TinCaps at Great Lakes series preview

The Fort Wayne TinCaps hit the road and go to Midland, Michigan, to take on the Great Lakes Loons.

The Loons are the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The Loons have been atop the High-A Central East division throughout the year.  The TinCaps, however, has been near the bottom in the East most of the year.

The Padres and Dodgers themselves are currently in a heated race in the National League West.  Not just on the field, but at the trade deadline too. The Dodgers acquired Trea Turner this week, who spent time in Fort Wayne in 2014.

Great Lakes has been with the Dodgers organization since 2007.  That is longer than any other of their affiliates. That means many former Loons are currently on their MLB roster:

• Clayton Kershaw, 2007
• Joc Pederson, 2011
• Corey Seager, 2013
• Will Smith, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, 2016
• Gavin Lux, 2017

There is no question the reason the Loons have ascended to one of the top teams in the High-A Central.  Currently, the Loons have 7 of the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects on their roster. They are listed below.

In the previous series this year, the Loons and TinCaps played at Parkview Field.  The TinCaps took the first game of the series, then lost the next 5 to Great Lakes. Fort Wayne will look to get revenge this week.  The two teams will play another series in Great Lakes starting August 31.

Already in an uphill battle facing the Loons, the TinCaps pitching has been gutted over the last couple of weeks.  Matt Waldron and Ethan Elliot were promoted to Double-A San Antonio.  Anderson Espinoza, a top prospect and member of the Padres 40 man roster, was part of a deal at the MLB trade deadline that sent him to the Chicago Cubs. Subsequently, he was assigned to the South Bend Cubs, who is a member of the High-A Central West.  Beginning August 10th, the South Bend Cubs come to Fort Wayne for a six-game series.  Then finally, Carter Loewen announced on Twitter he was scheduled for Tommy John surgery.

@carterloewen

“A little while ago, after elbow soreness turned to pain, an MRI revealed my UCL is 95% torn. Unfortunately this ends my season and my 2022 season as I am scheduled for Tommy John. However, I’m damn proud of the way I pitched and went about my business loading up to and and during my firs year of pro ball. I could not be more excited to get back out there and show what I can do on the bump.  I know the Padres and the Tread staff have my back and that gives me incredible confidence that I’m going to come back stronger.  The future looks bright. “

As the calendar turns to August, that means only 2 months are remaining in the regular season.  Let’s take a step back and look who shined for the TinCaps in July.

• Moises Lugo SP- In four starts, he collected two wins, and opponents all batted under .200.
• Danny Denz SP- The last start against Lansing went five innings giving up no runs and only allowing two hits.
• Luis Almanzar IF- Through five games in the Lansing series, he has collected eight base hits.
• Justin Lopez IF- Hit three home runs, six doubles, and 14 RBI’s

Series Information:

• Dow Diamond, Midland Michigan- ( 400 CF, LF 332, RF 325)
• Six games 8/3/2021 – 8/8/2021. Monday through Saturday first pitch at 7:05 PM EDT, Sunday 1:05 PM EDT
• Watch on MiLBTV.com or listen on ESPN 1380 Fort Wayne.

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.