Justin time

The Wild Things will play their 23rd game of the season tonight, and this one might be the most interesting. That's because right-handed pitcher Justin Edwards, pictured, will make his season debut after starting the year on the disabled list.

Edwards, who had offseason shoulder surgery, will start tonight's game at Joliet. While Edwards will certainly be on a pitch limit, it will be interesting to see how he performs. If Edwards can be anything close to what he was last year after being moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation, he could solve one of the Wild Things' biggest problems. The rotation spot Edwards is filling has not produced a win or even a quality start.

If Edwards' return -- and we're talking beyond just this game -- is successful, then the Wild Things' rotation could stack up favorably with any in the league. Heck, if you took the five starters (Vidal Nuno, Justin Hall, Jhonny Montoya, Casey Barnes and Edwards) to a tryout camp, the guy the scouts would rank No. 5 on the list would be Barnes, and he's third in the Frontier League in ERA. Nuno, by the way, leads the league in strikeouts.

While Edwards, who was 5-2 with a 3.79 ERA last year, could solve the rotation problem, the hitting remains a work in progress for the Wild Things. A loss to Joliet last night showed Washington what it is missing. Slammers first baseman Erik Lis hit a two-run homer off Nuno in the third inning to give Joliet a 3-2 lead and the Wild Things couldn't generate a run the rest of the way.

Lis is the kind of player Washington doesn't have. The Wild Things are basically a collection of players with Class A and rookie-ball experience who were mid-to-late round draft picks. There are a few exceptions. Lis, however, began this season in Class AA -- for the fourth year. He advanced to Class AAA last year and played in more than 50 games for the Minnesota Twins' affiliate in Rochester. In other words, Lis is the kind of player who in previous years wouldn't have ended up on a Frontier League roster.

When Joliet signed Lis one day before the season opener against Washington, the Slammers traded first baseman Matt Fields to Southern Illinois to open a roster spot. Fields is of the same mold as Lis, having spent two years in Class AA. When the Frontier League loosened its restrictive roster requirements in the offseason, it opened the door for guys like Lis and Fields. They are the kind of players who can carry a team offensively.

Some of the Wild Things' best teams -- though not all -- had guys with at least Class AA experience, like Josh Loggins, Doug Garcia, Ryan Douglass, Pat Peavey etc., who were key hitters or pitchers. This year's offense could use an experienced bat in the middle of the lineup.