TinCaps Transactions & Game Information: July 31 at Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers Affiliate)
MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Transactions & Game Information: July 31 at Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers Affiliate)

July 31, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


The San Diego Padres have made the following transactions:

Effective Thursday, July 31, 2025

- San Diego Padres acquire Right-Handed Pitcher Mason Miller and Left-Handed Pitcher JP Sears from the Athletics for Shortstop Leo De Vries, Right-Handed Pitcher Braden Nett, Right-Handed Pitcher Henry Báez, and Right-Handed Pitcher Eduarniel Núñez

- San Diego Padres acquire Outfielder Ramon Laureno and 1st Baseman/Outfielder Ryan O'Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles for Left-Handed Pitcher Boston Bateman, Infielder Brandon Butterworth, Infielder Cobb Hightower, Infielder/Outfielder Victor Figueroa, Right-Handed Pitcher Tyson Neighbors, and Right-Handed Pitcher Tanner Smith

Fort Wayne TinCaps (48-49, 17-15) vs. Great Lakes Loons (52-44, 18-13)

Thursday, July 31 | Parkview Field | 7:05 PM | Game 98 of 131

RHP Miguel Mendez (7-2, 1.46 ERA) vs. LHP Wyatt Crowell (2-5, 3.56 ERA)

WATCH: Bally Sports Live, MLB.TV, MLB.com (MiLB Free GOTD) | LISTEN: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM

LAST GAME: The Fort Wayne TinCaps mounted a pivotal comeback in their 10th inning, walk-off, 4-3 victory over the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers affiliate) on Wednesday night.

THANK YOU, EL MUTANTE: This morning, the San Diego Padres announced the trade of MLB's No. 3 prospect, shortstop Leo De Vries, along with three pitching prospects, to the Athletics for pitchers Mason Miller and JP Sears. In 82 games with the TinCaps, De Vries slashed .245/.357/.410 with 31 extra-base hits (19 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR) and 46 RBI while walking 14.1% of the time. De Vries completed the third cycle in franchise history and tied a franchise record with 8 RBI on April 22. At the end of the month, Leo received back-to-back Midwest League Player of the Week honors before winning the Midwest League Player of the Month award for April. He is the fifth player in franchise history to win the award. On Saturday, July 12, De Vries became the fourth active TinCaps player to appear in a Futures Game. He is also the only player in Fort Wayne franchise history to have two four-walk performances.

WALK-OFF WINNER: The TinCaps won for the fourth time in walk-off fashion Wednesday night this season and third by infielder Brandon Butterworth. He wasted no time in the bottom of the 10th inning, swinging at the first pitch and delivering a game-winning base knock to left field. It is the second walk-off winner for Butterworth against Great Lakes this year, as he came through with a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning on June 24.

WHO ELSE BUT BUTTERS: Infielder Brandon Butterworth began July hitting .392 (20-51), before starting 4-for-30 out of the All-Star Break after Friday. He collected three hits on Wednesday night, including the walk-off winner in the tenth frame. Butterworth is on a four-game hitting streak (8-for-18, .444 AVG) with three multi-hit affairs. The NC State grad is hitting .313 in July and has nine of his team-leading 24 multi-hit games this month. Butterworth for the Midwest League lead in triples (7), tied for 4th in runs scored (61), and 6th in extra-base hits (35).

THE STREAK AT ITS PEAK: Fort Wayne reliever Garrett Hawkins secured his 8th win of the season, finishing two scoreless innings in relief. He has retired each of the last 21 batters he has faced and has not allowed a run in his last 34 innings across his previous 26 outings dating back to April 23. It is the longest consecutive scoreless inning and outing streak in Major or Minor League Baseball since 2014 and the longest in franchise history. Phil Klein is the last player to match the mark, converting 35 straight scoreless innings across two levels of the Phillies organization. The mark breaks Colby Blueberg's previous Fort Wayne record (28 IP) from 2015. Hawkins has a 1.43 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP while opponents are batting just .116 against him this season.

ACROSS THE STREAK: Hawkins has struck out 18 of the last 38 batters he's faced (47.3%). Across the streak, he has struck out 46 with a .091 batting average against him. Overall, he is tied for first in the league in appearances (32), is tied for 3rd in the league in saves (8), is tied for first in wins (8), and is 2nd amongst relievers in strikeouts (60). His 37.0 K% is 3rd amongst arms with at least 30 innings pitched. After 702 days without a professional appearance, Hawkins moved to the TinCaps bullpen after beginning his career as a starter.

