Lake County Captains: Baseball America's 2024 MiLB Team Of The Year (original) (raw)

The Guardians organization is on a roll.

It started at the 2023 Winter Meetings, when Cleveland won the first overall pick in the 2024 draft lottery.

It continued when the Guardians won 92 games and the American League Central division title.

It continued when Cleveland advanced to the AL Championship Series and when Stephen Vogt was voted AL Manager of the Year.

Another accolade for the Guardians: The organization’s High-A Lake County affiliate is the Baseball America Minor League Team of the Year.

That is a lot of hardware, and a lot of winning, even for a franchise on a roll.

“Winning is part of development,” Guardians assistant GM James Harris said. “The goal is to play what we call ‘Guards ball’ and be the best version of ourselves that we can be.”

Under manager Omir Santos, the Lake County Captains were all of that, and more, in 2024. The team went 77-53 (.592) then beat Wisconsin in the best-of-three championship series to win the Midwest League title.

The Captains led the MWL in runs scored and fewest runs allowed. They led in walks and on-base percentage and ranked second in stolen bases and slugging. Lake County pitchers allowed the fewest baserunners.

“When we looked at our roster at the start of the year, we were quite excited,” Harris said. “Then at midseason, we moved some guys up and got even more excited.”

Among those midseason additions were 21-year-old lefthander Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, who was summoned to Lake County from Low-A Lynchburg, where in eight starts he allowed five earned runs with 71 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.

Also promoted to Lake County at midseason was 19-year-old first baseman Ralphy Velazquez, Cleveland’s first-round pick in 2023.

“Getting Tugboat and Ralphy during the middle of the season really strengthened the team,” Harris said. “That’s when we knew we were going to be competitive. Ralphy came in . . . the youngest on the team. You could think he would think, ‘It’s all about me,’ but he didn’t. He came in ready to work.”

Even more exciting was the addition of 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana, the Australia-born second baseman from Oregon State. Coming off a full college season, Bazzana’s numbers in 27 games for Lake County were modest—he hit .238/.369/.396 with three home runs—but his presence energized the team and, especially, the fans.

Harris said that deciding at which level Bazzana would begin his career was an easy call.

“Travis was an advanced player out of college, and he was in great shape,” Harris said. “We figured Lake County would be an easy transition for him, so why not just let him go out and play and get the opportunity to get acclimated to pro ball?

“The team was already established, so we wanted to get Travis and Ralphy acclimated to pro ball, just like anyone else.”

Counting first-round picks Bazzana and Velazquez, Lake County featured five of the Guardians’ top 10 prospects at one point or another. The list includes 2023 draft breakthroughs in catcher Cooper Ingle, the Midwest League MVP, and first baseman C.J. Kayfus.

Both Ingle and Kayfus were promoted to Double-A at midseason, but the arrival of 20-year-old Dominican shortstop Angel Genao from Low-A helped soften the blow.

Guardians officials have a well-established belief in the advantages of camaraderie.

At the start of the season, the Guardians believed that Lake County had a chance to be a winner. That is exactly what happened, even with the typical player movement that occurs during the course of a minor league season.

In this case, the team came together, stayed together and won together.

The Guardians need to build a winning culture in the minor leagues and lean into player development. The organization entered 2024 with the third-lowest payroll in MLB and have traditionally leaned on homegrown players to succeed.

Examples abound on Cleveland’s 2024 postseason roster, from superstar third baseman Jose Ramirez to left fielder Steven Kwan to shortstop Brayan Rocchio in the lineup.

Righthander Tanner Bibee led the rotation, while homegrown relievers Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Tim Herrin were essential to success.

Other impact players such as closer Emmanuel Clase, second baseman Andres Gimenez and first baseman Josh Naylor were acquired from other clubs as prospects.

“We’ve had a really talented past,” Harris said of past Guardians player-development successes. “The bar is set high in this organization. Sometimes it’s really tough to find the best level for all of them.”

One advantageous feature about Cleveland’s minor league system is that three of its four full-season affiliates are based in Ohio, which is a bonus for club officials, as well as Guardians fans.

Triple-A Columbus is roughly a two-hour drive from Progressive Field. Double-A Akron is about a 30-minute drive. Lake County is about a 20-minute drive. Low-A Lynchburg in Virginia is the only Guardians affiliate that is not an easy drive from Cleveland.

“The majority of our affiliates are in Ohio, which makes it great for our fans, and for the families of our players who may be playing for one of our teams,” Harris said. “It even allows some of our players to go watch their friends’ games at some of our minor league parks.”

Of course, winning is what matters most.

“We want every level of our minor league system to challenge for a playoff spot,” Harris said.

Lake County did that—and more—in 2024.