DAYTON — According to Baseball America, the bible of the minor leagues, the Dayton Dragons could start the season with six of the Cincinnati Reds’ top 16 prospects and nine of the top 30.

Last season’s opening-day roster contained one player in the top 20. In 2009, the Dragons had none in the top 30.

It’s one reason new manager Delino DeShields, introduced at a Fifth Third Field press luncheon on Tuesday, can’t wait to get started.

“You had the (Chris) Heiseys and the (Joey) Vottos come through here,” DeShields said. “This is the next wave.”

It will be sorted out in spring training, but the core of the Billings, Mont., rookie-league squad managed by DeShields last season is expected to follow him to Dayton, where he succeeds Todd Benzinger.

Most intriguing is shortstop Billy Hamilton, ranked as the Reds’ No. 2 prospect behind pitcher Aroldis Chapman, who is already in the major leagues. Not since Jay Bruce in 2006 have the Dragons begun a season with a player this highly touted.

“He’s a humble, grounded kid who has a chance to be a game-changer,” DeShields said.

One scout called Hamilton, 20, the fastest player in professional baseball. The switch-hitter batted .318 last season and led the Reds organization with 48 stolen bases despite starting in mid-June.

Three others who played for DeShields and bear watching are:

• Venezuelan outfielder Yorman Rodriguez, 18, who batted .339 with 39 RBIs in 43 games and is listed as the Reds’ No. 5 prospect.

• Pitcher Kyle Lotzkar (ranked No. 10), who bounced back from a broken elbow in 2008 (with the Dragons) to make four starts for Billings last season, allowing one run in 20 innings while walking two and striking out 33.

• Second baseman Ronald Torreyes (No. 22), who dazzled with the glove and held his own with the bat at Billings and in a brief stint with the Dragons. “He’s a little dude,” DeShields said. “But he doesn’t swing the bat like a little dude.”

Torreyes and Hamilton are expected to form Dayton’s double-play combination.

ATHLETIC FAMILY: DeShields’ son Delino Jr. was the Houston Astros’ first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) last June and is ticketed for Lexington (Ky.) of the South Atlantic League.

Daughter Diamond, a 6-foot-2 guard who can dunk, was the Georgia big-school basketball player of the year as a freshman. Now a sophomore, she plans to visit Connecticut, Tennessee, Duke and Xavier, among others.

Two summers ago, Diamond played on an AAU team, the Georgia Ice, with Ken Griffey Jr.’s daughter, Taryn, and won a national championship.

LOOKING BACK: The elder Delino chose pro baseball over a basketball scholarship to Villanova. A 13-year major-league career says he made the right call, but basketball remains a passion and sometimes he wonders what would have happened had he chosen the other path.

“Maybe in my quietest moments that will creep into my mind,” he said. “But it was a family decision, a way to change our (financial) situation.”

RECORD BOOK: The Dragons say they remain on course to surpass the Portland Trail Blazers’ pro sports record of 814 consecutive sellouts. Without a postponement, they would equal it Friday, July 1, against Bowling Green.