Caleb Balbuena spent the better part of two seasons on the mound at Phil Welch Stadium as a relief pitcher for the St. Joe Blacknakes.

This summer he’ll be back — not as a pitcher, but as the college summer league team’s pitching coach.

Balbuena, who had professional stints both with the Blacksnakes and earlier with the Kansas City T-Bones, completes the coaching staff assembled by manager Matt Johnson. Previously, Johnson has named Cameron Dodd as assistant coach, in charge of the hitters.

Balbuena, now retired as a player, has been instructing at the Hardball Academy in St. Joseph.

Mustangs general manager Rick Muntean, who served as general manager of the T-Bones when Balbuena pitched in Kansas City, said Balbuena has the personality to work with young pitchers. At 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Balbuena is an imposing figure sure to get the attention of the young pitching corps.

“Caleb should be in the big leagues, but he was too nice of a guy,” Muntean said. “He needed to throw at somebody’s head every now and then, but he’s just not that kind of a guy.”

Dodd is a graduate assistant at Northwest Missouri State, where Johnson serves as assistant coach. Johnson and Balbuena, meanwhile, were bullpen mates for the Blacksnakes during their two-year stint in St. Joseph.

Right out of left field

Right field at Phil Welch Stadium will have its party deck and a new concrete pad on which a concessions area will be constructed. But what about left field? Muntean said that in the long term the area down the third-base side is just as important.

But the left-field side will be far from empty. For one, the area will have a large playground set for children, donated by Rainbow Play Systems. It also will have the horses that will be regular fixtures at games.

“We want to encourage kids to come over and see our horses — the mustangs,” Muntean said. “They’re going to run around the field prior to the opening pitch and after home runs. We really believe it’s going to be something the kids will like. It’s just something you don’t expect in baseball.”

Those aren’t the only equine representatives that will be around Phil Welch Stadium this summer. A miniature horse will bring fresh baseballs out to the umpire when needed.

“I’ve talked to the umpires, and they were roaring,” Muntean said.

First roster

completed

The Mustangs’ inaugural season roster is virtually complete with the signing of two San Joachin Delta Community College players.

Manager Matt Johnson signed left-handed pitcher Zach DeValle and outfielder Bryan Brown to play in St. Joseph at the end of their sophomore season with their junior college team, also called the Mustangs.

DeValle is currently 8-0 with a 1.89 earned run average over 71.1 innings, while Brown is batting .256 and ranks second on the team in home runs with five. The Mustangs are 24-12 so far this season.

“We should be done,” Johnson said of his recruiting. “We have one more kid we’re waiting on, and if we get him, great.”

The Mustangs open the season May 28 with a nonconference home game against Omaha Diamond Spirit, but depending upon how the college teams fare in tournament play, five or six of the signees could be absent for the first few outings.

“I’ve been looking at all the end dates, and it looks like we’ll have enough pitchers to get by for the first two weeks,” Johnson said.

Hoof prints

Only about 100 of the 414 chairback seats remain available at this point in the season ticket sales campaign. However, those unable to afford a season ticket still will have an opportunity to sit near the field in the chairback seats, as the Mustangs will hold back about 25 seats to sell on a single-game basis. ... The team ordered its uniforms Thursday. On the road and on special nights the Mustangs will wear red jerseys with white numerals and lettering trimmed in black. The home uniform will consist of white vests with red lettering/numerals trimmed in black.

Sports reporter Rick Dunaway can be reached at rickd@npgco.com