MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday April 14

Published on April 14, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Thursday, April 14, 2011 l Game # 8

Classic Park l Eastlake, Ohio l 7:00 p.m.

Radio: WONE-AM 980

Dayton Dragons (2-5) at Lake County Captains (4-3)

LH Tanner Robles (0-0, 3.60) vs. RH Kyle Blair (0-0, 2.25)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Captains (affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) in the finale of a four game series. Dayton needs a win to earn a split in the series.

Last Night: Lake County defeated Dayton 13-1. The Captains scored six runs in the third inning to break a scoreless tie and cruised to the win. Alex Monsalve hit a three-run home run in the third and left-hander Mike Rayl tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, for the victory. The Dragons scored their only run in the ninth on an RBI ground out by Yorman Rodriguez. Dayton was held to four hits, all singles. Dragons starting pitcher Daniel Corcino absorbed the loss, allowing seven runs on seven hits in three and two-thirds innings of work.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Tanner Robles makes his second start of the season tonight. Robles started against Bowling Green on Saturday in Dayton and was not involved in the decision (5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 SO). He is a 22-year-old native of Murray, Utah who was signed by the Reds as a #9 draft pick in 2010 out of Oregon State University. Robles began his professional career with Billings in 2010 and was selected as a Pioneer League All-Star, going 3-3 with a 2.98 ERA. Opposing batters combined to hit just .179 against him. He was dominant over his final nine starts (44 IP, 6 ER, 1.23 ERA, 21 H, 12 BB, 50 SO). Robles went 5-4, 3.43 in 14 starts as junior in the spring of 2010 at OSU. He had an incredible high school career at Cottonwood High School in Murray, Utah, posting a perfect 33-0 record over four seasons and earning Utah's Gatorade Player of the Year award two times.

Manager/Coaches: Delino DeShields is in his first season with the Dragons and third year in the Reds organization. He served as the manager of the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League last season, leading the club to a record of 38-37. DeShields served as the hitting coach in Billings in 2009. As a player, DeShields spent 13 years in the Major Leagues from 1990-2002 with the Expos, Dodgers, Orioles, Cardinals, and Cubs. He finished in the top three in the league in stolen bases six times and is 46th on the all-time career list with 463. DeShields hit .290 or higher five times. He was the 12th selection of the first round of the June draft in 1987 by Montreal. DeShields finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1990...Pitching coach Tony Fossas is in his third season with the Dragons and third year in the Reds organization. Fossas pitched in the Major Leagues from 1988-1999 as a relief pitcher, appearing in 567 big league games with Boston, St. Louis, and five other clubs...Hitting coach Alex Pelaez is in his first season with the Dragons. He served as the hitting coach with Billings last season. Pelaez played professionally for eight seasons from 1998-2005. He played in the big leagues in 2002 with the San Diego Padres.

Individual Notes

- Shortstop Billy Hamilton leads the Midwest League in stolen bases with eight (third in all of minor league baseball). Hamilton has stolen at least one base in six of the Dragons seven games (two stolen bases in two games). Hamilton led the Reds organization in stolen bases (48) last season despite playing in a "short-season" league and appearing in just 69 games. Hamilton was rated as the #1 prospect in the Pioneer League following the 2010 season and the #2 prospect in the Reds organization in 2011 by Baseball America.

- First baseman/designated hitter Dominic D'Anna is 16th in the Midwest League in batting average (.381, 8 for 21).

- Dragons starting pitcher Josh Smith is third in the league in strikeouts (15), second in innings (12), and fifth in opps. batting avg. (.081).

Team Notes

- The Dragons have stolen 17 bases in 20 tries this season to lead the Midwest League. Cedar Rapids ranks second with 14. The Dragons entered Wednesday's games ranked second in all of Minor League Baseball in stolen bases (120 teams currently playing).

- The Dragons are 2 for 2 in save situations. In both cases, they held on for one-run wins.

- The Dragons have scored four runs on seven hits in the three games played in the series, batting .082 as a team. Dayton collected 36 hits over the three previous games April 8-10, batting .327, pounding out at least 11 in all three games. Their team slugging percentage over those three games was .527.

- Dragons opponents have scored at least 12 runs in three of the seven games played in 2011.

- The Dragons have committed a league-high 16 errors on the year.

- Four members of the Dragons Opening Night roster are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects according to Baseball America. They include shortstop Billy Hamilton (#2), outfielder Yorman Rodriguez (#5), starting pitcher Daniel Corcino (#15) and outfielder Juan Duran (#28). Additionally, starting pitcher Daniel Tuttle was named as the #31 prospect in the magazine's special supplement.

- The Dragons current roster features seven players under the age of 21. They include Yorman Rodriguez (18), Juan Duran (19), Tucker Barnhart (20), Billy Hamilton (20), Jefry Sierra (20), Daniel Corcino (20), and Daniel Tuttle (20).

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)

Friday (7:05 p.m.): RH Daniel Tuttle (0-0, 4.50) at Lansing RH Misaul Diaz (0-0, 6.75)

Saturday (2:05 p.m.): RH Daniel Renken (0-1, 5.40) at Lansing LH Egan Smith (0-0, 10.38)

Sunday (2:05 p.m.): RH Josh Smith (1-1, 0.75) at Lansing RH Drew Hutchison (0-0, 0.00)

Monday (7:00 p.m.): RH Daniel Corcino (0-2, 10.57) vs. Bowling Green TBA

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from April 14, 2011


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