Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday (6:05 PM at Great Lakes)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday (6:05 PM at Great Lakes)

Published on April 18, 2025 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Friday, April 18, 2025 l Game #13

Dow Diamond l Midland, Mich. l 6:05 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Dayton Dragons (5-7) at Great Lakes Loons (5-7)

RH Chase Burns (0-1, 1.17) vs. RH Brooks Auger (1-0, 0.00)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Great Lakes Loons (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the fourth game of a six-game series.

Last Game. Thursday: Dayton 9, Great Lakes 2. The Dragons put together two big innings, scoring three in the third and five in the ninth as they took advantage of 12 walks and two hit batsmen by Loons pitchers. Peyton Stovall, Ricky Cabrera, and Connor Burns each had two RBI for Dayton (Stovall and Cabrera each had two hits as well). Three Dayton pitchers combined to allow just five hits while striking out 14. Starter Luke Hayden allowed one run in four and one-third innings. Easton Sikorski closed the game, working three scoreless innings to earn a save. He surrendered just one hit.

Dragons starting pitchers have combined to pitch 49.2 innings while allowing just eight runs (seven earned) in 12 games (1.27 ERA, best in Minor League Baseball-120 teams, 11 leagues, next best is 1.97). Dragons starters have also allowed the fewest runs in Minor League Baseball. The Dayton starters' WHIP of 1.01 is tied for fourth in the minors. Dayton starters have allowed an opponent's batting average of .176 (fifth in the minors).

The Dragons are 5-3 since starting the season with four consecutive losses.

Anthony Stephan ranks sixth in the Midwest League in OPS (.949). Stephan in his last seven games is 8 for 22 (.364) with a home run, double, triple, and seven RBI. For the year, Stephan has more walks (9) than strikeouts (8).

Peyton Stovall (2024 4th round pick, Arkansas) has reached base safely 10 times in his first three games with Dayton with four hits and six walks.

Leo Balcazar hit home runs in the first two games of the current series at Great Lakes, both to the opposite field.

John Michael Faile over his last three games is 5 for 14 (.357) with a home run, double, and three RBI.

A Look at 2025 for the Dragons: Manager Vince Harrison Jr. returns for his second season with the Dragons. The Dragons roster is headlined by starting pitcher Chase Burns, the second overall selection in the 2024 draft, and the Reds #1 prospect based on MLB Pipeline's rankings. Burns is #2 on the Reds list in the Baseball America rankings, behind former Dragon Rhett Lowder. Also ranked among the Reds top prospects based on the MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rankings are third baseman Ricardo Cabrera (#10 on both lists), starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski (#12 on MLB; #18 on BA); shortstop Leo Balcazar (#25 on MLB; #23 on BA); center fielder Carlos Jorge (#21 on MLB; #30 on BA); catcher Connor Burns (#24 on BA); second baseman Peyton Stovall (#27 on MLB; #35 on BA), starting pitcher Luke Hayden (#30 on MLB; #37 on BA), and outfielder Yerlin Confidan (#32 on BA). The Dayton roster includes 17 players who spent all or part of the 2024 season with the Dragons, including several key members of last season's playoff team.

More on Chase Burns: Burns has a plus fastball that has reached 99 mph with the Dragons this season, and he also possesses a slider that is graded higher by some scouts than the fastball. He spent the final season of his college career at Wake Forest in 2024 after two seasons at Tennessee. Burns was named Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2024, going 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA and breaking the school record for strikeouts while leading the nation with 191 in 100 innings. He was selected First Team All-American by Baseball America. In six of Burns' 16 starts in 2024, he struck out at least 14 batters including a career-high 16 against Clemson.

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

Saturday, April 19 (1:05 pm): Dayton LH Adam Serwinowski (0-0, 0.00) at Great Lakes RH Payton Martin (0-1, 9.95)

Sunday, April 20 (1:05 pm): Dayton RH Gabriel Aguilera (0-1, 6.43) at Great Lakes RH Christian Romero (0-0, 5.63)

How to Watch/Listen: Dragons radio broadcasts of all home and road games are also available on FOX Sports 980 WONE (980 AM), at daytondragons.com, and via the Dragons Mobile App. Additionally, the Dragons will televise 15 games locally over-the-air on Dayton's CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). All home and road Dragons can be viewed free of charge on the Bally Sports Live app (look for Bally Live Ohio) or on the internet at Ballysportslive.com (click on Bally Sports Live Ohio or the MiLB Zone). All games are also available by subscription on the MLB App and via MiLB TV. Games in Dayton will be Dragons productions; games on the road will be produced by the opposing team.

Dragons Ticket Information: daytondragons.com/tickets Dragons 2025 Schedule: milb.com/dayton/schedule

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Midwest League Stories from April 18, 2025


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