By John Leonard

Today, ten days before opening day of the 2019 Valley League season, we have the season preview for the Strasburg Express!

What Happened in 2018

The Express struggled both to get on the field due to rain and on the mound in 2018, finishing with a team ERA of 6.74 and missing the playoffs for only the second time since the franchise joined the league in 2011. The team went 17-25, ending the season three games behind Winchester, the fourth place team in the North.

What's Up in 2019

The Express named Brock Moss, current Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for Georgia Highlands, the new head coach in the offseason, and Moss is looking forward to the new opportunity. "I'm excited to be a part of [the Valley League and Strasburg] and really looking forward to experiencing it this summer," he said. Moss has added a new hitting coach in Michael Skelly, and returns 2018 pitching coach John Love. "I'm fortunate enough to have dynamite assistant coaches along with me this summer," Moss said. He also forsees a competitive team, saying, "I believe this team will have a chance to score runs in bunches when clicking with some of the numbers these guys are putting up at their respective schools. On the mound I believe we have collected a group who will be competitive and throw it over the plate and force opposing lineups to beat us night in and out."

On the hitting side, Moss expects contributions from Al Womack, current sophomore at Norfolk State, whose father also happens to be former major leaguer Tony Womack. Al was a freshman All-American in 2018, and has hit 377/441/503 this spring, along with a 19/16 BB/K ratio, and was named first team All-Conference in the MEAC at utility. Noah Myers, a South Carolina commit from Wabash Valley, will set the table with dynamic athleticism and speed; he stole a ridiculous 77 bases (with being caught only once) and scored 92 runs in only 59 games this spring. First baseman Sonny Dicharia, from Samford, hit 18 home runs, slugged .622 as a true freshman, and was named first team All-SoCon along with Freshman of the Year. Judd Ward started in the outfield for Auburn all spring, hitting 274/390/385, and leads the Tigers in on-base percentage. Moss expects Bryson Horne, a signee of Columbus State, to contribute, as well: Horne hit 376/457/558 with 11 doubles and 6 home runs for Highlands. Tyler Johnson also looks like a dynamic bat, as he hit 17 home runs at Eastern Oklahoma State, and will attend Arkansas in 2020. The lone returner to the league at this point is Georgia State's Griffin Cheney, who batted 83 times for the Express last summer.

The pitchers who will navigate First Bank Park include South Georgia's Landen Nevill and Eastern Oklahoma State's Christian McGowan, both of whom have power arms and can run it up there at 90+mph. Bryce O'Brien, from Young Harris, can also top 90 mph.

Of course, time will tell if the Express will make a return to the playoffs in 2019, but with these collected bats, it looks rather likely!

Remember that if you are unable to attend a game, you can always watch live on Facebook, courtesy of Sheetz and Subway!

To read much, much more about the Valley League, check out allthingsvalleyleague.com.