Fort Wayne TinCaps (2-3) vs. South Bend Cubs (2-3)
LHP Will Headean vs. RHP Kyle Miller
Tuesday, April 11, 2017— Parkview Field — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 6
LAST NIGHT: Fort Wayne fell to South Bend in their series opener, 5-3. The TinCaps fell behind 4-0 before putting up 3 runs in the home third. Rey Ilarraza (triple), Fernando Tatis Jr. (single), and Eguy Rosario (double) each provided a run-scoring hit.
THE PRESIDENT IS HERE: Midwest League President Dick Nussbaum is at Parkview Field tonight. Nussbaum, a South Bend-based attorney, is in his third season in the position after taking over for George Spelius, who served as MWL President for 28 years. Nussbaum has long been affiliated with the MWL, though, providing legal counsel for the league since 1993. He played baseball himself at Notre Dame (leading the Irish in hitting with a .333 average as a junior in 1973), where he also earned his law degree.
K LEADERS: TinCaps pitchers have recorded 59 strikeouts through the first 5 games of the season — tied with Bowling Green for most in the MWL. Individually, Ben Sheckler is leading the circuit with 12 Ks across just 5 innings of relief. Opening Day starter Jesse Scholtens is second in the MWL with 11 punch-outs.
AGGRESSIVE: After 2 steals last night, the TinCaps now have 7 stolen bases as a team — second most in the MWL to Dayton (12). In 2016, Fort Wayne stolen the third fewest bases in the league (73).
YOUTH MOVEMENT: At 17, INF Eguy (Eggy) Rosario is not only the youngest TinCap and not only the youngest in the MWL, but the youngest player in all of Minor League Baseball right now (according to Baseball America). INF Reinaldo Ilarraza is the 4th youngest in the MWL, while INF Fernando Tatis Jr. checks in at 5th, INF Hudson Potts 7th, and OF Jack Suwinski 10th. They’re all 18. (In 2016, there were only 4 18-year-olds in the entire Midwest League on Opening Day.)
EXPERIENCED PITCHING: For as young as the TinCaps are on the position-player side, especially in the infield, Fort Wayne’s 13-man pitching staff includes 9 guys who spent at least part of last season with the team. Lefty Logan Allen, 19, is the lone teenager on the staff.
INTO “THE SUMMIT”: On Sunday, Fernando Tatis Jr. became the first player to ever hit a home run in a game into “The Summit” presented by Tuthill in center field at Parkview Field. The ball traveled an estimated 437 feet. (Henry Charles homered to the roof of the Tutill 400 Club in 2014; “The Summit” opened in 2016, while the 400 Club debuted in 2013.)
THE OTHER GUYS: South Bend boasts the following Cubs Top 30 Prospects… RHP Dylan Cease (No. 3), SS Isaac Paredes (No. 18), and OF D.J. Wilson (No. 9).
