Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Wednesday (7:05 PM vs. Quad Cities)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Wednesday (7:05 PM vs. Quad Cities)

Published on August 19, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Wednesday, August 19, 2026 l Game #114 (48)

Day Air Ballpark Park l Dayton, Ohio l 7:05 pm

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

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Quad Cities River Bandits (29-18, 59-51) at Dayton Dragons (20-27, 59-54)

RH Tanner Jones (4-6, 4.84) vs. RH Deivi Villafana (0-2, 5.51)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (partner of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Quad Cities River Bandits (partner of the Kansas City Royals) in the second game of a six-game series at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Season Series: Quad Cities 5, Dayton 2 (at Dayton: QC 1, Dayton 0).

Top Draft Picks & Prospects with Dragons: Shortstop Justin Lebron, the Reds first round draft pick last month (18 th overall pick), 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. He has become the 22 nd "true" first round pick to play for the Dragons. 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. In 2026.

Lebron led Alabama 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 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. Lebron, Becker, and Lewis are all ranked as Reds top-10 prospects by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

Last Game: Tuesday: Quad Cities 7, Dayton 2. Nolan Sailors broke open a one-run game with a grand slam home run with two outs in the seventh inning. Jacob Friend had a two-run homer for Dayton in the fifth to account for the Dragons runs. Each team struck out 16 times in the game.

Dragons Team and Player Trending Notes:

Jacob Friend this season between Daytona & Daytona combined has 20 HR and 23 SB. According to RedsMinorLeagues.com, Friend is the 23 rd Reds minor league player since 1960 to have a 20/20 season. Four Dayton players have done it strictly based on their time in Dayton: Wily Mo Pena and Randy Ruiz in 2001; Jose Siri in 2017; Elly De La Cruz in 2022.

The Dragons have hit 144 HR in 113 G, on pace to finish the year with 165 (club record: 152 in 2022). The 144 homers already rank tied for the second highest season total in the Dragons 26-year history (152 in '22; 144 in '01).

The Dragons have scored 642 runs, on pace to finish the year with 738 (club record is 730 in 2000). The Dragons scored 542 runs in 2025.

Dragons Hottest Hitters/Pitchers:

John Michael Faile in his last 20 G (since 7/25) is hitting .324 with 7 HR and 19 RBI. He is tied for second in the MWL in home runs since July 25. Faile has 26 home runs in his Dragons career, four short of the club record set by Chris Williamson (2000-02).

Justin Lebron (Reds #3 prospect re: MLB Pipeline) was the Reds 1 st round draft pick, 2026 (University of Alabama in 2026: .277, 16 HR, 42 SB). Lebron hit a grand slam home run on Saturday after hitting his first career professional home run Friday. He is batting .320 in his first six pro games.

Jacob Friend is 3 for 5 with a HR in his last 2 G after going 2 for 42 in his previous 16 G.

Tyson Lewis (Reds #5 prospect re: MLB Pipeline) is 8 for 24 (.333) over his last 6 G to snap a 12 G skid when he went 9 for 51 (.176) with 1 HR.

Diego Omana joined the Dragons on 5/26 from Chattanooga. Since his arrival, he has played in 14 G with 6 starts, batting .355 (11 for 31).

Jimmy Romano in his last 8 G (since 6/18): 15.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 6 BB, 17 SO, 2-0, 2 saves.

Trent Hodgdon in his last 6 G (since 7/29): 9.1 IP, 0 R, 4 saves. Since June 1, Hodgdon has a 2.05 ERA in 18 games and is 9 for 9 in save chances.

Dragons Additional Batter Trending Notes:

Eric Becker (Reds #7 prospect re: MLB Pipeline) 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.

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

Thursday, August 20 (7:05 pm): Quad Cities RH Blake Wolters (3-7, 8.80) at Dayton RH Edgar Colon (0-1, 7.50)

Friday, August 21 (7:05 pm): Quad Cities RH Emmanuel Reyes (6-3, 4.01) at Dayton LH Kyle McCoy (4-4, 5.50) TV: Dayton's CW (26)

Saturday, August 22 (7:05 pm): Quad Cities RH Kendry Chourio (2-2, 2.67) at Dayton RH JP Ortiz (5-1, 5.47)

Sunday, August 23 (1:05 pm): Quad Cities LH David Shields (9-5, 3.98) at Dayton RH Ovis Portes (1-7, 9.00)

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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