Captains Notebook: Will Benson Earns Midwest Player of the Week

The Lake County Captains dropped the first game of the past week to the South Bend Cubs 5-4 after collecting just five hits. June 30 was the start of a three-game winning streak for the Captains, lead by right-fielder Will Benson who hit three home runs in the next four games played, adding on to the Midwest League lead.

Benson’s power at the plate sparked the Lake County offense, scoring 23 runs on 23 hits in their next four games to remain in second place in the Eastern Division. The Captains ended their season-long 11 game road trip with a 2-1 series win against South Bend. From there, the offense put up 18 total runs in three games against West Michigan before heading on the road for a quick three-game series against Fort Wayne.

Week In Review

5/29 Lake County Captains 4 South Bend Cubs 5- L: Araujo (0-1)
5/30 Lake County Captains 5 South Bend Cubs 1- W: Morris (3-1)
5/31 West Michigan Whitecaps 4 Lake County Captains 9- W: Pinto (5-1)
6/1 Game Postponed due to rain
6/2 (Game 1) West Michigan Whitecaps 3 Lake County Captains 7- W: Ponticelli (2-0)
(Game 2) West Michigan Whitecaps 4 Lake County Captains 2- L: Royalty (1-3
6/3 OFF DAY
6/4 Lake County Captains 3 Fort Wayne TinCaps 4- L: Marman (0-1)

Player of the Week

Will Benson, RF

Last Week: 7-20, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 2 BB

Will Benson showcased his power at the plate this past week in Lake County, something that has the Midwest League raving about. In his last 10 games, Benson has hit six home runs, including four in a six-game stretch. The 16 home runs are the most in the Midwest League and he’s well on his way to out-doing the 22 home runs he hit a year ago. The 20-year-old leads the Midwest League in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and stolen bases as the first half of the season is winding down. His days in Lake County are winding down swiftly as a promotion to High-A Lynchburg is inevitable soon.

Who’s Hot

Ruben Cardenas RF

Last Week: 6-19, 1 HR, 3 RBU, 1 SB

Constancy has been developed at the plate by Ruben Cardenas in Lake County recently. With his one hit Tuesday night, he extended his hitting streak to seven games and has now reached base safely in 11 consecutive games as well. A three-RBI game one of the doubleheader June 2 helped lead the Captains to a 7-3 win over the Whitecaps to pick up their third consecutive win at the time.

Jesse Berardi 2B

Last Week: 7-19, 3, 7 RBI, 2 BB

Like Cardenas, Jesse Berardi is also in the midst of a lengthy hitting streak that’s continued in the past week for the Captains. Berardi is currently on a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 14 straight games as well. He’s a player who likes to battle at the plate and work the count with the opposing pitchers. The 23-year-old has drawn six walks in the last 10 games, including three walks back on May 23 against the Dayton Dragons.

Alex Royalty SP

Last Week: 1 GS, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R/2 ER, 5 K

Despite suffering the loss June 2 in game two of the doubleheader, Alex Royalty pitched one of his better games of the season. With the Captains failing to provide any run support, Royalty gave up just three hits while striking out five batters in his second consecutive start lasting more than five innings. In fact, in his last two starts, the 22-year-old has given up eight hits on four earned runs while walking three batters and striking out 10.

Who’s not

Tyler Freeman SSLast Week: 2-18, 4 K

Tyler Freeman has cooled off a bit since ending his six-game hitting streak May 30. Since then, he’s gone hitless in three of the four games played. Tyler Freeman has seldom missed a beat all year as he has proven to be one of the most consistent players at the plate for the Captains this season.

Quentin Holmes CF

Last Week: 1-15, 1 BB, 11 k

Quentin Holmes is coming off one of his worst weeks as a hitter in Lake County this season. The 19-year-old collecting just 1 hit while striking out 11 times, making that 66 strikeouts on the year, the second most on the team.

Captains Notebook: 11 Game Trip Starts After Strong Homestand

This past week, the Captains completed a 7-game homestead where they went 5-2. To close out the previous week of baseball, the Captains completed three games of their current and season-long 11-game road trip.

