Captain of the Week (7/8-7/13): Kevin Rivas
EASTLAKE, Ohio – After each series this season, the Lake County Captains will spotlight a Captain of the Week, presented by Official League, showcasing a player and their strong performance over the previous week. For the week of July 8-13, Lake County is recognizing C/INF Kevin Rivas as its 14th
EASTLAKE, Ohio – After each series this season, the Lake County Captains will spotlight a Captain of the Week, presented by Official League, showcasing a player and their strong performance over the previous week.
For the week of July 8-13, Lake County is recognizing C/INF Kevin Rivas as its 14th Captain of the Week for the 2025 season.
From July 8-13, the 22-year-old tied the Captains lead with seven hits, despite only making 13 plate appearances across three of Lake County’s six road games against the 2025 Midwest League East First Half Division Champion West Michigan Whitecaps. Among MiLB hitters with at least 12 plate appearances during this span, Rivas ranked top-10 in batting average (.583, tied for third), OPS (1.532, tied for eighth), and on-base percentage (.615, tied for 10th).
After not recording a multi-hit performance in his first 29 games this season across Lake County and Double-A Akron RubberDucks, the switch hitter logged three straight multi-hit contests against the Whitecaps this past week.
On Wednesday, July 9, Rivas went 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored, a solo home run, and an RBI in a 10-9 Captains defeat, tying pro career-highs with three hits and six total bases, and hitting his second home run of the year. His solo shot was his first homer since April 6 at Great Lakes, which was Lake County’s first home run of the season.
Then, on Saturday, July 12, Rivas went 2-for-3 with a two-out RBI infield single in an 8-5 Captains victory. Finally, on Sunday, July 13, he went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-out RBI single in a 5-2 Lake County win.
So far this season, Rivas has tallied 14 hits, two doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, and two stolen bases in 30 games played with the Captains. Additionally, on June 3 at West Michigan, he induced a groundout from then-Whitecaps OF Max Clark, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 Tigers and No. 11 MLB prospect, on just two pitches out of the Lake County bullpen as a right-handed reliever.
Rivas has also played in a pair of games for Double-A Akron, going a combined 0-for-2 at the plate across May 17 and 18 at Chesapeake (BAL).
Rivas logged two stints with the Captains last season, ending the year on Lake County’s 2024 Midwest League Championship roster. After being promoted to Lake County from the ACL Guardians, playing four games with the Captains between April 27 and May 10, he was eventually promoted to Lake County again from Single-A Lynchburg on Aug. 12. In 10 combined games with the Captains, the switch hitter recorded four hits, four RBI, and five walks.
His most notable 2024 performance for Lake County was on Aug. 31 versus the Cedar Rapids Kernels. After entering the game as a defensive sub in the top of the fourth inning, he went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI singles, including a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning. Defensively, he caught the potential go-ahead runner stealing third base on a pitch that ricocheted off the backstop.
Rivas was signed by Cleveland as an international free agent on July 2, 2019 out of San Felipe, Venezuela. In 147 regular season games with the Guardians organization, he has batted .209 with 284 hits, 13 doubles, six triples, four home runs, 48 RBI, 19 stolen bases, and a .657 OPS across the DSL Indians Red (2021), DSL CLE Red (2022), ACL Guardians (2023-24), Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats (2024), Double-A Akron RubberDucks (2025), and Lake County (2024-present).
Rivas will look to continue his recent success this week, as the Captains will host the Fort Wayne TinCaps for a three-game weekend series. First pitch for Friday night’s series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake. It will be Women in Sports Night at the ballpark, where Lake County will host a Fireworks Friday postgame fireworks show.
All three games will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App and MiLB.com, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.
About the Lake County Captains:
The Lake County Captains are the professional High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians located in Eastlake, Ohio. Our mission is to honor the rich history of our organization, while also introducing baseball to a new generation of fans through innovative means. We are committed to supporting our community, sports teams, and each other by demonstrating passion and having fun every day.