Tri-City Dust Devils begin 2026 season. Schedule + What to expect

The Tri-City Dust Devils begin their 25th season in the Northwest League tonight by hosting the Vancouver Canadians at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

Once again, the Dust Devils will be the High-A affiliate for the Los Angeles Angels.

And there will be plenty of familiar faces out on the field, starting with team manager Dann Bilardello, who is back for his second consecutive season in charge of the Tri-City team.

Bilardello, a former major-league catcher, managed the Dust Devils to his 900th career victory as a minor-league manager last July 22.

For the most part, his coaching staff this season will be new. The staff will include former MLB pitcher Glendon Rusch, who will manage the pitching staff.

Meanwhile, here is a look at 10 players who fans might want to keep an eye on this season:

• Pitcher Tyler Bremner, who is ranked as the Angels’ top minor-league prospect. He was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s MLB draft. Pitched last spring for UC Santa Barbara. He may not be here in a month. Angels may fast-track him up the ladder.

• Pitcher Chris Cortez, who spent the 2025 season with the Dust Devils, and is currently the Angel’s No. 12 prospect. The right-hander who pitched at Texas A&M was the Angels’ No. 2 draft pick in 2024. He struck out 114 batters in 113.2 innings last season for the Dust Devils.

• Randy De Jesus spent most of 2025 in the Tri-City outfield, belting 18 home runs and driving in 55 runs. However, he must improve on his .185 batting average.

• Catcher Juan Flores returns for another season. He is the Angels’ No. 20 prospect, and the Venezuelan is in his third season in pro ball. Yet he’s just 20 years old. Flores had 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and hit .207 for Tri-City in 2025.

• Relief pitcher Max Gieg is back for another season. He split time in both Tri-City and Double-A Rocket City in 2025, appearing in 36 games, striking out 68 batters in 52.1 innings.

• First baseman Ryan Nicholson starts the season again with Tri-City. Split time between Tri-City and Rocket City last season for a combined 19 homers, drove in 67 runs and had a .243 batting average.

• Infielder Capri Ortiz made his Dust Devils debut in 2025. The 21-year-old Dominican hit .229 last season for Tri-City, but he also had 27 stolen bases.

• Infielder Adrian Placencia will don a Dust Devils uniform for the fourth straight season. The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic hit .212 last season for Tri-City, but he also showed some power with 16 homers. He also drove in 61 runs.

• Outfielder Anthony Scull spent 2025 with the Dust Devils, much of it as the team’s leadoff hitter. The Cuban hit an impressive .260 last season, and added 13e home runs and 47 RBIs.

• Pitcher Chase Shores is ranked No. 8 among Angels minor league prospects. The LSU product was selected in the second round of last year’s 2025 MLB Draft.

According to MILB Angels Twitter account, here are the probable starters for this first weekend series: Tonight, Cortez; Saturday, Bremner; Sunday, Yeferson Vargas.

Team schedule

Here’s the Tri-City schedule for 2026:

APRIL

3-4-5 — VANCOUVER (Blue Jays)

7-8-9-10-11-12 — at Everett (Mariners)

14-15-16-17-18-19 — HILLSBORO (Diamondbacks)

21-22-23-24-25-26 — at Vancouver

28-29-30 — EVERETT

MAY

1-2-3 — EVERETT

5-6-7-8-9-10 — at Spokane (Rockies)

12-13-14-15-16-17 — EUGENE (Giants)

19-20-21-22-23-24 — at Everett

26-27-28-29-30-31 — SPOKANE

JUNE

2-3-4-5-6-7 — VANCOUVER

9-10-11-12-13-14 — at Hillsboro

16-17-18-19-20-21 — EUGENE

23-24-25-26-27-28 — at Spokane

30 — at Everett

JULY

1-2-3-4-5 — at Everett

7-8-9-10-11-12 — HILLSBORO

17-18-19 — VANCOUVER

21-22-23-24-25-26 — at Spokane

28-29-30-31 — at Eugene

AUGUST

1-2 — at Eugene

4-5-6-7-8-9 — HILLSBORO

11-12-13-14-15-16 — at Vancouver

18-19-20-21-22-23 — EVERETT

25-26-27-28-29-30 — at Hillsboro

SEPTEMBER

1-2-3-4-5-6 — VANCOUVER

April and May home games start at 6:30 p.m.; April 5 and 19, May 3, May 17 and May 31 games begin at 1:30 p.m.

June 2-6 home games start at 6:30 p.m.; June 7 home game begins at 1:30 p.m.

Starting June 17 and running through Aug. 23, all home games first pitch is 7:05 p.m.

Home games Sept. 1 through 5, first pitch is 6:30 p.m. Final home game on Sept. 6 begins at 1:30 p.m.

Other pro baseball notes

Vancouver Canadians will have Richland High grad Eric Yardley as their pitching coach. This is the second consecutive season for Yardley — a former major-league pitcher — as the team’s pitching coach. … Hillsboro opens a new ballpark this season. … Former Tri-Cities Prep standout Logan Mercado will open the season pitching for Hillsboro. Mercado, undrafted two years ago, signed with Arizona last summer as a free agent. …

Kennewick High grad Trent Sellers will once again begin the season with the Somerset Patriots, the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate. Sellers should once again be part of the starting rotation. … Kamiakin grad Trystan Vrieling will open the season tonight with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A team for the San Francisco Giants. Vrieling, a right-handed pitcher who starred at Gonzaga, had been with the Yankees the past few years (and was a teammate with Sellers at Somerset). But he was sent to the Giants at last year’s trade deadline when the Yankees dealt for reliever Octavio Dotel.

Kennewick High grad Daniel Dickinson was set to make his professional debut last night with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers — the Milwaukee Brewers’ High-A affiliate — but the game was rained out. They’ll try again tonight. Dickinson, who starred at LSU last season, was drafted by the Brewers last July. … Outfielder Maxton Martin, a top 30 prospect for the Texas Rangers, opens his season with the Hub City Spartanburgers. They are the Rangers’ High-A affiliate. Martin is a Southridge High graduate.…

Shawn O’Malley, who was a prep star at Southridge and played in the majors, is now an assistant hitting coach for the Washington Nationals. O’Malley was the hitting coach for the Tacoma Rainiers (the Mariners’ Triple-A team) the past two seasons. … Maxx Garrett, who starred at Kamiakin and then Gonzaga, is the Miami Marlins organization’s’ Director of Catching for the second straight season.

Two pitchers — Kamiakin grad Payton Graham and Richland graduate Spencer Green — are not with teams just yet. Graham was at Gonzaga last year at this time, and he was projected to be the Bulldogs’ ace. But he tore his UCL in the opener and was sidelined since. However, the St. Louis Cardinals thought enough of Graham to draft him last July in the seventh round. He has been rehabbing after surgery with the Cards, and been throwing since December. Green has been with the Dodgers organization for a few years, but has yet to throw a pitch because of injuries. He hasn’t been assigned a team yet.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Herald.