Thursday the Quad Cities River Bandits will open the new season. Members of the Class A minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros arrived in Davenport on Sunday and the team held its annual media day Wednesday.
Omar Lopez has returned for his third season as manager, after leading the team in 2013 and 2014, and winning the Midwest League Championship in 2013. He was then sent to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to coach another Astros affiliate last year.
Since some of the players are as young as 19, Lopez has to do more than just coach them on the field.
Even though he and the players have only been together a short time, he thinks they're all ready for the new season to start.
Opening day for the River Bandits and Midwest league is Thursday. The River Bandits will play their first two games at Cedar Rapids and their first home game Saturday at Modern Woodmen Park.