Royster sees 51s strong in second half

Brian Hilderbrand

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

In April, before his team had played a game, Las Vegas 51s manager Jerry Royster scanned his roster for the upcoming season and was unable to hide his excitement.

Every player on the team's 24-man roster, he said, had the ability to play in the major leagues: "We don't have any 'no-prospect' players on our team."

Fast forward to the first week of July. The 51s had just endured an agonizing 18-game stretch in which they won only four times - the result of sending 14 of those 24 players to the parent Los Angeles Dodgers.

Still, Royster is no less enthusiastic about the second half of the season.

"I've got a lineup here today that is full of guys who should be and could be major leaguers," he said. "I've got 10 position players that all have a shot at playing in the major leagues - every single one - and that's after sending some pretty good players (to the major leagues)."

Las Vegas, which led the Pacific Coast League's Pacific Southern Division for all but two days in the first two months of the season, trailed front-running Tucson by nine games going into Monday night's game against the Sidewinders at Cashman Field.

Although it was at the .500 mark (42-42) after jumping out to a 25-14 start, Royster said his team is capable of winning - and winning big - in the second half of the season.

The reason for Royster's optimistic outlook is simple. Top prospects Joel Guzman, Willy Aybar and James Loney are back in Las Vegas after stints with the Dodgers earlier this season. Another prospect, third baseman Andy LaRoche, is ready to be activated after a prolonged stay on the disabled list, and a fifth, outfielder Delwyn Young, has driven in 51 runs in half a season. Loney, by the way, is hitting .380 in 64 Triple-A games.

Even after losing seven pitchers to the major leagues in the first three months of the season, Royster said he likes the staff he likely will have for the foreseeable future.

"We've got some good players and we can win - we should win," he said. "For us to win 25 out of 35 games wouldn't surprise me one bit."

Barring unexpected promotions to the Dodgers, Royster said, the players he will have after next week's All-Star break likely will be the squad he will have for the remainder of the season:

"The 24-man roster may stay together for a month and a half, and we should be able to win. My optimism isn't without merit. How it all turns out, I don't know."