The Captains started the week off finishing a three-game homestead where they picked up their first series sweep of the season— putting up a staggering 19 runs in three games against the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

From there, The Bowling Green Hot Rods split the four-game series with the Captains behind a stellar stretch of games for the Captains at the plate. On May 20, the Captains defeated the Dayton Dragons 3-2 to start a four-game series. Despite leaving a season-high 27 runners on base Monday night, the Captains were able to pull ahead of the Dragons behind Ruben Cardenas’s two RBI night. The Captains have been getting a lot of help at the plate from a plethora of guys the past week, which has helped them remain in second place in the Midwest League.

Week In Review

5/15 Lake County Captains 10 Fort Wayne TinCaps 6- W: Morris (2-0)
5/16 Lake County Captains 5 Bowling Green Hot Rods 4- W: Alvarez (2-1)
5/17 Lake County Captains 1 Bowling Green Hot Rods 3- L: Burgos (2-1)
5/18 Lake County Captains 3 Bowling Green Hot Rods 11- L: McCarthy (4-3)
5/19 Lake County Captains 8 Bowling Green Hot Rods 7- W: Arias (1-0)
5/20 Dayton Dragons 2 Lake County Captains 3- W: Pinto (4-1), S: Echols (1)
5/21 (Continuation of the game back on April 14) Dayton Dragons 1 Lake County Captains 8-W: Draper (3-0)
5/21 Dayton Dragons 7, Lake County Captains 3 – W: Marinan (2-5); L: Mitchell (0-1)

Player of the Week

Ruben Cardenas RF

Last Week: 14-26, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB

The Lake County offense revolved around 21-year-old Ruben Cardenas the past week. Not only did he manage to lead the team at the plate, he also hit a home run in four consecutive games. From May 15-20, he collected 11 hits, hitting four home runs and driving in eight runners while carrying a seven-game hitting streak into the current road trip.The 21-year-old has shown a dramatic improvement at the plate over the course of the season, if he keeps hitting the way he’s been hitting, it won’t be long until Cardenas gets the call up to Lynchburg.

Who’s hot

Will Benson RF

Last Week: 10-28, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB

Will Benson showcased his power the past week for the Captains after hitting four home runs and seven RBIs at the plate. That pushes his home run total to 10, which puts him tied for the most home runs in the Midwest League. Building off of his recent success, Will Benson was named the player of the week in the Midwest League May 20.

Tyler Freeman SSLast Week: 14-32, 5 RBI, 1 K

Tyler Freeman’s consistency at the plate thus far in the season has been unmatched for the Captains. After going 14-32, Freeman now leads the team in hits, runs scored and doubles while striking out just 12 times in 154 plate appearances. Not many players have impacted a team early on as Freeman has in the Midwest League and he’s currently in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak as well.

Who’s not

Shane McCarthy SP

Last Week: 1 GS, 3.2 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, L

Shane McCarthy got the start May 18, but got roughed up early against the Hot Rods in route to arguably his worst start of the season. The 3.2 innings pitched were a season-low for the right hander whose pitch count got to nearly 100 pitches in less than four innings pitched. The loss is just the third of the season for McCarthy, who leads the team in strikeouts and total innings pitched.

Bo Naylor C

Last Week: 2-12, 4 K

After a pretty quick start in Lake County, Bo Naylor has since cooled off a bit. This past week he collected just three hits while striking out four times in 12 plate appearances. Naylor has shown inconsistency at the plate recently and has more strikeouts (35) than hits (22) for the season.

Transactions

5/17 Captains activated RHP Alex McKenna from the 7-day injured list.

5/17 Captains placed RHP Juan Mota on the 7-day injured list.

5/18 3B Henry Pujols assigned to Mahoning Valley Scrappers from Lake County

5/18 Captains placed LHP Raymond Burgos on the 7-day injured list.

5/18 Captains activated 2B Jose Fermin from the 7-day injured list.

5/21 RHP Evan Mitchell assigned to Lake County Captains from Mahoning Valley Scrappers

5/21 Lake County Captains placed RHP Thomas Ponticelli on the 7-day injured list

Captains Notebook: Bats Stay Hot Behind Stellar Pitching

The Lake County Captains spent the last week building off their fast start to the 2019 season. After winning four of their first six games during the first week of the season, the Captains have kept their foot on the gas, winning four out of their next six games as well, leaving them with an overall record of 8-4.

