Guardians Baseball Insider

The first week as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians was up and down for Lake County. They managed to get all six games of their first road trip in up in Lansing and split it even, 3-3. They scored just 22 runs through seven games, but are 4-3 thanks to dominant pitching. 2020 draft picks Tanner Burns (CBA, Logan T. Allen (2nd round) and Mason Hickman (5th round) all made their highly anticipated pro debuts. Burns and Allen were dominant. Hickman’s went well enough, though he wasn’t as sharp as his fellow draft mates. Hunter Gaddis had a rough first start of 2021 as the opening night starter, but he rebounded in a huge way in his second start, throwing five near-perfect innings (one hit by pitch that he later turned into a pickoff, so he faced the minimum 15 through five innings). It’s a young, inexperienced pro roster that has 13 of our 69 top prospects for 2021 on it.

Week in Review

5/4/21: L 8-1 AT Lansing; W: Tomioka (1-0); L: Gaddis (0-1)
5/5/21: W 3-1 AT Lansing; W: Allen (1-0); L: Basso (0-1); S: Kelley (1)
5/6/21: W 7-6 AT Lansing; W: Janczak (1-0); L: Corny (0-1)
5/7/21: W 6-2 AT Lansing; W: Coulter (1-0); L: Birlingmair (0-1)
5/8/21: L 2-0 AT Lansing; W: Tomioka (2-0); L: Turner (0-1); S: McIntyre (1)
5/9/21: L 5-2 AT Lansing; W: Nightingale (1-0); L: Hickman (0-1); S: Weisenburger (1)
5/11/21: W 3-0 vs. Fort Wayne; W: Gaddis (1-1); L: Elliot (0-1); S: Rholl (1)

Player of the Week

LHP Logan Allen: 1-0, 5IP, H, BB, 8K

The first player of the week for the 2021 Captains probably could have gone to Tanner Burns, but Allen was sharp out of the gate. He took a perfect game into the fifth inning and earned the Captains first win since September 5, 2019, so he seemed like a perfect fit.

Who’s Hot:

Starting pitching

RHP Tanner Burns: 4IP, 3H, 6K

RHP Hunter Gaddis: 5IP, 0H, 0BB, 0R, HBP, 6K

Burns was just about as good as Allen in his first pro start but only made it through four innings. He was dynamic in those four innings, however. Gaddis also rebounded from a rust-shaking first start and retired 14 of the 15 batters he faced in order.

OF Will Brennan: .348/.375/.478 – 3 2B, 4 RBI, 2 SB
Brennan was the Captains most consistent offensive performer during opening week. Not only that, he looks like a smooth centerfielder right now. The Captains offense has plenty of big name bats on it, but Brennan had the most solid first week overall. 

Who’s Not

OF Jonathan Engelmann: .071/.188/.071 H, RBI

The 6’4, 220 24 year old outfielder has not had a good start to the 2021 seasons despite being one of the oldest players in the league and on the team. 

INF Brayan Rocchio: .222/.222/.259 2B, 3B, 8K/0BB

Rocchio has looked a little overmatched times, bailing on sliders from left handers and chasing pitches in the dirt. He also took a called fastball for strike three. It’s early so there’s not much to think or worry about. This is just statistical noting, but he’s certainly been challenged with controlling the strike zone early in the 2021 campaign.

Transactions
5/6 – RHP Alex Royalty assigned to Double-A Akron from High-A Lake County
5/7 – RHP Thomas Ponticelli assigned to Double-A Akron from High-A Lake County
5/7 + RHP Nic Enright assigned from AZL indians to High-A Lake County

5/7 – OF Quentin Holmes (groin strain) played on 7-day IL

Coming Up

5/12 vs Fort Wayne: 6:35
5/13 vs Fort Wayne: 6:35
5/14 vs. Fort Wayne: 6:35
5/15 vs. Fort Wayne: 6:35
5/16 vs. Fort Wayne: 1:30
5/17 OFF
5/18 AT Great Lakes 6:05