MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Tuesday, April 9 at Cedar Rapids

Published on April 9, 2024 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Tuesday, April 9, 2024 l Game # 4

Veterans Memorial Stadium l Cedar Rapids, IA l 7:35 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Dayton Dragons (2-1) at Cedar Rapids Kernels (0-2)

RH Ryan Cardona vs. RH Darren Bowen

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Cedar Rapids Kernels (affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) in the first game of a six-game series. This is the first road game of the season for the Dragons.

Last Game: Sunday: Dayton 7, Lansing 6. Dayton trailed 6-2 going to the bottom of the 7th but rallied to win. The Dragons tied the game with four in the 7th, keyed by a solo home run by Jay Allen and a two-run shot by Hector Rodriguez, then broke a 6-6 tie with a run in the 9th on Cade Hunter's one-out RBI single.

Dayton game data: Hardest hit ball: 111.8 mph-Cam Collier (single). Fastest pitch: 96.2 mph-Brody Jessee.

Dayton Home Run Data: Allen: 106 mph, 355'. Rodriguez: 109 mph, 403'.

Current Series (April 9-14 at Cedar Rapids): Dayton is 0-0 in the series.

Last Series (April 5-7 vs. Lansing): Dayton went 2-1 in the series, winning the second and third games.

Dayton team stats in the series: .255 batting average (25 for 98); 5.0 runs/game (15 R, 3 G); 4 home runs; 6 stolen bases; 4.00 ERA (27 IP, 12 ER); 4 errors.

First Round Fever: The Dragons roster includes the last two Reds first round draft picks in starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (Reds #1 pick in 2023) and third baseman Cam Collier (Reds #1 pick in 2022). Lowder was the seventh overall selection in '23 out of Wake Forest, and Collier was the 18th overall pick in '22 out of Chipola College. This marks just the third time in Dragons history that a Dayton roster featured the last two Reds number one draft picks (2014-outfielder Phillip Ervin and starting pitcher Nick Travieso) and the inaugural Dragons roster of 2000 (starting pitcher Ty Howington and outfielder Austin Kearns).

Prospecting in Dayton: Five players currently ranked among the Reds top-10 prospects by Baseball America are on the Dragons 30-man roster. They are starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (Reds #2 prospect); center fielder/second baseman Carlos Jorge (Reds #6 prospect); third baseman Sal Stewart (Reds #7 prospect), middle infielder Leo Balcazar (Reds #8 prospect); and third baseman Cam Collier (Reds #10 prospect). Note that the MLB Pipeline rankings produced by MLB.com have Lowder at #2, Stewart at #6, Collier at #7, Jorge at #8, and Balcazar at #19. Additionally, shortstop Victor Acosta is ranked #19 by Baseball America, and outfielder Hector Rodriguez is ranked #20, giving the Dragons seven players ranked among the Reds top-20 by Baseball America. Outfielder Ethan O'Donnell and Jay Allen II do not appear on the Baseball America Reds top-30 list, but they are both on the MLB Pipeline top-30 list, with O'Donnell at #23 and Allen at #25, giving the Dragons nine players within the top-25 on the MLB Pipeline list.

Team Notes

The Dragons lead the Midwest League in runs scored with 15, despite being shutout in the season opener. Their 15 runs over the last two games are three more than any other team has scored over their first three games combined. The Dragons also lead the league in home runs (4), slugging, and OPS.

The Dragons won on Sunday despite trailing by four runs after six innings. Only once in 2023 did they win a game when they trailed by 4+ after six innings.

Player Notes

Cam Collier has hit safely in each of the Dragons first three games. Collier is tied for the MWL in RBI (4), runs (3), and hits (5).

Hector Rodriguez leads the MWL in OPS (1.556) and is tied for first in slugging percentage (1.000).

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

Wednesday, April 10 (7:35 p.m.): Dayton RH Johnathan Harmon (no record) at Cedar Rapids RH Zebby Matthews (no record)

Thursday, April 11 (7:35 pm): Dayton LH Kevin Abel (no record) at Cedar Rapids RH Andrew Morris (0-0, 0.00)

Friday, April 12 (7:35 pm): Dayton RH Rhett Lowder (0-0, 0.00) at Cedar Rapids RH John Klein (0-0, 0.00)

Saturday, April 13 (2:05 pm): Dayton RH Jared Lyons (0-0, 6.00) at Cedar Rapids LH Christian MacLeod (no record)

Sunday, April 14 (2:05 pm): Dayton RH Javi Rivera (0-0, 15.43) at Cedar Rapids RH C.J. Culpepper (no record)

Dragons "On the Air"

You can follow the Dragons through various broadcast outlets in 2024. Every home and road game will be broadcast on radio on WONE 980-AM as Tom Nichols and Patrick Geshan call the action. Games are also available at wone.com, on a mobile device through either the Dragons mobile app or the iHeart Radio app, or on HD Radio on 104.7 HD 2 WTUI. Additionally, the Dragons will televise 15 home games on Dayton's CW (Channel 26, available on Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013; available on DirecTV and Dish Network channel 26). Tom Nichols will handle the play-by-play on all games and be joined by WDTN TV's Jack Pohl on most telecasts.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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