Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 6/11/24
MATTHEW KENNELL, ARTHUR KINNEY, AND JUSTIN LADA
JUN 12
Scoreboard
Triple-A - Columbus Clippers 3, Iowa Cubs 2
Double-A - Hartford Yard Goats 4, Akron RubberDucks 3
High-A - Lake County Captains 1, Fort Wayne TinCaps 0
Single-A - Augusta Greenjackets 9, Lynchburg Hillcats 1
Arizona Complex League: ACL Guardians 10, ACL Athletics 6
DSL: DSL CLE Mendoza 4, DSL Orioles Orange 3
DSL: DSL CLE Goryl 12, DSL Astros Orange 7
Highlights:
Johnathan Rodriguez (Columbus, RF): 2-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 Outfield Assist - Rodriguez remained hot following Monday’s traditional off day as he opened the homestand with his sixth multi-base game in his last seven, bringing his June slash to .500/.528/1.000 (that last number is actually down from 1.034 due to the lack of extra-base hits). It remains to be seen how these numbers would translate to the major league level, but it seems nearly certain that he will get another chance to find out.
Jhonkensy Noel (Columbus, 1B): 2-4 Speaking of hot starts to the month of June, Noel is slashing .444/.512/.722 for the month after his seventh straight multi-base game. Hi is a name that would not be surprising to see on the Big Club roster at some point this season.
Joey Cantillo (Columbus, SP): ND, 3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K - Cantillo was back to looking like himself on the mound in this dominant effort which saw him hurl a trio of shoutout frames before reaching his pitch limit. While his presence in the major league rotation this season will hinge on both his own health and that of the established Big Club starting options, he does seem like a likely member of the 2025 Opening Day rotation for Cleveland.
Alexfri Planez (Akron, RF): 3-5 - Planez also continued an impressive June on Tuesday night, with his sixth multi-base game of the month (out of eight games played, all with at least one hit), continuing a stellar twelve days that have seen Alexfri raise his slash line from .227/.263/.362 to .267/.302/.472. That is an impressive improvement this deep into the season and a sign that he has finally adjusted to the Double-A level.
C.J. Kayfus (Akron, 1B): 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K - Speaking of adjusting to Eastern League pitching, it seems like that is a task that Kayfus has checked off of his list in extremely short order. After only six games at the level, Kayfus is slashing a stratospheric .500/.607/.818. Even with the inevitable adjustment to his hitting style by opposing pitchers, there is still a lot of room for regression before his Akron numbers even approach average. It is quite possible that it may take a promotion to Columbus to truly challenge him.
Jaime Arias (Akron, SP): ND, 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K - While Arias struggled mightily in his late-spring stint in Triple-A, facing tougher hitters seems to have benefited Jaime as he has allowed only one earned run in 8.2 innings since being sent back down to the Corner of State and Main.
Austin Peterson (Lake County, SP): ND, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 6 K - Peterson dominated the TinCap lineup, including top prospect C Ethan Salas, in his fourth scoreless outing of the season (all 5.2 innings or longer). While there have been some clunkers in his 2024 game logs, games like this offer a clear glimpse of his ceiling
2B Welbyn Francisca (ACL Guardians): 2-for-5, 3 R, HR, 4 RBIs, SB - A grand slam off the bat of Francisca late in the game completely changed the dynamic on Tuesday’s contest. With one swing of the bat, the lead increased from two to six at 10-4 and that would be enough to secure the victory. His .748 OPS leads the starters from the game.
SS Yaikel Mijares (ACL Guardians): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBIs, SB, E6F - The 18-year-old has largely struggled in the month of June, but hopefully this performance fuels a confidence boost. He drove in the team’s first run with an RBI single in the first and followed that up with a two-run double that increased the lead to 4-1 in the fifth. It is the first time in 2024 that Mijares has delivered a three-RBI performance.
RF Christopher Espinola (ACL Guardians): 3-for-5, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBIs - The Dominican-born Espinola had a three-hit gamer for the ACL Guardians and was a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle. Both his triple and double were run scoring hits for the 20-year-old, his first three-base hit of the season.
