Aviators open with victory, high expectations for season

After the Las Vegas Aviators claimed the 2025 Pacific Coast League championship, they celebrated by jumping in the pool behind the center field wall at Las Vegas Ballpark.

This year, the goal remains the same: make a big splash.

“If we’re having fun,” outfielder Colby Thomas said, “we’re going to be winning a lot of games.”

The Aviators had plenty of fun in Friday’s opening night 12-1 rout of the Salt Lake Bees, in front of a sold out home crowd of 8,350.

Manager Fran Riordan has a talented group coming back to make another run at the PCL title and the Triple-A championship game, which the Aviators lost to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

“There was a belief that we were going to win every game that we went out and played, and it was contagious,” said Riordan, the 2025 PCL Manager of the Year. “That carries over with the returning players, it carries over with the new players, and it’s a special environment to be around.”

Thomas batted .291 last year for the Aviators with a team-best 18 home runs before getting called up to the Athletics in July. He’ll open the season in Las Vegas again, and said he was excited to reap the rewards of some offseason adjustments to his swing and his mindset. It paid off Friday, as Thomas launched a 434-foot three-run homer in the win.

Fellow outfielder Henry Bolte, the A’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, looks to build off a promising season where he hit .300 in 34 games for the Aviators. He swung a hot bat this spring, hitting .348 and driving in 11 runs, also stealing three bases.

Bolte looks to join the parade of impact hitters who have recently come through Las Vegas on their way to the Athletics, like first baseman Nick Kurtz and shortstop Jacob Wilson. Kurtz started last season as an Aviator and finished it as the American League’s Rookie of the Year.

Among those also returning from last year’s PCL Championship squad are shortstop Drew Swift, left fielder Zack Gelof, and pitchers Kade Morris, Jack Perkins, and 2025 PCL All-Star reliever Ben Bowden.

Riordan is especially bullish about Swift, who went 2-for-5 with a run Friday night. Baseball America ranked Swift as the best defensive infielder in the Athletics’ organization.

“It helps to have that winning experience,” Bolte said. “Coming back with that familiar group of guys who were playing those (playoff) games is super helpful, and it keeps that expectation of getting back to that spot.”

Raised expectations on the mound

The Aviators have some promising arms looking to level up their Triple-A experience and join the A’s pitching staff soon.

Gage Jump, MLB Pipeline’s third-ranked A’s prospect (No. 57 overall), flashed impressive stuff during Big League Weekend at Las Vegas Ballpark. After striking out 131 batters in 112.2 innings last season across High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland, he starts the year in Las Vegas.

Perkins was impressive as both an Aviator and an Athletic last year. As a starter with Las Vegas, he went 3-2, and fanned 13.9 batters per 9 innings. He worked mainly as a reliever for the A’s, earning three saves in 12 appearances. Riordan said he could be used in either role this season.

Morris, the organization’s No. 12 prospect, looks to improve upon last year, when he went 7-7 with a 5.22 ERA. The righty got off to a good start Friday, sprinkling four hits and one run over 5⅔ innings for the win.

“A lot of guys in this locker room want to go up and help that team win a World Series,” Morris said. “That’s the expectation.

“Our group’s hungry. Our group’s young, we’re competitive, and we’re ready to get after it.”