Cleveland Sports Forum

BA's daily prospect report returns:

CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 3 0 0 0 .000 BB (1)
CLE AA Castro, Willi SS 4 0 0 0 .000
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler LF 4 1 1 0 .250 BB (1), SB (1)
CLE AA Mathias, Mark 2B 3 1 0 0 .000 BB (1)
CLE HiA Capel, Conner RF 4 0 1 0 .250 CS (1) [he is fast but a terrible basestealer; thrown out nearly 1/2 the time last year]
CLE HiA Collins, Gavin 3B 3 0 1 0 .333 BB (1)
CLE HiA Ice, Logan C 3 0 0 0 .000
CLE LoA Benson, Will RF 2 1 0 0 .000 BB (1)
CLE LoA Clement, Ernie SS 4 0 0 0 .000
CLE LoA Gonzalez, Oscar LF 4 0 0 0 .000
CLE LoA Jones, Nolan 3B 2 1 0 0 .000 2 BB (2)

CLE AA Bieber, Shane 6.0 2 0 0 0 9 0.00
CLE HiA Hentges, Sam 4.0 1 0 0 2 4 0.00
CLE LoA Morgan, Eli 6.0 4 1 0 0 8 0.00

BA's doing monthly updates to its Top 100 prospect lists to account for injuries, promotions and I suppose unexpected good and poor performance.

Little change so far, but

Mejia moves up from 2o to 19
Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Speed: 40 | Fielding: 50 | Arm: 80
Scouting Report: Mejia has long been known for his hitting ability, and the switch-hitter consistently makes hard contact from both sides of the plate. He has matured as a hitter to use the whole field to hit, instead of relying on the pull-oriented approach he had when he was younger. His bat speed gives him more raw power than his lean 5-foot-10 frame would suggest, but he more typically drives balls into the gaps than over the fence. He has an aggressive approach and doesn't walk much, but his excellent feel for the barrel means he also doesn't strike out much and is comfortable working behind in the count. Mejia has made strides defensively, has elite arm strength and has become a good receiver. He has gotten comfortable speaking English, a key skill for him to work with his pitchers, and has developed more consistency behind the plate. For all his progress defensively, however, Mejia's bat remains ahead of his glove. Because his bat isn't far off from being ready for the big leagues, and because the Indians have Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, a pair of excellent defensive catchers, in Cleveland, Mejia went to the AFL to get experience at third base. He is naturally still learning the position but he will continue to see action at the hot corner in 2018. I think that's incorrect, we hear he's going to play some outfield

My guy Hockin with a good game. Star turn by Justin Garza in Lynchburg, too. Captains are our top team in the first week, going 4-0. Jones was out of the lineup after being removed midgame. Weak season debuts by Adam Plutko [following up on a terrible 2017] Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac.

BA report for Sunday games:

CLE AA Bradley, Bobby 1B 4 0 0 0 .143
CLE AA Castro, Willi SS 3 0 0 0 .133
CLE AA Krieger, Tyler 2B 4 0 0 0 .118
CLE AAA Allen, Greg CF 5 1 2 0 .200 2B (1)
CLE AAA Chang, Yu SS 5 1 1 0 .214
CLE AAA Haase, Eric DH 5 0 1 1 .385 2B (1)
CLE AAA Mejia, Francisco C 5 1 2 1 .231 2B (1)
CLE HiA Capel, Conner CF 3 0 1 1 .273 2B (1)
CLE HiA Collins, Gavin C 4 0 0 0 .111 [he's back of the plate, at least part time, again]
CLE HiA Ice, Logan C 2 0 0 0 .000
CLE LoA Benson, Will RF 3 2 2 2 .364 HR (1), 2 BB (4) [good to see the walks piling up]
CLE LoA Clement, Ernie SS 5 2 3 4 .333 2B (1)
CLE LoA Gonzalez, Oscar LF 4 1 2 3 .286 HR (1)
CLE MAJ Gonzalez, Erik PR 0 1 0 0 .000

NONE of our top 30 prospect pitchers were in action

Just to get caught up, some highlights from Friday and Saturday...

Clippers won big Friday. Allen was 0-1 with 2 walks. Yandy 2-5 with double and walk. Mejia 1-4 with 2 walks. Haase 3-5 with triple and walk.
Clippers was pummeled Saturday. Only highlight was Yandy 2-4 and Haase 1-3 with walk.

Akron was losing 6-0 Friday night but came back to win 7-6. Bradley homered. Castro 1-4 with walk.
Ducks lost Saturday. Bradley 1-3 with walk. Castro doubled.

Lynchburg was beat soundly Friday. I hate losing to Down East because as I've mentioned before that makes no damn sense. You are Down South. You are back east, or out east, or over there east. You aren't down east. Anyway, Plesac was beat to death. Collins & Longo were 0-5 combined with a walk apiece. My boy Tully from Ohio State was decent. 2 ER in 5 IP with 5 K.

Hillcats were rained out and played a double header yesterday. NA missed the other game, with Lynchburg won 1-0. Longo 1-3 with double. Garza 5 shutout innings, 2 hits, 7 K. Nice job. ... Ben Krauth pitched 2 more shutout innings, as he always does. 1 H, 3 K.

Captains won Friday despite Hillman getting killed again. Wade 2-3 with double and 2 walks. OscarG 2-4 and Benson 1-4 with walk.
Won big Saturday. Benson 1-2 with double. Wade 2 more walks, I like that.

I am glad Captains have a good team this year. Lake County fans suffered through an ugly season last year.

I think I'll call the season over and declare Wade and Hockin as winning break out picks.

Hockin 5 2 1 1 0 6 1.80 WHIP 0.40

Wade 8 1 3 1 2b 5 walks 1 steal OBP .375/.643/.500

Civ- I notice Santander is raking it some with Orioles. Wasn't he one you hated to give up?