Manuel Osorio (DSL Mendoza, SP): ND, 4 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 9 K - Osorio rebounded from a tough-luck loss last Thursday (two of his three runs allowed were unearned) with an impressive (albeit control issue-marred) outing that included a career-high nine strikeouts.
Johan Rodriguez (DSL Goryl, SS): 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 BB - By far the best game of the young 16 year old infielder’s career.
Dauri Fernandez (DSL Goryl, 3B-C): 2-5, 3B, 4 RBI, BB, SB - The first four RBI of the 17 year old’s career, who has played 3B, 2B, SS and now catcher. Interesting versatility training here for the Guardians.
Notable Performances
Jose Tena (Columbus, SS): 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 CS, 1 E - Tena only had one big moment in Tuesday’s series opener, but it was a colossal one as his goa-ahead two-run single in the fifth proved to be the difference between victory and defeat for the clip Show.
Myles Straw (Columbus, CF): 2-4, 1 R, 1 K - Straw scored in a multi-hit effort for the second straight game and fourth time in his last six contests.
Estevan Florial (Columbus, DH): 0-1, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB - Florial walked twice, including with the bases loaded in the sixth to drive in an insurance run, as he returned from a fortnight’s absence from game action in his first post-DFA appearance.
Milan Tolentino (Akron, 2B): 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K - Tolentino not only extended his on-base streak to seven games, but also scored for the eighth game out of his last ten played thanks to some heads-up baserunning on a wild pitch.
Nate Furman (Akron, DH): 1-4, 1 R, 1 HBP, 1 SB - Furman reached twice to open his second Double-A series as he continues to heat up after a rough start to his RubberDucks career.
Joe Lampe (Akron, LF): 2-5, 2 K - After getting a hit in all four games he played in Portland, Maine last week, Lampe started the second leg of the roadtrip in Hartford by extending that streak to five games.
Jose Devers (Lake County, 3B): 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI - While Devers has struggled thus far in June (no multi-hit games), he has been productive recently with four RBI over the course of an active three-game RBI streak, including the only run in last night’s pitchers’ duel.
Cooper Ingle (Lake County, C): 1-3, 1 2B,1 K - Ingle reached safely for the 16th game out of his last 17 thanks to one of three Captains doubles on a night when they didn't hit any singles (the aforementioned trio of two-baggers and Devers’ round-tripper).
Alex Mooney (Lake County, 2B): 1-4, 1 2b,1 K, 1 SB - Mooney stole third following his double to become the second Guardian farmhand to steal twenty bases so far this season.
Angel Genao (Lake County, SS): 1-4, 1 2B,1 K, 1 E - Genao completed the Classic park Double-palooza with his third extra-base hit (two doubles and a homer) in 24 High-A at-bats.
Jay Driver (Lake County, RP): H (3), 1 IP, perfect, 2 K - Driver’s ERA for his first full professional season is down to 0.48 after this dominant eighth inning. It will be interesting to see if he is in Akron to start the second half.
Manuel Mejias (Lynchburg, C): 2-4, 1 2B ,1 RBI - Mejias’ fourth-inning RBI double gave the Hillcats a short-lived tie. It also proved to be the offensive highlight of an abysmal evening for the Hillcats.
Alonzo Richardson (Lynchburg, SP): L (4-3), 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R (both earned), 2 K, 1 Pickoff - Richardson took the tough-luck loss in his sixth straight start of five or more innings.
SP Keegan Zinn (ACL Guardians): 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BBs, 5 Ks, HBP, WP - Aside from some control issues, the 19-year-old right-hander kept the zero on the board for three innings in his sixth game and third start of 2024.
DH Carlos Gutierrez (ACL Guardians): 1-for-3, RBI, SF - Two quality at-bats for Gutierrez in the game with a single and sacrifice fly.
