The Butler BlueSox and Slippery Rock Sliders will be quite neighborly this summer.

Under a revamped Prospect League schedule, the two fourth-year franchises will play each other 12 times. The games will consist of six two-game series.

The league’s East Division and West Division teams will not play any out-of-division games during the regular season, the change designed to save on travel costs.

East Division teams include Butler, Slippery Rock, Chillicothe (Ohio), Lorain (Ohio), Beckley (W.Va.) and Richmond (Va.).

The 2012 season commences Tuesday with the BlueSox hosting Chillicothe at Pullman Park while the Sliders begin a six-game road trip in Beckley.

Both teams are experiencing change — the Sliders in their manager, the BlueSox in a constantly changing roster.

“I’ve lost 13 players in the past month, 20 since we originally put the team together,” BlueSox manager Anthony Rebyanski said. “It’s been crazy.

“I’ve been glued to my computer, looking for players, temp or otherwise. I’ll be glued to that thing through the weekend.”

The BlueSox have lost players through injuries, signings with the Cape Cod league, summer school, etc.

Besides that problem, two pitchers from Wright State, three players from Kent State and three from Pitt may arrive in Butler late, depending on how postseason college tournaments play out.

“Wright State is on trimesters, so those guys (Andrew Elliott and Joey Hoelzel) won’t be here until the first week of June,” Rebyanski said. “And we just lost (shortstop) Zak Blair of Mercyhurst.”

Blair likely would have been one of the BlueSox’ three best players, but he has an out in his contract if a Cape Cod League team offered him and one did.

“I don’t know if it’s a temporary contract or what just yet,” Rebyanski said. “I’m holding out hope of getting him back.”

One recent BlueSox signing is outfielder Alex Miklos, a Grove City High School graduate who is starting in right field for Kent State as a freshman.

Miklos is hitting .300 and has approximately 100 at bats with the Golden Flashes.

“Most times when you get freshmen, they only had five or 10 at bats in the college season,” Rebyanski said. “We’re excited about the experience Alex is getting. He runs like a deer and steals bases, adding to our team speed.”

Kent State teammate and infielder George Roberts, a junior, is also coming to the BlueSox, but may get selected in the major league draft, which gets under way June 5.

While the BlueSox have 14 pitchers listed on their roster, the Sliders have nine. First-year manager Shawn Pynn inherits a team that won the East Division second-half title last season with a 16-11 record.

“The main goal in a league like this is to keep everybody healthy,” Pynn said. “I like the make-up of the guys on this roster.

“The average size of our infield is probably 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but they’re hard-working, grinder type of kids. We have a lot of dirt-bag type of players who will scrap and compete. It’s going to be a fun year.”

Only four of the Sliders are from Pennsylvania, including Wexford product Mitch Elliott, an outfielder at Xavier.

Many of the Slippery Rock players are from smaller schools.

“There are a lot of these summer college leagues around now and they’ve diluted the talent a bit,” Pynn said. “But this is a solid league that treats the players like professionals.

“For a lot of these guys, it’s their first time away from school, their parents ... All they have to worry about is playing baseball. This is the closest thing to pro ball that a lot of these guys are going to get.”

While the Sliders are defending a second-half championship, Rebyanski is looking to put a competitive product on the field. The BlueSox were last in the division with a 25-29 overall record last year, yet finished only three games out of first.

“I’m a little stressed right now, but there are players out there and we’ll find them,” Rebyanski said. “It’s hard to guage who will be available to us and who won’t be come Tuesday, but we’ll have a good team on the field, ready to go.”