Amid patchy fog and a cool drizzle, 25 athletes took the field once more to begin their journeys toward the major leagues.

Tuesday’s practice at Oldsmobile Park, 505 E. Michigan Ave., was the first of the season for the Lansing Lugnuts.

The home opener is scheduled for Sunday, but the Lugnuts will open the season today in South Bend, Ind., against the Silver Hawks.

The Lugnuts return only three members from last year’s roster, and only one starter, center fielder Mike Mallory. But second-year Lugnuts manager Julio Garcia said youth is something that just comes with being a Single-A team.

“As far as the continuity, it’s a little bit harder because you get new guys coming in,” Garcia said. “We like to win obviously, but this is also player development.”

Catcher Lukas McKnight is one of the many fresh faces on the Lugnuts who played with the Boise Hawks, a short-season single A team, last year. Of the 22 new players on the roster, 15 came from Boise.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun,” McKnight said. “A lot of these guys have been together before and we’re ready to get back into it.”

McKnight said he thinks the Lugnuts pitching staff could be the best in the Midwest League.

“I put our pitching staff up against anybody, anybody in this league,” he said. “With a pitching staff like that, you’re going to have a chance in every game.”

As the team prepared Tuesday for a three-game series against the Hawks, the players also reacquainted themselves with Michigan weather. The team spent spring training in Mesa, Ariz.

Garcia said the weather is something that he and his team are going to have to deal with.

“I’m a little bit more used to it this year,” the Texas native said. “Last year I was kind of miserable, but I’ve spent a lot of time around here, and I really like it.”

Garcia said it’s hard to work on all the elements of hitting when it’s cold. He said a lot of emphasis will be put on pitching and defense.

“Especially during the early part of the year, especially the first couple months, we’re going to have to rely on the pitching and defense a little bit,” Garcia said. “We do have a pretty dominant pitching staff, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Garcia said his young pitching staff should find success in the opening series, because Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium is pitcher-friendly.

“That’s always a nice place, because it’s more of a pitcher’s ball park,” he said. “It’s a big park, the ball doesn’t travel there very much, so that will be good for our guys.”

Mallory, who played 127 games with 12 home runs and 47 RBIs with the Lugnuts last season, said he hopes his experience will carry over to his new teammates.

“It’s a young team out there, and I’m just trying to provide the leadership because I’ve been here before,” Mallory said. “I try to give them the mental part of the game so that we can all go out there and play together.

“This team really takes pride in playing baseball. They play hard, they run balls out hard, they play together, so it’s a real good team.”