Down on the Farm: 2014 Minor League Baseball begins today

Class-A Kane County Cougars

The Cougars will travel to Davenport, Iowa to take on the defending Midwest League champions, the Quad Cities River Bandits. Tonight’s game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. CT.

Taking the mound for the Cougars is right-hander Paul Blackburn. Blackburn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) spent the 2013 season with the Boise Hawks and finished with a record of 2-3, a 3.33 ERA with 46 innings of work under his belt.

This is his third year in Chicago’s farm system.

Starting opposite of Blackburn will be right-handed pitcher Andrew Thurman. Thurman (0-0, 0.00 ERA) picked up five starts through 12 appearances with the Tri-City ValleyCats, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 4-2 record through 39 2/3 innings last year.

Starting lineups for both the Kane County Cougars and the Quad Cities River Bandits are unavailable.

Here’s a look at the Cougars’ 2014 roster.

 Managers: Mark Johnson, Tom Beyers, David Rosario, Chris Gutierrez.

Pitchers: Justin Amlung, Jose Arias, Paul Blackburn, Tyler Bremer, Gerardo Concepcion, Nathan Dorris, Scott Frazier, Zack Godley, Juan Paniagua, James Pugliese, Tyler Skulina, Daury Torrez, Jen-Ho Tseng.

Catchers: Cael Brockmeyer, Ben Carhart, Will Remillard.

Infielders: David Bote, Daniel Canela, Jordan Hankins, Danny Lockhart, Carlos Penalver, Jacob Rogers.

Outfielders: Yasiel Balaguert, Shawon Dunston, Jake Hannemann, Trey Martin.