Re: Minor Matters
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2025 1:05 pm
Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 7/30/25
Next Year in Cleveland - Guardians Farm System Coverage
To: me · Thu, Jul 31 at 7:14 AM
Message Body
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more
Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 7/30/25
Cooper Ingle gets back to hitting, 17 year old Juneiker Cacares makes affiliate debut, Rafe Schlesinger fans 8
Matthew Kennell
Jul 31
READ IN APP
Scoreboard:
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2, Columbus Clippers 1 (F/7 - Delayed Start) - Statcast
Akron RubberDucks 7, Erie SeaWolves 3
Lake County Captains 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1
Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Salem Red Sox 1
Highlights:
Cooper Ingle (DH, Akron): 3-for-5, 2 R - The leadoff man Ingle did just what he was tasked to do in a 3-for-5 effort. It is his first multi-hit game since July 12 and he was previously 3-for-33 since that date. In the course of the season at large, a small slump in sample size, so nothing to get worked up about and hopefully this is the start of a turnaround in the dog days of summer.
Josh Hartle (SP, Lake County): W (8-2), 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 3 Ks, HBP - Hartle made it three straight starts where he pitched five or more shutout innings as he concluded his red-hot month of July. The Wake Forest product has a 1.35 ERA with a .152 batting average against and 30 strikeouts in five starts this month (26.2 IP). After he overcame a slow start in High-A, Hartle has had five shutout appearances in his last nine games and has looked tremendous in doing so.
Next Year in Cleveland is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Subscribed
Juneiker Caceres (RF, Lynchburg): 2-for-4, R, 2B, PO - The 17-year-old made his Single-A debut with the Hillcats on Wednesday and took little time adjusting to a new level of play with a pair of hits and his first extra-base hit with a key double in the bottom of the ninth. He would come around to score as the game’s tying run after Lynchburg was shut out through the first eight innings of play. He will face growing pains such as being picked off, but at his age, he is in a better position than most, if not everyone, in the organization looking at a bright future.
Rafe Schlesinger (SP, Lynchburg): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 8 Ks - The former fourth round selection tied his season-high with eight punchouts in his five innings of shutout ball on against Salem. The key to success for Schlesinger was strikeouts early in an inning - the first four innings saw the left-hander record a K on the inning’s opening batter, and innings one through three started with two up, two down all on strikes.
Notable Performances:
Matt Krook (RP, Columbus): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 2 Ks - Krook had a 1-2-3 inning in relief to break a streak of three straight contests where he surrendered at least one run.
Will Wilson (3B, Columbus): 1-for-3, BB - Wilson drew the only walk of the shortened game and was the lone man in the Clippers lineup to reach base twice in this his third game back in Triple-A after a stint with the Guardians.
Steven Perez (RP, Akron): H (4), 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 0 Ks - The lefty has had a phenomenal month of July where he has allowed just one run in 14.1 innings pitched with the RubberDucks. Perez did not record a strikeout, but all five of his outs came on groundballs.
Alaska Abney (RP, Akron): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BBs, K - Abney made his affiliate debut in 2025 on Wednesday with an inning of work for Akron that resulted in a zero.
Matt Jachec (RP, Akron): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 Ks - Jachec is working his way back after an injury as well and tossed a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win for the RubberDucks for his third straight appearance without allowing a run.
Jake Fox (CF, Akron): 2-for-4, RBI, SB - Fox has reached base multiple times in each of his last three games and drove in a run on Wednesday in the midst of a four-run first inning.
Cameron Barstad (C, Akron): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, SF - In two separate at-bats, the 24-year-old was able to bring home runs for Akron. Barstad capped off the lopsided first inning with a sacrifice fly and then a double scored one more in the fifth while a second run on that play was cut down at the plate.
Tyresse Turner (3B, Akron): 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI - It took 176 plate appearances, but Turner slugged his first homerun of 2025 with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to widen the RubberDucks’ lead.
Christian Knapczyk (2B, Lake County): 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs - Knapczyk had the biggest hit of the day for the offense with a two-run double that took the lead from 1-0 to 3-0 and gave the Captains some much-needed insurance, especially given the comeback effort in the eighth and ninth innings by the Timber Rattlers.
Jaison Chourio (CF, Lake County): 1-for-3, BB - Chourio was able to reach base twice, but the highlight for the 20-year-old was a sliding catch to preserve the shut out at the time in the sixth.
Jay Driver (RP, Lake County): H (3), 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 0 Ks - All four batters Driver faced hit the ball on the ground, but one was able to work its way through the infield for a single. Nonetheless, it was a scoreless seventh for the 23-year-old.
Conner Whittaker (RP, Lynchburg): 3.0 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BBs, 3 Ks - An error in the seventh pushed across the lone run for the Red Sox and that fell under the ledger of Whittaker to no fault of his own. The 22-year-old was effective in his relief appearance by peppering the zone (45 pitches, 32 strikes) and he has allowed just one earned run this month (0.66 ERA in 13.1 IP).
Luis Flores (RP, Lynchburg): W (4-1), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BBs, 2 Ks - His fourth straight appearance with a zero led to him being in position for the pitching win on the walk-off. Back-to-back walks to begin his outing probably made the home faithful a little nervous, but he rebounded with consecutive strikeouts to work his way out of the ninth inning jam.
Jeffrey Mercedes (2B, Lynchburg): 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, DP - The 20-year-old switch hitter played the role of hero with a walk-off double that plated the only two runs of the game for Lynchburg, but the only two they needed for a victory.
Logun Clark (C, Lynchburg): 2-for-3, PB - The catcher Clark was one of two players in the Hillcats lineup with multiple hits, his first since June 20.
