Fort Wayne TinCaps at South Bend Cubs preview

The Fort Wayne TinCaps will be back in their home state but still on the road this week. They go to Four-Winds Field in South Bend to take on the Cubs. This will be the second series the TinCaps have played in South Bend this year.

The previous visit entailed a benches-clearing brawl. Not only was there the brawl, but Fort Wayne ended up blowing a 7-0 lead in the ballgame. Both clubs have emphasized they have moved on from the incident.

In this series, the TinCaps will not have to deal with Cubs star Brennen Davis. Davis, the 47^th ranked prospect in Major League Baseball, has been promoted to the Tennessee Smokies in Double-A.  The TinCaps roster also had a promotion. Outfielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton was assigned to the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the Padres.

The TinCaps will still have to deal with speedster Delvin Zinn. Going into last weekend, Zinn was a perfect 25 for 25 stealing bases. Currently, he sits 2^nd in the entire league in stolen bases. If he did not receive a suspension for his actions in the brawl, he would probably be leading the league.

TinCaps Leaders: 

• Tirso Ornelas OF-  Going into last weekend, he was leading the league with 15 doubles.
• Ethan Elliott- SP– Currently continues his strong individual performance leading the league in ERA at 1.97.  He also leads the league in Left on Base Percentage at 100%.
• Ethan Skender 2B- Has the highest pull percentage in the league and hit his 1st homerun the season on Saturday at Dayton.
• Agustin Ruiz OF- Leads the team in home runs with 9.  He also leads the team in RBI’s with 27.

Series Information: 

• Location: 4 Winds Field- South Bend, Indiana.
• When: 6-22-21 through 6-27-21.
• Watch or Listen- Milbtv.com or radio ESPN 1380

Notes:

• The Cubs won the 2019 Midwest League Championship in Low-A. The majority of those clubs are now the new High-A Central.
• Even though the TinCaps and Cubs reside in the same state, they are in different divisions.
• The Cubs and TinCaps split their previous series 3-3 last month
• Although the TinCaps are in last place in the division, they still have time to make a push. The East Division is highly competitive compared to the West.  In the East, first place to last place is only separated by 6.5 games.  In the West, Quad Cities has a 6.5 game lead over Beloit and Cedar Rapids, who are tied for second.

Mitch J. Brunner

I was born, raised, and still reside in the Hoosier state. I am a 2008 graduate of Ivy Tech Community College. I am married to my beautiful wife Kristen, father to Garrett, with another child on the way. A baseball enthusiast covering the Fort Wayne TinCaps, High A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.