MWL1 Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Notes: April 15 at Bowling Green (Games 10 & 11)

Published on April 15, 2018 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (2-7) @ Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-6)

Game 1: LHP Osvaldo Hernandez vs. LHP Brendan McKay

Game 2: LHP Tom Cosgrove vs. RHP Alex Valverde

Sunday, April 15 - Bowling Green Ballpark (Bowling Green, KY) - First Pitch 3:05 p.m. (Games 10 & 11)

LISTEN: ESPN Radio 1380 & 100.9 FM / TinCapsRadio.com / TuneIn

SO FAR THIS SERIES: The TinCaps crushed the Hot Rods, 13-2, on Friday night. Rain postponed Saturday night's scheduled contest.

FORT FLAVOR IN BG: Hot Rods pitching coach Brian Reith is from Fort Wayne. After graduating from Concordia Lutheran High School in 1996, he was wad drafted by the Yankees in 6th round. He was traded from New York to Cincinnati in 2000 and made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2001. As a right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 73 games (9 starts) from '01-04. Reith continued pitching as a pro through '09. He spent the last 3 years coaching Tampa Bay's Short Season-A affiliate (Hudson Valley, New York-Penn League). This is his first year coaching in Bowling Green. Meanwhile, today the Hot Rods are giving fans a Kevin Kiermaier bobblehead. Kiermaier, a Fort Wayne native who played for BG in 2011, is the Rays' starting center fielder.

JACKIE ROBINSON DAY: On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.

LAST TIME HERE: Michel Baez threw 7 scoreless innings with 9 Ks and the TinCaps beat the Hot Rods, 2-1, in Game 1 of the 2017 Midwest League Eastern Division Semifinals on Sept. 6. Catcher A.J. Kennedy hit a 2-run homer in the second that proved to be enough offense as BG only scored a run in the eighth. Fort Wayne then came from behind in Game 2 of the series at home and beat Bowling Green, 6-4, in 10 innings on a walk-off homer by the team's other catcher, Marcus Greene Jr. The TinCaps defeated Dayton in the Eastern Division Championship Series before falling to Quad Cities in the MWL Championship Series.

ALMOST HAD 'EM: The TinCaps have led in 5 of their 7 losses. Fort Wayne coughed up a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth on opening night at Lake County. In their second game of the season, the TinCaps led, 6-1, before eventually succumbing to the Captains, 10-8. Against Lansing, Fort Wayne witnessed a 1-0 edge on Monday, multiple 2-run leads on Tuesday, and a 3-0 advantage on Thursday all evaporate.

YOUNGEST TEAM IN MiLB: The TinCaps feature the 4 youngest players in the league: Justin Lopez (17), Tirso Ornelas (18), Gabriel Arias (18), and Jeisson Rosario. Fort Wayne presently has 10 teenagers on its roster. According to Baseball America, the average age for a TinCaps player to start the year was 20.6. (The average age in the Midwest League was 22 years old.) This theme continues up the ladder for the Padres, who also have the youngest team in the California League (High-A Lake Elsinore) and the Texas League (Double-A San Antonio).

WE'RE No. 1: According to MLB.com, the Padres have the No. 1 ranked farm system in baseball. The TinCaps boast 7 "Top 30" San Diego prospects (see list on right), including MacKenzie Gore (MLB.com's No. 1 LHP).

WHO'S BACK: The TinCaps currently have 9 players on their roster who've played in the Midwest League before (8 from last year plus Carlos Belen from 2016). Fort Wayne manager Anthony Contreras is back for his third season with the club, while pitching coach Burt Hooton is in his sixth year (franchise record). Fielding coach Jhonny Carvajal is in his second year.

260 TO THE SHOW: 25 Fort Wayne alums have played in the bigs so far this season (159 have reached the majors in the franchise's history). In 2017, the total for the season was 44.

Check out the Fort Wayne TinCaps Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from April 15, 2018


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