Dodgers' Estevez comes up big for Loons

It took Omar Estevez three months to find his footing in the Midwest League in his first full season in the professional ranks.

Now that he's found steady ground, he's flashing his potential at the dish.

The Dodgers' No. 12 prospect went 3-for-5 with a late grand slam and a career-high five RBIs on Thursday as Class A Great Lakes edged Lake County, 11-10, in 10 innings at Dow Diamond. He fell a triple shy of the cycle.

"You could see the confidence in him," said Great Lakes manager Gil Velazquez. "It started from the first day. He showed up with a certain mentality. He was prepared to play today. It's nice to see him just lock it in in situations like today. With as young as he is and as talented as he is, it not only shows the ability that he has, but also the character and heart he has to play the game."

The 18-year-old second baseman singled to left field in the first inning, flied out to right to lead off the fourth and struck out to end the sixth. He plated his first run of the game in the eighth with a one-out double to left.

Great Lakes entered the bottom of the ninth down, 10-4. With two outs, four straight walks plated one run and set the table for Estevez, who unloaded a grand slam to left. Luke Raley followed with a solo shot to knot the game, 10-10.

"I feel [Estevez] understood he needed to get a fastball to hit," Velazquez said. "The first pitch was a fastball and the second pitch was a slider down and away. He knew [the] fastball was coming and he prepared for it. What sticks out to me is how much he wants those situations, being how young he is. Some players hit the panic button and let their emotions get the best of them. He wants to be in those situations and he's not scared to fail in those situations."

The native of Cuba went 51-for-248 (.206) with two homers and 22 RBIs in 66 games over the first three months of the season. He's since rebounded to go 42-for-130 (.323) with seven long balls and 31 RBIs in 33 games in July and August.

"This is a great second half for him," Velazquez said. "The first half was a grind for him. There were a lot of swings and misses, and he was chasing pitches up in the zone.

"[The struggles were a product of] just the roller-coaster ride of the ups and downs, you know. He's never gone through a stretch of playing so many games consistently and trying to make adjustments day by day," the hitting coach added. "I feel he's in a better place because he's understanding what he does well and what type of approach he has to have. He understands where his strengths and weaknesses are, but he's still growing and still learning and has a long ways to go before becoming the big leaguer we feel he can be."

Great Lakes' Garrett Hope went 3-for-4 and ripped a two-out double to center with two outs in the 10th. Darien Tubbs, followed with a walk-off single to center.

Dodgers' No. 6 prospect Yadier Alvarez gave up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits while striking out three over 3 2/3 innings. Ivan Vieitez (2-2) allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits and a walk with a strikeout in the final two frames.

Sam Haggerty went 4-for-5 and Anthony Miller belted a two-run homer for Lake County.

Cleveland's No. 7 prospect Triston McKenzie surrendered three runs on five hits while fanning eight over 6 2/3 innings.