Sure was!

We could use every outfielder we can find. I thought he was an obvious guy to protect from Rule 5 in 2016. I guess they must have figured his injury issues made him less likely to get picked but he was well worth the risk for a struggling not-yet-competitive team. The O's managed him well last year, using up only a portion of his required major league time, getting DL time to recuperate and minor league time ostensibly to rehab.

(Fort Wayne, IN) - The Lake County Captains' (4-0) offense came alive on Sunday at Parkview Field. The Captains and Fort Wayne TinCaps (0-4) completed Friday's suspended game and played a seven-inning contest, both of which the Captains won to earn a four-game series sweep. Lake County came from behind to win the suspended contest, 10-8. The Captains then took game two, 12-1.

Suspended Game

The Captains and TinCaps picked up where they left off on Friday in Eastlake, OH. The game resumed in the fourth inning with the TinCaps ahead, 6-2, but Lake County took control of the tilt on Sunday, largely thanks to Tyler Friis .
In the fourth inning, Friis worked a walk and TinCaps reliever Henry Henry hit Ernie Clement with a pitch. Two batters later, Oscar Gonzalez singled home Friis to cut the TinCaps' lead to three runs.

The Captains drew even closer in the sixth, again with Friis' help. Leading off the sixth, Friis doubled and Clement worked a walk. Austen Wade then doubled down the right field line, allowing Friis and Clement to score and cutting Fort Wayne's lead to one run. The Captains might have had a shot at tying the score in the sixth, but Wade had visions of a triple and was thrown out rounding second base.

Friis was again at the center of a Captains rally in the seventh and helped Lake County take its first lead. Will Benson worked a leadoff walk, prompting the TinCaps to go to the bullpen and bring in lefty Fred Schlichtholz to relieve Henry. A one-out walk then put Ulysses Cantu on board and a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position. Todd Isaacs came up next and hit a dribbler in front of home plate. Benson raced home, but Schlichtholz made a shovel pass to catcher Jalen Washington to retire Benson at home. Friis came up next with runners on the corners and smacked a double to right field that brought home Cantu with the tying run and Isaacs with the go-ahead run. Lake County took its first lead at 7-6.

The TinCaps came back in the eighth against Captains reliever Domingo Jimenez . With runners on the corners and one out, Jeisson Rosario dropped down a perfect bunt down the third base line. Reinaldo Ilarazza came home to tie the game and Jimenez's throw to first was too late to beat Rosario. Two batters later, Tirso Ornelas singled home Jack Suwinski to give Fort Wayne the lead again at 8-7.

Lake County stormed ahead for good in the eighth. The Captains loaded the bases against Schlichtholz thanks to two singles and a walk. Jordan Guerrero came in to relieve the lefty, but Guerrero walked Cantu with the bags full to force in the tying run. Isaacs came up next and hit a flare to right field. Ornelas charged in and dove, but the ball tipped off of his glove. Gonzalez and Mike Rivera scored on the go-ahead double by Isaacs and the Captains took a 10-8 lead.

Jonathan Teaney nailed down the win in the ninth. Though he allowed a single and a walk, Teaney struck out three and picked up his first save of the season. The save preserved a win for Domingo Jimenez . Jimenez (1-0) pitched one inning and allowed two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out one.

Game Two

Lake County put the pedal to the floor in the second game of Sunday's quasi-doubleheader, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits and eight walks. The Captains also blasted their first two home runs of the year, courtesy of Benson and Gonzalez.

The Captains' assault began in the first when Benson singled home Jose Vicente and continued the next inning with two runs on two hits and a walk. In the second, Jose Medina walked and later came home on a single by Clement. Jorma Rodriguez would single and score on a sacrifice fly by Jose Vicente to give Lake County a 3-0 lead.

Benson connected with the Captains' first home run of the season in the third. Facing lefty [Will hits left] starter Osvaldo Hernandez, Benson cranked a deep drive to left-centerfield. The opposite-field shot cleared the left field wall to give the Captains a 4-0 lead.

Jack Suwinski homered in the third inning for Fort Wayne to trim the Captains' lead to 4-1, but Lake County plowed ahead. After the Captains scored two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Clement and a sacrifice fly by Gonzalez, they exploded for six more runs in the sixth. Rodriguez hit an RBI single, followed shortly thereafter by a two-run double from Clement and an RBI single by Vicente. Gonzalez came up next and cranked a first-pitch bomb over the left field wall. The two-run home run gave Lake County a 12-1 lead.

Not to be forgotten in the offensive onslaught, starter Grant Hockin turned in a noteworthy Captains debut. Hockin (1-0) picked up the win after tossing five innings and allowing just one run on two hits. Hockin struck out six and did not issue a walk.

All told on Sunday, the Captains combined for 20 runs and held Fort Wayne to only three. Since coming to Parkview Field on Saturday, Lake County has outscored the TinCaps, 29-6. With the twin victories on Sunday, the Captains earned a four-game sweep of Fort Wayne and are the only 4-0 team in the Midwest League. The Captains will now travel to Dayton, OH to take on the Dayton Dragons. Lake County begins a four-game series at Dayton on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thum ... YjpUx4.jpg

Oops, that didn't work. Let's just do it this way.

Click on the link to see Will Benson hit a ball far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAYc8eH ... e=youtu.be

Benson, when he matures a tad more physically and continues with strength and conditioning program, is going to be a big imposing guy at the dish.

Have you read about what's keeping Nolan Jones out of the lineup?

Meanwhile teammates Benson and Oscar the G are having good starts at bat; but differences are that Benson has lots more "tools" a RF arm, some base speed and he draws walks

Columbus won 7-1 Haase singled doubled and walked. 2 singles for Mejia the left fielder