Class-A OFFICIAL GAME INFORMATION Lake County Captains (6-8) vs. Bowling Green Hot Rods (8-8) Sunday, April 22 • 1:30 p.m. • Classic Park • Broadcast: All Sports CLE & ESPN 970 WFUN Game #15 • Home Game #6 • Season Series: 0-2, 18 Games Remaining RHP Eli Morgan (0-0, 1.20 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Valverde (1-0, 0.90 ERA) YESTERDAY: The Captains lost by an eyelash on a bang-bang play in the ninth inning. Bowling Green led, 4-0, Midwest League • Overall until Jorma Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Jose Vicente homered on the first pitch of the ninth to cut the Hot Rods’ lead to 4-3. Lake County put runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth inning and Eastern Division W L GB Rodriguez hit a ground ball to third base. Zach Rutherford fired quickly to first and his throw beat Rodriguez by half a step to end the game. If Rodriguez had beaten the throw, Tyler Friis would have scored to tie the game. West Michigan (Tigers) 10 3 -- Earlier in the contest, Hot Rods starter Brendan McKay struck out seven Captains in four shutout innings and threw just seven balls. Dayton (Reds) 9 4 1.0 Lansing (Blue Jays) 8 6 2.5 OH, SO CLOSE: The Captains have already played six one-run games this year and are 2-4. Only South Bend has played more one-run games with seven (4-3). South Bend (Cubs) 7 6 3.0 BRRRR: The Captains have only played three games in which the first pitch temperature was above 50 degrees. Bowling Green (Rays) 8 8 3.5 STARTERS VS. RELIEVERS: The Captains’ bullpen has been carrying the pitching staff at the start of the LAKE COUNTY (INDIANS) 6 8 4.5 season. Lake County’s relievers have posted a 2.72 ERA, while the starters have a 5.88 ERA. Grant Hockin is Fort Wayne (Padres) 5 11 6.5 the only starter to notch a win this year. Great Lakes (Dodgers) 3 10 7.0 BETTER LUCK COMING?: Of the eight Captains pitchers who are considered either starters or “piggyback Western Division W L GB pitchers,” four have allowed a BABIP over .400. League average BABIP is typically about .300. Clinton (Mariners) 9 3 -- PRODUCTION LINE: The Captains’ offense is fourth in runs (72) and tied for fourth in hits (116). Cedar Rapids (Twins) 6 3 1.5 ON A ROLL: Ernie Clement has paced the Captains’ lineup recently. Clement is on a seven-game hitting streak, Kane County (Diamondbacks) 8 5 1.5 during which he has gone 9-for-30 (.300) with three RBI and four runs. Peoria (Cardinals) 7 6 2.5 TOP PROSPECTS: The Captains feature five players in the Indians’ Top 30 Prospects, according to Baseball America and MLB.com: INF Nolan Jones (BA #4, MLB #4), OF Will Benson (BA #10, MLB #7), OF Oscar Burlington (Angels) 6 6 3.0 Gonzalez (BA #20, MLB #18), INF Ernie Clement (BA #24, MLB # 24) and RHP Eli Morgan (BA #29, MLB #28) Beloit (A’s) 5 5 3.0 BIG LEAGUE DEBUTS: Seven former Captains players made their Major League debut in 2017, bringing the Quad Cities (Astros) 4 8 5.0 total number of ex-Captains in the big leagues to 74. The Captains graduates who got the call last year are OF Wisconsin (Brewers) 3 12 7.5 Bradley Zimmer (Indians – 2014 Captains), RHP Paolo Espino (Brewers – 2007-09), OF Clint Frazier (Yankees – 2014), OF Carlos Moncrief (Giants – 2011), OF Anthony Santander (Orioles – 2013-15), OF Greg Allen @-1st Half Title $-2nd Half Title %-1st-half Wild Card *-2nd-half Wild Card (Indians – 2015) and C Francisco Mejia (Indians – 2015-16). CALLAWAY’S BIG CALL: Former Captains Pitching Coach Mickey Callaway was named the new manager of the New York Mets on October 23, 2017. Callaway becomes the first ever Captains coach or manager to become Captains Contacts a Major League manager. He was the pitching coach for the 2010 Captains who won the Midwest League championship. Tim O’Brien: [email protected] Andrew Luftglass: [email protected] “BUD” IN THE BIGS: Former Captains Manager Mark Budzinski was added to the Indians’ Major League Telephone: 440-975-8085 coaching staff during the 2017 offseason. His role will include advance preparation, player performance and on field pre-game work. Budzinski was the Captains’ manager in 2014. He becomes the seventh former Captains Twitter: @LCCaptains coach or manager to reach the big leagues. UPCOMING SCHEDULE AND PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS Date Opp. Time (ET) Captains Starter Opponent Starter Live Audio (Subject to Change) 4/23 vs. WM 6:30 PM LHP Juan Hillman LHP Eudis Idrogo All Sports CLE 4/24 vs. WM 6:30 PM LHP Francisco Perez RHP Garett King All