Juan Frances (DSL Mendoza, LF): 2-4, 1 R, 2 RBI - Nobody on Guardians Mendoza had a multi-hit game on Tuesday…that is, until Frances’ walk-off two-run single that turned a near-tossup (53% Guardians Mendoza win probability) into a certain victory.
Rodarni Salvador (DSL Mendoza, RP): 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K - Salvador hurled a trio of dominant shutout frames in his professional debut.
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C.J. Kayfus continues raking after promotion, Austin Peterson dominates and Welbyn Francisca hits grand slam
Cleveland Guardians minor league recap for Wednesday, June 12, 2024
By Brian Hemminger@BrianHemminger Jun 12, 2024, 10:00am EDT
Columbus Clippers 3, Iowa Cubs 2
Clippers improve to 26-37
Columbus didn’t have any particularly big hits, but three different players had multi-hit games. Johnathan Rodriguez led the way, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800731799099703604
Jhonkensy Noel stayed scorching hot, going 2-for-4, as did Myles Straw. Jose Tena had one hit, but he knocked in a pair of runs.
Starting pitcher Joey Cantillo had his best outing of the young season as he works his way back to full strength. Cantillo tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and one hit.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800681219300180137
Tyler Beede allowed one run in two innings of relief on a solo shot, but also struck out five batters. Andrew Walters also allowed a run on a solo shot while striking out a pair in 1 1⁄3 innings. Peter Strzelecki earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Akron RubberDucks 3, Hartford Yard Goats 4
RubberDucks fall to 33-25
Akron’s bullpen was the culprit in this one as the team got a surprisingly great start from Jaime Arias, who tossed five scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and two hits allowed.
Reliever Davis Sharpe gave up two runs on five hits in 2 2⁄3 innings, then Jordan Jones gave up the big blow, a two run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to allow Hartford to walk it off.
Akron lost despite outhitting Hartford 13 to 8. Alexfri Planez led the way, going 3-for-5 at the dish to continue his recent torrid streak.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800737549826379793
C.J. Kayfus also continues to be unbelievable despite his recent promotion. He went 2-for-4 with a walk, raising his batting average at Akron to a whopping .500.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800687299807637990
Milan Tolentino and Dayan Frias both went 2-for-4 with a double while Petey Halpin walked twice and Nate Furman went 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base.
Lake County Captains 1, Fort Wayne Tincaps 0
Captains improve to 35-23
No Rake County? No problem!
It was all about the pitching Tuesday for the Captains, especially with the dominant Austin Peterson on the mound. Peterson was sensational, tossing 5 2⁄3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks. He allowed four hits. It’s time to promote this man to Akron like yesterday.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800677936036520330
The bullpen also was terrific as Jake Miller, Jay Driver and Zane Morehouse combined for 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings. Driver hasn’t allowed a run in his last 16 1⁄3 innings pitched and now sports a 0.48 ERA on the season.
No one for Lake County reached base safely twice, although all four of the Captains’ hits were for extra bases. Alex Mooney, Cooper Ingle and Angel Genao all doubled.
The biggest blow of the game, however, came off the bat of Jose Devers, who hit a solo shot in the seventh inning to account for the only run of the game.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800683107731021845
Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Augusta GreenJackets 9
Hillcats fall to 31-27
This game was close until Augusta teed off for a seven-spot in the top of the seventh inning to turn it into a laugher.
Ralphy Velazquez walked twice and scored the lone run for the Hillcats. Juan Benjamin and Manuel Mejias both went 2-for-4, with Mejias doubling. Tommy Hawke also went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
The lone pitching bright spot was starting pitcher Alonzo Richardson, who allowed two runs on five hits in 5 2⁄3 innings while striking out two and walking none.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1800744014339019078
ACL Guardians 10, ACL Athletics 6
Guardians improve 12-16
Don’t look now, but top middle infield prospect Welbyn Francisca is starting to heat up. The 18-year-old native of the Dominican Republic went 2-for-5 with a grand slam, a stolen base and three runs scored Wednesday. It was his first home run of the season and first in the United States.
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