Next Year in Cleveland - Guardians Farm System Coverage
To: me · Thu, Jul 31 at 7:14 AM
Message Body
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more
Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 7/30/25
Cooper Ingle gets back to hitting, 17 year old Juneiker Cacares makes affiliate debut, Rafe Schlesinger fans 8
Matthew Kennell
Jul 31
READ IN APP
Scoreboard:
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2, Columbus Clippers 1 (F/7 - Delayed Start) - Statcast
Akron RubberDucks 7, Erie SeaWolves 3
Lake County Captains 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1
Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Salem Red Sox 1
Highlights:
Cooper Ingle (DH, Akron): 3-for-5, 2 R - The leadoff man Ingle did just what he was tasked to do in a 3-for-5 effort. It is his first multi-hit game since July 12 and he was previously 3-for-33 since that date. In the course of the season at large, a small slump in sample size, so nothing to get worked up about and hopefully this is the start of a turnaround in the dog days of summer.
Josh Hartle (SP, Lake County): W (8-2), 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 3 Ks, HBP - Hartle made it three straight starts where he pitched five or more shutout innings as he concluded his red-hot month of July. The Wake Forest product has a 1.35 ERA with a .152 batting average against and 30 strikeouts in five starts this month (26.2 IP). After he overcame a slow start in High-A, Hartle has had five shutout appearances in his last nine games and has looked tremendous in doing so.
Next Year in Cleveland is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Subscribed
Juneiker Caceres (RF, Lynchburg): 2-for-4, R, 2B, PO - The 17-year-old made his Single-A debut with the Hillcats on Wednesday and took little time adjusting to a new level of play with a pair of hits and his first extra-base hit with a key double in the bottom of the ninth. He would come around to score as the game’s tying run after Lynchburg was shut out through the first eight innings of play. He will face growing pains such as being picked off, but at his age, he is in a better position than most, if not everyone, in the organization looking at a bright future.
Rafe Schlesinger (SP, Lynchburg): 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 8 Ks - The former fourth round selection tied his season-high with eight punchouts in his five innings of shutout ball on against Salem. The key to success for Schlesinger was strikeouts early in an inning - the first four innings saw the left-hander record a K on the inning’s opening batter, and innings one through three started with two up, two down all on strikes.
Notable Performances:
Matt Krook (RP, Columbus): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 2 Ks - Krook had a 1-2-3 inning in relief to break a streak of three straight contests where he surrendered at least one run.
Will Wilson (3B, Columbus): 1-for-3, BB - Wilson drew the only walk of the shortened game and was the lone man in the Clippers lineup to reach base twice in this his third game back in Triple-A after a stint with the Guardians.
Steven Perez (RP, Akron): H (4), 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 0 Ks - The lefty has had a phenomenal month of July where he has allowed just one run in 14.1 innings pitched with the RubberDucks. Perez did not record a strikeout, but all five of his outs came on groundballs.
Alaska Abney (RP, Akron): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BBs, K - Abney made his affiliate debut in 2025 on Wednesday with an inning of work for Akron that resulted in a zero.
Matt Jachec (RP, Akron): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 2 Ks - Jachec is working his way back after an injury as well and tossed a scoreless ninth inning to secure the win for the RubberDucks for his third straight appearance without allowing a run.
Jake Fox (CF, Akron): 2-for-4, RBI, SB - Fox has reached base multiple times in each of his last three games and drove in a run on Wednesday in the midst of a four-run first inning.
Cameron Barstad (C, Akron): 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBIs, SF - In two separate at-bats, the 24-year-old was able to bring home runs for Akron. Barstad capped off the lopsided first inning with a sacrifice fly and then a double scored one more in the fifth while a second run on that play was cut down at the plate.
Tyresse Turner (3B, Akron): 1-for-4, R, HR, RBI - It took 176 plate appearances, but Turner slugged his first homerun of 2025 with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to widen the RubberDucks’ lead.
Christian Knapczyk (2B, Lake County): 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs - Knapczyk had the biggest hit of the day for the offense with a two-run double that took the lead from 1-0 to 3-0 and gave the Captains some much-needed insurance, especially given the comeback effort in the eighth and ninth innings by the Timber Rattlers.
Jaison Chourio (CF, Lake County): 1-for-3, BB - Chourio was able to reach base twice, but the highlight for the 20-year-old was a sliding catch to preserve the shut out at the time in the sixth.
Jay Driver (RP, Lake County): H (3), 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 0 Ks - All four batters Driver faced hit the ball on the ground, but one was able to work its way through the infield for a single. Nonetheless, it was a scoreless seventh for the 23-year-old.
Conner Whittaker (RP, Lynchburg): 3.0 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BBs, 3 Ks - An error in the seventh pushed across the lone run for the Red Sox and that fell under the ledger of Whittaker to no fault of his own. The 22-year-old was effective in his relief appearance by peppering the zone (45 pitches, 32 strikes) and he has allowed just one earned run this month (0.66 ERA in 13.1 IP).
Luis Flores (RP, Lynchburg): W (4-1), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BBs, 2 Ks - His fourth straight appearance with a zero led to him being in position for the pitching win on the walk-off. Back-to-back walks to begin his outing probably made the home faithful a little nervous, but he rebounded with consecutive strikeouts to work his way out of the ninth inning jam.
Jeffrey Mercedes (2B, Lynchburg): 1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, DP - The 20-year-old switch hitter played the role of hero with a walk-off double that plated the only two runs of the game for Lynchburg, but the only two they needed for a victory.
Logun Clark (C, Lynchburg): 2-for-3, PB - The catcher Clark was one of two players in the Hillcats lineup with multiple hits, his first since June 20.