Mitch Reeves got called up and was activated to Lake County’s roster starting April 8 and wasted no time at the plate with the Captains. In his first two games, the 24-year-old notched six hits in seven plate appearances, with one home run and two RBIs.

The pitching performances have been fairly consistent in the first two weeks of the season, with the opponents averaging just over three runs per game. If the pitching continues to produce quality starts, the Captains will be in a great spot moving forward. Through the first two weeks of the season, the Captains have scored five or more runs six times and sit atop in the standings for the Eastern division in the Midwest League.

Week In Review

4/10 Bowling Green Hot Rods 0, Lake County Captains 7- W: Oviedo (2-0), L: McClanahan (1-1)
4/11 Bowling Green Hot Rods 1, Lake County Captains 2- W: Burgos (2-0), L: Ryan (0-1), SV: Ponticelli (1)
4/12 Lake County Captains 3, Dayton Dragons 10- W: Diaz (2-0), L: Mota (0-1)
4/13 Lake County Captains 6, Dayton Dragons 2- W: McCarthy (1-1), L: Richardson (0-1), SV: Clemmer (1)
4/14 Game suspended due to rain
4/15 Lake County Captains 5, Bowling Green Hot Rods 12- W: McGee (1-0), L: Oviedo (2-1)
4/16 Lake County Captains 4 Bowling Green Hot Rods 3- W: Pinto (2-0), L: Strong (0-1), SV: Clemmer (2)

Player of the Week

Raymond Burgos, SP

Last Week: 2 GS, 1 W, 9.2 IP, 2 ER, 11 H, 9 K, 4 BB

Raymond Burgos picked up his second win on the year during his outing April 11 against the Hot Rods. Pitching against the Hot Rods again April 16, Burgos lasted 4.1 innings while giving up five hits and striking out five batters as well. The 20-year-old has had three quality starts to the season, all leading to Captain’s wins as well. The two earned runs April 16 were the most he has given up in a game thus far, proving just how well he’s pitched to start the season.

Who’s Hot

Shane McCarthy, SP

Last Week: 1 GS, 5IP, 2 H, 9 K, W

Right-hander Shane McCarthy was dominant on the mound during the win against Dayton on March 13. Nine of the 15 batters struck on with McCarthy picking up his first win of the year after suffering a loss April 7. The 22-year-old has shown consistency on the mound early on and looks to be one of Lake County’s go-to pitchers as the season goes along.

Tyler Freeman, SS

Last Week: 7-19, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 K

Despite being just 19 years old, Tyler Freeman has adjusted well to playing in Lake County this season. He has reached base safely in ten straight games and has shown positive signs at the plate, striking out just once in 10 games played.

Jose Fermin, 3B

Last week: 7-23, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Still adjusting to Single-A baseball, Jose Fermin has shown signs of improvement throughout the first two weeks of the season. Fermin is a player the Indians signed in 2015 as a free agent and has shown some promise both at the plate and on the base to nearly lead the team in hits thus far.

Who’s Not

Juan Mota, SP

Last Week: 1GS, 5IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5 K, L

Dayton was all over Mota during their 10-3 win April 12 against the Captains. Mota pitched five complete innings, striking out five batters while giving up seven hits leading to five earned runs. He’s given up 10 hits while striking out 10 batters in nine innings pitched this season.

Hosea Nelson, OF

Last Week: 2-13, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K

Nelson’s biggest issue early on has been getting contact with the ball. In eight games played, the 22-year-old has 14 strikeouts and just five hits. No time to panic just yet, but Nelson still has learning curves to get through to really start to make an impact in Lake County.

Quentin Holmes, OF

Last Week: 2-21, 4 BB, 7 K

One of the youngest players on the team, 19-year-old Quentin Holmes has struggled immensely following a four-game hit streak to start the season. He went four consecutive games without recording a hit and has 15 strikeouts to just seven hits in 11 games played.

Jesse Berardi, 2B

Last Week: 0-17, 7 K, 2 BB

Another player who hasn’t locked himself in at the plate yet. Jesse Berardi has just one hit in nine games played in Lake County, making him the only position player to have just one hit. It’s taking him far too long to get comfortable at the plate.

Transactions

4/10- LHP Jake Miednik assigned to Lake County from AZL Indians Red
4/10- LHP Brady Aiken assigned to Mahoning Valley from Lake County