Dayton Dragons vs. Fort Wayne TinCaps series preview
Credit: Midwest League
The TinCaps return home after a short road trip to West Michigan last week.
The White Caps are the High-A Central affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
Going into Sunday’s series finale, the TinCaps can clinch the series over the White Caps with a win. A loss would earn them a series split.
This week, the TinCaps will be hosting the Dayton Dragons.
The Dragons are the High-A Central affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Dayton is 1 hour and 30 minutes from their big league squads hometown, Cincinnati. The Reds also have minor league clubs in Louisville and Chattanooga, which are also both short drives to Cincinnati.
Last week, the Reds sent Jeff Hofman for a rehab assignment in Dayton. Hofman has six years of big-league experience. He spent time in Toronto and Colorado before being signed by Cincinnati. The pitcher was a 2014 first-round draft pick, 9th overall.
Dayton Dragons Team Leaders:
Pitching:
- Pitching Wins- Pedro Garcia 6
- Saves- Braxton Roxby 5
- ERA, WHIP, Strikeouts- Noah Davis 3.23, 1.13, 74
Batting:
- Average-Â Francisco Arbaez .337
- Runs Scored & Stolen Bases- Jacob Hurtubise 43, 26
- Home Runs- Quin Cotton 7
This is the second series these two teams will play in this season. The first was in Dayton, where the Dragons took four of six from the TinCaps. It was a competitive series. In the four TinCap losses, the team lost by one run and two runs. The Dragons led the East division for most of the year until losing six straight last week.
| – East Division |
Aff |
W |
L |
W-L% |
GB |
Great Lakes Loons |
LAD |
36 |
29 |
0.554 |
-- |
Dayton Dragons
|
CIN
|
35
|
29
|
0.547
|
0.5
|
Lake County Captains |
CLE |
35 |
30 |
0.538 |
1 |
Lansing Lugnuts |
OAK |
31 |
34 |
0.477 |
5 |
West Michigan Whitecaps |
DET |
30 |
34 |
0.469 |
5.5 |
Fort Wayne TinCaps
|
SDP
|
29
|
36
|
0.446
|
7.0
|
TinCaps Transactions:Â
TinCaps Top PerformersÂ
Batting:
- Justin Lopez– Currently leads the High-A Central in balls batted up the middle at 32.6%. His hitting spray chart is impressive, as he has shown he can hit the ball on all parts of the field. His pull, center, and opposite field percentages are a balanced: 31.8%, 32.6%, and 35.7%
- Jonny Homza– Continues to lead the TinCaps in Line Drive at 24.1%. That ranks as the third-best percentage in the High-A Central. He leads the league in runs scored with 42.
- Agustin Ruiz–Â Has 10 home runs and 40 RBI’s, which lead the team.
Pitching:
- Matt Waldron– was leading the High-A Central in line drive percentage at 12.9%. That is over 3% better than second place, which is held by Dayton’s Noah Davis. Waldron also leads the league in the number of strikes thrown at 772. Along with leading the league in innings pitched at 71.1.
- Carter Loewen– is 1-1 with a 4.8a ERA 22.1 innings pitched. He leads the TinCaps in saves with seven.
- Gabe Moser– ERA of 4.20, which ranks within the top ten in the league.
Keys to Victory: Homeruns Allowed
Neither team hits many home runs as they are both in the bottom third of the league in home runs hit. However, Fort Wayne is ranked in the bottom third of the league in home runs allowed. TinCaps pitching needs to keep the ball in the ballpark and make the Dragons earn their runs scored.
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Series Information:
- Location: Parkview Field Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- Games: 7/20-7/25, Tuesday-Thursday first pitch is 7:05 PM EDT, Saturday 6:35 EDT, Sunday 1:05 PM EDT.
- Watch / Listen:Â Milb.TV, ESPN Radio 1380.
I was born, raised, and still reside in the Hoosier state. I am a 2008 graduate of Ivy Tech Community College. I am married to my beautiful wife Kristen, father to Garrett, with another child on the way. A baseball enthusiast covering the Fort Wayne TinCaps, High A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.