engines on

Don’t expect to see Rocket Wheeler kicked back in an easy chair munching popcorn in the Mississippi Braves’ dugout. But his job will be a little different this season. He’s running a Double-A club now after eight years of managing at the Class A level in Atlanta’s minor league system. In Double-A, “you’ve got guys who know how to play the game,” Wheeler said Wednesday in a phone interview from spring training in Florida. “And the beauty of it is, most of the guys who’ll be on this team have played for me already. I can sit back and watch them go to work. We won’t quit teaching, of course, but these guys know what’s expected of them.” Wheeler, 55, has been in pro ball since 1977, when he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of the University of Houston. He played for six years, then began a coaching and managing career. He joined the Braves’ system in 2003 and won a championship at Class A Rome with the likes of Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Blaine Boyer and Kyle Davies. Wheeler spent the previous five years at Class A Myrtle Beach. He calls himself a “fundamentalist” who likes to play an aggressive game. “But a lot of times the team will dictate how you play,” he said. The Braves’ minor league teams won’t break camp until April 3, so the roster Wheeler will have to work with in Pearl is still very much uncertain. “But if it falls into place like we think it will, it’s going to be a really good club,” he said. “We just have to wait and see.” It’s a team that could be loaded with pitching prospects, including Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado and J.J. Hoover, plus shortstop Tyler Pastornicky and outfielders Mycal Jones and Cory Harrilchak, also highly regarded prospects. Wheeler, given name Ralph, got his nickname as a freshman in college, when he would regularly outrun his teammates in pre-practice drills. He’s slowed down some over the years — but maybe not that much. Atlanta farm director Kurt Kemp calls Wheeler “a high energy guy.” “He’s a good baseball man. He focuses on fundamentals, doesn’t do too many things outside the box,” Kemp said. The Rocket is set to launch at Trustmark Park on April 7.