MENDEZ MAGIC: After giving up an unearned run in the first, TinCaps starter Miguel Mendez struck out six across five scoreless innings, securing his 7th win in 11 appearances with Fort Wayne. Mendez has won his last five straight starts and has a 0.61 ERA (2 ER, 29 1/3 IP) with 28 strikeouts. This comes after tossing a career-long seven innings in his last start on July 10 against Quad Cities. It was his third straight quality start and fourth of the season, facing the minimum in five different innings and retiring the final seven batters he faced.

MENDEZ THIS SEASON: Across 11 starts since being promoted to Fort Wayne on May 9, the 23-year-old has a 1.46 ERA, which leads High-A amongst arms with 35-plus innings pitched. His 63 strikeouts are 6th. The flamethrower has hit 100 mph 11 times this season, and he has struck out at least five batters in 12 of his 14 total starts. Across two levels, Mendez has struck out 29.6% (81-274) of the batters faced. Last Thursday, Mendez leaped from unranked in MLB.com's Top 30 Padres prospects to No. 7, the highest jump of any player, and is now No. 5. He has allowed four earned runs across his last eight starts.

THE RETURN OF THE CANDY MAN: TinCap starter Clark Candiotti made his second start back off the IL on Wednesday. He worked two scoreless innings without allowing a hit, giving him back-to-back appearances off the IL without allowing a run. Candiotti returned last week against Cedar Rapids, where he served as the opener, throwing 14 pitches in his lone frame of work.

MORE HOLIDAY TRADITION AT PARKVIEW FIELD: The Fort Wayne TinCaps are excited to announce the return of Parkview Field Holiday Lights - A Walk-Thru Event - presented by Rohrman Automotive, Paul Davis, and Lear Corporation. The event will be hosted at the ballpark for 44 nights from November 13 to January 3. Back this winter and better than ever, 1.5 million lights will be on display, a 50% increase from 2024. The event features brand-new displays and music for the holiday season.

TINCAP FANS HELP MAKE HISTORY: Over 6,700 baseball fans combined to set a new world record Tuesday as their collective signatures on the World's Most Autographed Baseball have set a new mark for the most signatures on a single piece of sports memorabilia. The baseball made its appearance at Parkview Field on June 26 when the TinCaps took on Great Lakes on a Thursday evening.

NOBODY WALKS LIKE ROSMAN: Since May 25, TinCaps third baseman Rosman Verdugo leads all of Minor League Baseball in walks. The No. 27 Padres prospect has 44 free passes in the last 47 games, which includes four three-walk showings. Across the stretch, he has walked 22.0% of the time. The 20-year-old is now 3rd in the Midwest League with 59 walks.

KATCHING KARP: Outfielder Braedon Karpathios has seven multi-hit games in his last 14 played, reaching base in all but one. Across the stretch, he is hitting .340 (18-53) with 4 2B, HR, 11 RBI, and 10 BB. Karpathios's 59th walk yesterday ties him with Rosman Verdugo for the team lead and ranks him 3rd in the Midwest League.

SET STARTERS: TinCaps starting pitching is having its best month of the season. Across 21 starts in July, Fort Wayne ranks 2nd in the Midwest League in ERA (3.16) and innings pitched (108 1/3), while ranking 3rd in WHIP (1.19) and walks allowed (31). The unit sits 4th in wins (6) and K/BB ratio (2.74). The rotation leads the league with six quality starts this month.

MUTANTE MASHING: Padres No. 1 prospect Leo De Vries homered for the third straight Sunday game played against Cedar Rapids. The 18-year-old has hits in 9 of his last 12 games and has 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBI across 18 games in July. On Saturday, July 19, against Lake County, De Vries drove in the game-winning run in the top of the 10th with an RBI double. It is the 3rd time this season De Vries has had the game-winning hit in the 9th inning or later.

WALK THE LINE: TinCap infielder Ryan Jackson is tied for third in all of affiliated baseball with 76 walks drawn this season. He trails Juan Soto (84) and Rafael Devers (77), Jackson is tied with Alex Freeland and Roman Anthony. The USC product has reached base safely in 30 of the 32 games played with the TinCaps since being called up from Single-A Lake Elsinore in mid-June.




Midwest League Stories from July 31, 2025


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