johnny Travis - .283-1-13 - 29 years old - 66th overall pick (4th round) in 2021 - Not many teams can claim a backup catcher with a .300 average, but Travis, a career .302 hitter, fits the bill.
2B/LF - Kichibei Aoki - .261-0-10 - 27 years old - 41st overall pick (3rd round) in 2023 - Sneaky good gap power for a fairly generic backup infielder/outfielder
2B/3B/SS/LF - Ismael Mora - .194-1-17 - 25 years old - Free Agent Signing (2025) - Failed to hold down starting SS job. Good runner, diverse fielder, not much of a threat at the plate though he is patient.
OF/DH - Jesus Martinez - .226-12-50 - 26 years old - 21st overall pick (2nd round) in 2024 - Martinez had a terrible year at the plate, and lost his job as starting DH. Scouting report says he can be a .300-25-95 type hitter. So far he's just a .253-19-76 type hitter.
There you have it... the first postseason Aviators team in 13 years.