Bases Loaded: A weekly look at Cleveland Guardians affiliates
The RubberDucks, Captains and Hillcats joined the Clippers with this week with their Opening Day games in 2023
Triple-A: Columbus Clippers
Record: 3-6 | Last Week: 3-3 vs Charlotte Knights
Highlight of the Week: In his Columbus debut, Tanner Bibee tossed 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball in game one of Friday’s doubleheader against Charlotte and induced the most swings and misses in all of Triple-A Friday with 16. He had a heavy dose of fastballs (37) and sliders (23) with the third pitch curveball throwing batters off (6-of-8 pitches for strikes). The effectiveness can be credited to his ability to spot the fastball up and slider down (Pitch Chart). His outing helped to set up the bullpen for the weekend with four games in three days. Bibee has skyrocketed his way through the Guardians system and now has shown he can be excellent at the highest level of minor league baseball. Looking back at his 2022 stats, he held an ERA of 2.17 in 25 outings in Single and Double-A, including a .194 opponent’s batting average in Akron. So far he has looked better as he progresses up a level and it will be interesting to see if that continues for him in 2023. He is off to a good start thus far and Cleveland might have to utilize him sooner rather than later thanks to some injury woes that have seen Peyton Battenfield called up.
Facts and Trends:
Brayan Rocchio was able to flash the leather in the middle infield and flex his muscles in the batter’s box. He went 8-for-22 with five runs and three doubles. He was 3-for-3 in the series opener against Charlotte and had hits in 5-of-6 games. He helps the whole lineup in the middle of the order by keeping runners on base when the bottom of the order gets to the plate.
Jhonkensy Noel hit his first homerun of the season on Sunday with a registered 362-foot shot to right center field off the team scoreboard. Noel has gotten off to a slow start in the 2023 season, but hopefully going deep for the first time will help boost his confidence at the plate. The biggest thing for him is to limit his swings and misses.
Up Next: The Clippers begin a six-game set at Worcester to take on the Red Sox affiliate.
Double-A: Akron RubberDucks
Record: 1-2 | Last Week: 1-2 vs Erie SeaWolves
Highlight of the Week: Gavin Williams received the opening day start for the Rubberducks on Thursday night and was hard to hit through 4.1 innings. Williams retired nine on strikes and five of the nine K’s on his ledger came from pitches up in the zone. 52 of his 77 total pitches went for strikes. Williams made 16 starts in Akron in 2022 and should be watched to be moved up should there be an injury early in the year.
Facts and Trends:
Despite a low team batting average through three games, the team has the second-most walks in the Eastern League at 20. 11 of the 13 position players drew a walk over the weekend with Bryan Lavastida and Gabriel Rodriguez inducing three apiece. In 2022, Akron was near the bottom of the league in base on balls, but free baserunners might be the key to success for this team in 2022.
Up Next: Akron is on the road following two days off when the team travels to Bowie to face the BaySox.
Single-A: Lake County Captains
Record: 2-1 | Last Week: 2-1 vs Dayton Dragons
Highlight of the Week: In his Single-A debut, Jorge Burgos drove in five runs (including a grand slam) for the Captains to lead the charge in an 8-3 victory. The left-handed 21-year-old was a regular in the Lynchburg lineup last season and has taken the next step forward by starting the 2023 season in Lake County. He took a small step back in extra base hits in 2022, but now has a double and a homerun in the team’s opening weekend to hopefully spark . Isaiah Greene and Jake Fox seemed to be the frontrunners to breakout in their first appearances in Single-A, but be on the lookout for Burgos to see if he can make a splash as well.
Facts and Trends:
The pitching staff was not helped out much by the defense last weekend with 11 runs scored, four going against the pitching staff. Tommy Mace struck out eight batters in four innings against the Dragons on opening day while starters Ryan Webb and Rodney Boone threw four or more innings of shutout baseball.
While wins are not entirely indicative of a good or bad outing, the two winning pitchers in Jaime Arias and Josh Wolf also looked sharp for the team with a combined 5.1 innings of shutout work as well. It seems like there is a group of pitchers in Lake County to start the year that could all breakout, but it will be interesting to see which names standout among the rest.
Up Next: The Captains will head west to Fort Wayne to face the TinCaps in a six-game set.
Low-A: Lynchburg Hillcats
Record: 1-2 | Last Week: 1-2 at Fredericksburg Nationals
Highlight of the Week: In what ended up being an extra inning loss, the duo of Guy Lipscomb and Angel Zarate came up clutch trailing by one run in the ninth. Lipscomb doubled to left with one out and Zarate snuck one by the opposing second baseman to score the game’s tying run. Zarate is the elder statesman among a group of young position players, but being able to convert in meaningful moments is going to go a long way in developing confidence while enduring the grind of a minor league season.
Facts and trends:
Lipscomb, Nate Furman and Lexer Saduy reached base five times each over the three-game set to lead the team. Each of them drawing multiple walks.
Up Next: The home opener for Lynchburg takes place on Tuesday when the Myrtle Beach Pelicans come to town.