Guardians Baseball Insider

Image: David Monseur/Accent Images/Courtesy Akron RubberDucks

A 5-1 series victory over lowly Binghamton launched Akron into sole possession of the Eastern League Southwest division for the first time this season. More solid starting pitching and a rejuvenated offense that had yet to reach its full potential this year led the ‘Ducks to the dominant week over the Rumble Ponies. They won the first four games of the series outscoring Binghamton 27-8 before dropping Saturday’s contest 5-4. They bounced back immediately on Sunday winning a high scoring rain shortened contest to finish up the week. 

Day-by-Day

5/17: Akron 5, Binghamton 2; W: Curry; L: Valverde; S: Herrin
5/18: Akron 5, Binghamton 3; W: Kelly; L: Kisena; S: Enright
5/19: Akron 13, Binghamton 1; W: Gaddis; L: Griffin; S: Oviedo
5/20: Akron 4, Binghamton 2; W: Janczak; L: Butto; S: Enright
5/21: Binghamton 5, Akron 4; W: Tavares; L: Misiaszek
5/22: (F/8) Akron 9, Binghamton 6; W: Coulter; L: Vargas

Player of the Week

OF George Valera: 11-29, 3 HR, 9 RBI

Guardians fans have been waiting all season to see George Valera show why he’s the top rated hitter in the organization’s farm system. This week at Binghamton, he did just that. He homered three times in a two game span on Thursday and Friday and doubled his season RBI total during the series. Despite shoddy camera work from Binghamton’s MiLB.TV production all week, the bat flips were on display. 

Who’s Hot

RHP Hunter Gaddis: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 11 K

Gaddis’ six-inning, no-hit effort on Thursday also makes him player of the week-worthy. In fact, he was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The 6’6” right hander’s fastball sat in the mid 90s and topped out at 97 during what was the best start of the season by a RubberDucks pitcher. Gaddis currently has a 2.53 ERA to go along with 45 strikeouts and just eight walks in 32 innings pitched. Despite entering the season as the sixth rated starter on the Akron roster by most prospect rankings, Gaddis has given the Guardians something to think about as he becomes eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. 

C Bo Naylor: 9-21, 2 HR, 3 2B, 3 BB

Naylor’s bat has been getting steadily hotter this month and his series at Binghamton would have made him another good candidate for player of the week. He led off the series with a moonshot to right center on Tuesday and homered again midway through Sunday’s victory. Naylor is now slashing .281/.423/.479 on the season — a drastic improvement from last season where he slashed .189/.280/.332 for Akron. 

IF Daniel Schneemann: .368/.478/.842, 2 HR

Schneemann has had a tough year at the plate so far this season for Akron but his hot bat at Binghamton played a big role in the ‘Ducks series victory. During Thursday’s route he went 4-5 with a triple, a home run and 3 RBI. Nine of his 15 hits this season have come within his last ten appearances. 

Who’s Not

IF Brayan Rocchio: 3-18, 2B, 7 K

Coming off the IL Tuesday, after suffering a concussion at Richmond earlier this month, Rocchio had a tough week at the plate amassing just three hits. Despite struggling to get his bat going, Rocchio stayed patient, drawing a team-high six walks and also stole two bases during the week. 

RHP Manuel Alvarez: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K

Despite throwing less than one inning on the week, Manuel Alvarez filled up the stat sheet. Entering Friday’s game in the sixth with a 4-0 lead, he picked up his fourth hold of the season but also let Binghamton back in the game, allowing four baserunners and two runs. It was his only appearance of the series but he earns a spot on the “Who’s Not” list for his team leading 20 earned runs in just 11 innings pitched on the year. 

Transactions

5/17/22: Akron RubberDucks transferred CF Chris Roller to the Development List.
5/17/22: RHP Jared Janczak assigned to Akron RubberDucks.
5/17/22: RHP Nick Gallagher assigned to ACL Guardians from Akron RubberDucks.

On ‘Duck

5/24/22: vs. New Hampshire, 11:05 am
5/25/22: vs. New Hampshire, 6:35 pm
5/26/22: vs. New Hampshire, 6:35 pm
5/27/22: vs. New Hampshire, 7:05 pm
5/28/22: vs. New Hampshire, 7:05 pm
5/29/22: vs. New Hampshire, 6:05 pm