Gonzalez has big week in Columbus

Columbus, Akron and Lynchburg won their series this week, while Lake County split its six-game series. Here’s a look at how the Guardians’ prospects fared:

Triple-A Columbus (4-2)

The Clippers had a decent mix of good hitting performances and pitching this week, though not always on the same days. That led to an up-anddown series with the Louisville Bats in Columbus that featured two walkoff wins by the Clippers.

Columbus was fortunate that ex-Cleveland catcher Sandy Leon was behind the dish for the Bats and allowed a passed ball that gave them a win in the ninth, 7-6. Outfielders Oscar Gonzalez and Daniel Johnson each had three-hit performances in that win, Gonzalez homering and Johnson doubling. Johnson homered and drove in three during the week, but ended up on the injured list with a leg injury later in the week.

Gonzalez once again had a big week. He hit his fifth and sixth homers of the season and drove in five. Notably, he only struck out twice but didn’t walk. For the week, Gonzalez went 11-for-28, with two homers and five RBI that also included a fivehit day in the Clippers’ 8-4 win over the Bats on April 29.

Double-A Akron (4-2)

Akron played a good series against a tough Altoona (Pittsburgh) squad. Hunter Gaddis gave Akron an impressive five innings in a piggyback role behind a struggling Joey Cantillo. Akron fell, 6-4, to Altoona to start the series on April 26, but Gaddis allowed six hits and a run while striking out seven. He was on the mound to finish the series on May 1 and delivered a near carbon copy — five innings, four hits, an (unearned) run, and struck our seven. Cantillo recovered from a rough start on April 26 to throw four shutout innings behind Gaddis on May in Akron’s 4-1 series finale vs. Altoona.

In another loss, 2-1, on April 27, LHP Logan T. Allen spun six shutout innings with two hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Year-to-date, Allen has 30 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings, eight walks and a 2.11 ERA in his four starts. Allen is waiting for innings to open up for him at Triple-A Columbus at this point. Also in that loss, first basemen Marcos Gonzalez turned in a 3-for-4 performance, which turned into a big week for Cleveland’s 2016 international free agent that got a $250,000 signing bonus. Gonzalez went 6-for-17 with a double and a homer and two RBI this week. He’s battled injuries and doesn’t quite fit the role of a traditional first baseman, offensively, but he had offensive talent when he was signed and is worth at least tracking.

Lake County (3-3)

In four weeks of action in 2022, Lake County has played five doubleheaders. One was pre-scheduled ahead of Easter, but the other four were due to weather. The Captains played five in all of 2021. Here’s to April showers giving way to full, nonpostponed nine-inning games in May.

In a 3-1 loss to start the series on April 26, Tanner Bibee threw a good three innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits, a walk and five strikeouts. He took a part of a shattered bat off his leg and then a line drive off of his leg, which forced him out of the game.

The Captains’ theme in April was good pitching and some light hitting to win games that were low scoring. Aaron Davenport allowed a run in four innings and struck out four while walking two. He didn’t take the loss, but Lake County did, 4-1.

Lynchburg (4-2)

The Hillcats had a dominant week on both ends of the ball. In their wins, the Hillcats got strong pitching. They split a doubleheader on April 27, getting three runs in the sixth on a single and two basesloaded walks to push across runs. They fell, 8-0, in Game 2 and mustered just two hits. Will Dion allowed just a run on three hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven in a 6-3 win April 28. He lowered his ERA to 1.76 in four starts (15 1/3 innings). Trenton Denholm followed with an equally spectacular performance — four shutout innings with seven strikeouts, two hits and a walk. Jorge Burgos drove in two runs in that game en route to an 8-2 win. Center fielder Jake Fox, who was drafted as a second basemen, walked four times and came around to score three times. Relief prospect Davis Sharpe threw a perfect 2 2/3 innings, striking out five.

Jake Miller and Jack Leftwich put together a strong pitching performance on April 30, combining for eight innings, four hits four runs (two earned — all on Leftwich’s line) three walks and 17 strikeouts. Jake Fox walked two more times in this one and drove in two runs of his own, while Milan Tolentino, who has been the Hillcats’ biggest offensive threat, drew three walks of his own. He scored three runs and stole a base. Tolentino has an OPS over 1.000 this year.