2015 Lake County Captains
Midwest League, 3rd in the Eastern Division, 3 games behind the Bowling Green Hot Rods (TB)
16-15 (.516 Winning Percentage)
120 Runs Scored, 129 Runs Against (14-17 Pythagorean Record) -9 Run Differential
The Lake County Captains are a young team and so far the age has shown in the team’s inconsistencies in the season. They started off slow by going 9-12 in April and never winning more than two games in a row.
Nine of the current 25 players that make up the Captains roster are age 21 and younger and that includes two key prospects who are under 20: Bobby Bradley, Yu-Chen Chang, Fransisco Mejia and Justus Sheffield.
The Captains have an extremely young roster full of players that won the Arizona Rookie League in ’14, a team that could stay together as they progress through the system. With a win on Monday evening against Fort Wayne it became only the first time in the 2014 season that the team won more than two consecutive games and is also the longest winning streak of the young season.
The offense has been the heaviest weight statistically, hitting slightly above the Mendoza line as a team and barely slugging the water temperature of Lake Erie. They saw a heavy dose of breaking balls from the opposition and most of those young hitters had a hard time adjusting to professional pitching, as Lake County is usually the first full season professional stop. The young hitters struggled, as the record showed.
The Captains received really good pitching from the mound in April, allowing them not to fall three games below .500 for the month. Of the five starters who have thrown 26 innings or more in 2015, four have ERA’s under 3.35 and all five have FIP’s under 4.00. All five also are striking out at least seven batters per game and three are walking one batter or less per nine innings.
The five aforementioned starters are:
Dace Kime
Anderson Polanco
Jordan Milbrath
Sean Brady
Justus Sheffield
Sheffield, the 31st pick of last season’s first round, has been very impressive so far this season. In 26 1/3 innings, he has earned a 3.08 ERA to go along with a 1.97 FIP while striking out nearly 11 batters per nine innings. Pitching coach Steve Karsay has worked with Sheffield on his balance during the delivery and keeping his upper body closed until the lead foot is planted. This gives Sheffield more bite to his breaking ball and zip to his fastball. The 19-year old should fly through the farm system as he is proving he can handle competition from Low-A.
Kame, who is a repeat player at Lake Country from last season, has a 3.34 ERA to go along with a 3.00 FIP. He has struck out 32 while walking only six in facing 140 batters. The former third round pick by the Indians worked on improving his command of his fastball this past off season and it has showed: In 2014, Kame walked 9.2% of the batters he faced while improving that mark to 4.3% in ’15. He was recently rewarded by being promoted to Lynchburg.
Three of the most prized Indians prospects are all on the offensive side for Lake County: Bradley, Chang and Mejia. Bradley has battled an oblique injury for most of the season which has limited his playing time. With only 38 plate appearances under his belt, he is a prime candidate to stay the entire length of the season in Lake Country. Although a small sample size, his 1.076 OPS indicates just how prestigious his power can be. The former Arizona Rookie League MVP also has a .421 OBP, an indicator that he is patient at the plate and looks for a good pitch to hit.
Mejia was ranked the number 2 prospect in the Indians system by Baseball Prospectus going into the season. A catcher, Mejia possesses the rare ability to field the position well while also providing a good bat. A .318 wOBA shows that he can hit the ball hard to all parts of the field despite a .216 BA. His BA is low because of a .239 BABIP, which has kept his luck to a minimum.
Most of the offense has been suppressed this season. There is a wide gap between Bradley’s .451 wOBA and Chang’s .366 wOBA. Chang, having about 100 more plate appearances than Bradley, has two HR and 14 RBI to go along with a .273 BA. The biggest issue with Chang is his ability to adjust to baseball in America, as he was an international free agent signee last summer. Although he has good range, his size and plus arm makes him a perfect candidate to play third base eventually.
The Captains will be an interesting team to watch the next few months. A combination of young talent and high ceilings and a good manager will make them fun to watch.
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