Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday (7:00 PM at Lake County)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday (7:00 PM at Lake County)

Published on August 14, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Friday, August 14, 2026 l Game #111 (45)

Classic Park l Eastlake, Ohio l 7:00 pm

TV: MLB.TV, MLB+, Bally Sports Live Ohio

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Dayton Dragons (19-25, 58-52) at Lake County Captains (21-23, 58-50)

LH Kyle McCoy (4-4, 5.90) vs. RH Jacob Zibin (3-2, 3.26)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (partner of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lake County Captains (partner of the Cleveland Guardians) in the fifth game of a seven-game series. Season Series: Lake County 10, Dayton 8 (at Lake County: Captains 4, Dragons 2).

Top Draft Picks & Prospects with Dragons: Shortstop Justin Lebron, the Reds first round draft pick last month, was added to the Dayton roster on August 11. Lebron was the 18 th overall pick of the 2026 draft out of the University of Alabama. Every Reds first round draft pick since 2011 has played for the Dragons except 2025 first rounder Steele Hall, who is at Single-A Daytona and on track to play for the Dragons sometime in 2027. Other Reds first round picks in this decade who played for the Dragons included Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, Cam Collier, Matt McLain, and Austin Hendrick. The Reds '26 second round pick, infielder Eric Becker (University of Virginia), joined the Dragons on August 6. Tyson Lewis, the Reds second round pick in 2024 (Millard West High School), joined the Dragons on June 30. The Dragons roster now includes 10 players who are ranked as Reds top-30 prospects by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America (or both).

Last Game: Thursday: Game 1: Dayton 3, Lake County 1. Game 2: Lake County 4, Dayton 3. In the first game, Mason Neville hit a home run and Dayton pitchers Edgar Colon, Brady Afthim, and Trent Hodgdon combined to allow just three hits. In game two, Lake County broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the bottom of the seventh to win. John Michael Faile had a long homer for Dayton.

Dragons Team and Player Trending Notes:

Reds 2026 first round draft pick Justin Lebron (University of Alabama) has become the 22 nd "true" first round pick to play for the Dragons. Lebron was the 18 th pick of the 2026 draft after leading the Tide to their first College World Series berth since 1999. Lebron was selected by Baseball America as the "Best Athlete" in the 2026 college draft class. He was the only D1 player in the nation with 16 or more HR and 42 or more SB in '26.

The Dragons have hit 141 HR in 110 G, on pace to finish the year with 167 (club record: 152 in 2022). The 141 homers already rank as the third highest season total in the Dragons 26-year history (152 in '22; 144 in '01).

The Dragons have scored 633 runs, on pace to finish the year with 753 (club record is 730 in 2000). The Dragons scored 542 runs in 2025.

Illustrating the increase in MWL offense in 2026, 7 of the MWL's 12 teams are on a pace that would break the Dragons club record for runs scored in a season (730); 5 are on pace to top the Dragons home run record (152), and 8 would currently break the Dragons record for highest ERA (5.03).

Dragons Hottest Hitter:

John Michael Faile in his last 17 G (since 7/25) is hitting .328 with 7 HR and 19 RBI. He is second in the MWL in home runs since July 25, and tied for first in August home runs with five. Faile has 26 home runs in his Dragons career, four short of the club record set by Chris Williamson (2000-02).

Dragons Additional Batter Trending Notes:

Eric Becker (Reds #8 prospect re: Baseball America) was the Reds 2nd round pick, 2026 (University of Virginia in 2026: .317, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 45 G).

Ty Doucette has played in 46 G this season with the Single-A Daytona Tortugas, batting .277, 9 HR, 34 RBI, .877 OPS. He played at Rutgers (10 th Rd, '25).

Jack Lausch was the Reds 17 th round draft pick, 2026 (Northwestern University in 2026: .312, 16 HR, 41 RBI). He is a former starting QB at Northwestern.

Justin Lebron (Reds #4 prospect re: Baseball America) was the Reds 1 st round draft pick, 2026 (University of Alabama in 2026: .277, 16 HR, 42 SB).

Tyson Lewis (Reds #4 prospect re: MLB Pipeline) is 6 for 11 over his last 3 G to snap a 12-G skid when he went 9 for 51 (.176) with 1 HR.

Mason Neville has 20 hits with the Dragons; 15 for extra bases including 10 HR. Neville has 19 HR w/3 Reds farm clubs on the year (Tied-6 th in Reds org.).

Diego Omana joined the Dragons on 5/26 from Chattanooga. Since his arrival, he has played in 13 G with 5 starts, batting .407 (11 for 27).

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM)

Saturday, August 15 (7:00 pm): Dayton RH JP Ortiz (4-1, 5.84) at Lake County RH Will McCausland (1-3, 6.25)

Sunday, August 16 (1:00 pm): Dayton RH Ovis Portes (1-6, 9.61) at Lake County LH Nelson Keljo (0-1, 5.40)

Dragons Ticket Information: daytondragons.com/tickets Dragons 2026 Schedule: milb.com/dayton/schedule

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 2026 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 the MiLB App. Games in Dayton will be Dragons productions; games on the road will be produced by the opposing team.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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