Sports CLE 4/25 vs. WM 6:30 PM LHP Kirk McCarty RHP Elvin Rodriguez All Sports CLE 4/26 vs. WM 12:30 PM RHP Grant Hockin RHP Matt Manning All Sports CLE & ESPN 970 WFUN LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS GAME NOTES PAGE 2 TODAY’S CAPTAINS STARTING PITCHER #27 ELI MORGAN RHP 2018 Game-By-Game Date Opp Dec IP H R ER HR SO BB Result Born (Age): May 13, 1996 (21) 4/5 FW ND 6.0 4 1 0 0 8 0 W, 3-2 Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 4/10 at DAY ND 6.0 5 1 1 0 9 0 L, 4-1 School: Gonzaga University 4/17 at LAN ND 3.0 4 1 1 0 6 2 L, 7-2 HT: 5’10” │WT: 190 lbs │ Bats: R │Throws: R Total 0-0 15.0 13 3 2 0 23 2 Acquired: 2017 MLB Draft – Round 8 Pitch Selection: Four-seam fastball, slider, changeup * Relief Appearance 2018 Statistics Team W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO LC 0 0 1.20 3 3 0 0 15.0 13 3 2 0 0 2 23 Total 0 0 1.20 3 3 0 0 15.0 13 3 2 0 0 2 23 Career Statistics Year Team W L ERA G GS CG SHO IP SO BB WHIP 2017 MV 3 2 1.03 13 5 0 0 35.0 58 9 0.94 2018 LC 0 0 1.20 3 3 0 0 15.0 23 2 1.00 Total 2 Teams 3 2 1.08 16 8 0 0 50.0 81 11 0.96 LAST TIME OUT: Morgan started at Lansing on Tuesday night and only lasted three innings despite surrendering just one run on four hits. Morgan ran his pitch count up to 76 thanks to two walks and several deep counts. The right-hander also struck out six. Lake County’s offense plated six runs in a monster third inning to win, 7-2. AMONG THE BEST: Morgan leads all Midwest League starters with a 13.80 K/9 rate. He is also second in the league in strikeouts with 23 (Fort Wayne’s Nick Margevicius has 24). Morgan’s 1.20 ERA ranks ninth in the league. PROSPECTING: Ranked as the Indians’ #28 prospect by MLB.com and #29 by Baseball America. LAST SEASON: Morgan made his professional debut with the Short Season Mahoning Valley Scrappers after being drafted by the Indians in the eighth round. Over 13 appearances (five starts), the right-hander was among the best pitchers at his level. Morgan led all of Short Season baseball (minimum 20 IP) with a 42.3 K% and a 35.8 K-BB%. His 0.89 FIP was also the lowest among all Short Season pitchers. STRIKEOUT MASTER: Finished 2017 3rd in NCAA Division I in strikeouts with 138. Morgan’s total was the second-highest ever by a Gonzaga pitcher in a single season. He also was one of just four pitchers in the nation with multiple 15-K games. Morgan finished his career ranked third in GU history with 283 K’s. SCOUTING REPORT: Morgan’s best offering is his changeup, which has screwball action and fades away from left-handers. His changeup sits at 74-76 MPH, paired with a fastball that sits at 88-91 MPH. CHILDHOOD IDOLS: Morgan grew up idolizing Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay, per a Baseball 2018 Highs America article in May, 2017. INNINGS ........................................................................................... 6.0 (2x) STRIKEOUTS ...................................................................... 9 (4/10 at DAY) MODELS GAME AFTER: Pedro Martinez and Johnny Cueto. Morgan identified with Martinez as a WALKS .................................................................................. 2 (4/17 at LAN) shorter right-handed pitcher and liked his tenacity and fearlessness on the mound. Morgan models his HITS ..................................................................................... 5 (4/10 at DAY) pitch sequencing and style after Cueto, saying, “I did something similar last year, changing timing, RUNS ................................................................................................... 1 (3x) messing with tempos, pausing, switching pitches. His fastball is firmer than mine, and he’s got a pretty EARNED RUNS ................................................................................... 1 (2x) good slider. But I model my pitching right now after him” – Baseball America HR ........................................................................................... 0 (4/5 vs. FW) FEWEST HITS (5+IP) ............................................................. 4 (4/5 vs. FW) st COLLEGE ACCOLADES: 2017 Perfect Game/Rawlings 1 Team All-American, 2017 Collegiate Baseball 2nd Team All-American, 2x 1st Team All-WCC LAST WIN: 8/25/17 vs. WV LAST LOSS: 8/30/17 at BAT 21ST CENTURY CHANGEUP: Uses a four-seam circle-changeup grip that he picked up by watching LAST HR ALLOWED: None in professional baseball GIF’s of Danny Duffy. He started working on the pitch in high school.