Guardians Baseball Insider

Photo credit: Lynchburg Hillcats

Scoreboard

Triple-A – Omaha Storm Chasers 5, Columbus Clippers 3
Double-A – Akron RubberDucks 8, Harrisburg Senators 2
High-A – Lake County Captains 7, Dayton Dragons 0
Single-A – Lynchburg Hillcats 3, Delmarva Shorebirds 2 (Game 1 – 7 innings)
Single-A – Lynchburg Hillcats 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 1 (Game 2 – 7 innings)
Rookie – Arizona Complex League Guardians 6, Arizona Complex League Dodgers 4
Rookie – Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks Black 8, Dominican Summer League Guardians Blue 4
Rookie – Dominican Summer League Rockies 14, Dominican Summer league Guardians Red 1

HIGHLIGHTS

Logan Allen (Akron, SP): W (5-3), 7 I{, 2 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 11 K, 1 HR allowed – For the second straight Thursday, Allen was locked in.  In his final start of the first half, Allen wowed the Canal Park crowd by coming within one bad pitch of hurling seven innings of one-hit shutout baseball.  In those aforementioned two starts he has allowed only one run on four hits and two walks while striking out 22 in 13 innings.  This guy needs to be in Columbus ASAP.  He has nothing left to prove at the corner of State and Main.

Jack Leftwich (Lynchburg – Game 2, SP): W (4-1), 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB, 9 K, 1 WP – While it was only a seven-inning doubleheader game, a complete game in Single-A is nonetheless impressive.  Even more impressive when it’s the win that clinches a playoff spot.  Yes, it’s only the minor leagues, but the ability to be this efficient (82 pitches, including 55 strikes) in a big game is nothing to sneeze at.  Maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised, however, as he is posting a sub 2.00 ERA (1.96) and sub-1.00 WHIP (0.78) with a 79:9 K:BB ratio through his first 13 professional games.  Oh, and the guy pitched in this conference called the SEC (Florida Gators, specifically), maybe you’ve heard of it.  It is undoubtedly the biggest pressure cooker one can pitch in before becoming a professional.  The bottom line:  Get used to hearing the name Jack Leftwich for a long time to come.

Oh, and before you say the first half title doesn’t matter to minor leaguers, check out this celebration:

Jaison Chourio (DSL Red, CF): 2-3, 2 BB, 1 SB – Chourio combined a good bat, plate discipline, and speed for a big offensive performance.

George Valera (Akron, RF): 2-4, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 K – Not only did Valera do all of this at the plate, he also made an outfield assist on a play at second.  Yep, he had a good night.  Not to mention the whole “reaching the 45 RBI mark before the halfway point of the season” thing.

REHAB

Gabriel Arias (ACL, SS): 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K – Arias is playing full games and getting on base, so his rehab seems to be progressing fairly well.

THE REST

Will Brennan (Columbus, DH): 2-4 – Brennan was the only Clipper to get multiple hits on a night when two-thirds of the Columbus lineup went hitless.  Oddly, he was also the only Clipper to get a hit but not drive in any runs.  He did, however, extend his on-base streak to six games and improve his Triple-A slash line to .340/.425/.454.

Will Benson (Columbus, LF): 1-3, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – Speaking of driving in runs, Benson drove in two of the team’s three runs on an eighth-inning triple, his first of the season.

Tyler Freeman (Columbus, SS): 1-4, 1 RBI – Freeman followed up with a single to drive in Benson and extend his productive plate appearance streak to 29 games.

Tobias Myers (Columbus, SP): L (1-8), 4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (earned) 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP – Myers took the tough-luck loss to drop to 1-8.

Brayan Rocchio (Akron, DH): 2-3, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K – Rocchio’s hitting streak now stands at seven games.

Micah Pries (Akron, LF): 1-2, 2 R, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SF – Pries two-run double in the sixth (and the accompanying throwing error that finished the job of clearing the loaded bases) put the crucial last-first half contest out of the Senators’ reach.

Raynel Delgado (Akron, 2B): 1-3, 1 BB, 1 CS – Delgado is off to a hot start in Akron, slashing ,357/.419/.464 through his first eight Double-A games.

Seth Caddell (Akron, C): 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K – Caddell saw game action for the first time in eleven days and played at home for the first time since April 28.

Brett Daniels (Akron, RP): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB – Daniels has not allowed a run in his last five games (5.1 innings).

Korey Holland (Lake County, LF): 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – Holland’s three-run homer in the fifth got the scoring underway in a big way in Thursday’s first half finale.

Jonathan Rodriguez (Lake County, RF): 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K – J-Rod now has 17 RBI in 43 games following his sixth-inning solo shot.

Connor Kokx (Lake County, DH): 1-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – Kokx’s first non-complex homer (and second overall as a professional) drove in a pair of runs to cap off a huge night for the Captain lineup.

Mason Hickman (Lake County, SP): W (2-4), 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K – Hickman has thrown back-to-back five-inning scoreless starts after starting the season with a pair of three-run efforts.

Davis Sharpe (Lake County, RP): H (1), 2 IP, 3 H, 4 K – Sharpe has not allowed a run in his last 7.1 innings (three games).

Will Dion (Lynchburg – Game 1, SP): W (4-1), 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (unearned), 1 BB, 8 K – The opener of yesterday’s first-half finale doubleheader was a pitching duel that would’ve ended 1-0 if not for a pair of throwing errors.  Therefore, Dion was the clear star of game 1 for the Hillcats.

Dayan Frias (Lynchburg – Game 1, 3B): 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB – Frias’ fourth-inning single scored 1B Will Bartlett for the lone RBI of the game.

Yordys Valdes (Lynchburg – Gme 2, SS): 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI – Valdes was the only hitter for either team with a multi-hit nightcap and drove in the go-ahead and ultimately playoff-clinching run on a seventh-inning single.

Jorge Burgos (Lycnhburg – Game 2, CF): 1-4, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 2 K – Burgos later drove in a couple of insurance runs on his second triple of the season and scored another on a wild pitch.

Victor Planchart (Lynchburg – Game 2, DH): 1-3, 1 B, 1 RBI – Planhart also hit his second triple of the 2022 campaign, this one in the second to drive in the Hillcats’ first run of the second contest.

Juan Benjamin (ACL, DH): 2-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K – Benjamin’s two-hit effort extended his season-opening on-base streak to nine games and brought his OPs to 1.081.

Angel Genao (ACL, 2B+B): 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K – While Genao’s OPS isn’t in quadruple-digits, but .997 is still impressive.

Carlos Gutierrez (DSL Blue, DH): 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI – Gutierrez came within a homer of the cycle as he extended his on-base streak to six games (not counting a defensive-only appearance on Tuesday).

Miguel Cordones (DSL Blue, RP): 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K – Cordones is yet to allow an earned run (he has allowed one unearned) in 8.2 innings (three outings) and has struck out eleven compared to only three walks.

Pedro Hernandez (DSL Red, SS): 2-4, 1 BB, 1 K – Hernandez has reached base multiple times in each of his last four games and nine of the eleven he has played so far in his professional career.

Christopher Espinola (DSL Red, LF): 2-5, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 K – Espinola now has three straight games with three or more total bases after hitting a fourth-inning triple (his third of the season) for the Guardians Red’s only extra-base hit of the game.

Bryan Guedez (DSL Red, DH): 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB – Guedez then singled in Espinola for the Red side’s lone run of the game and his tenth RBI in his first nine professional games.