Civale silences Snappers for seven frames
Indians prospect Aaron Civale doesn't have to look far to prepare for his next start. Most of the time, he doesn't even have to leave the room.Civale and his roommate of two years, catcher Logan Ice, teamed up Tuesday for another strong outing as the 2016 third-round pick went seven
Indians prospect Aaron Civale doesn't have to look far to prepare for his next start. Most of the time, he doesn't even have to leave the room.
Civale and his roommate of two years, catcher Logan Ice, teamed up Tuesday for another strong outing as the 2016 third-round pick went seven innings in a combined three-hit shutout over Beloit. The Lake County right-hander (2-2) held the Snappers to a pair of hits without a walk, striking out seven.
Michael Letkewicz pitched around a walk in the eighth before Dalbert Siri earned his second save with two strikeouts in the ninth, narrowly escaping a bases-loaded jam.
"I felt pretty good all around," said Civale after his seventh Midwest League start. "Pitches were in the zone, and I was on the same page as the catcher."
Ice was Civale's roommate on the road last season when the pair played at Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley. They're roommates again this year, and Civale said it's helped them build a comfort level on and off the field.
"We have the ability to talk to each other, and being on the same page with him makes everything else easier," Civale said.
Box score
Civale threw 65 of his 89 pitches for strikes Tuesday and is yet to allow more than one walk in game this season.
"We have constant communication, and I'm pretty much completely comfortable," Civale said of Ice, who went 1-for-3 with a walk. "He knows what I'm trying to do and I know what he's trying to do, so it makes it that much easier. I only shook him off a couple times today. It's definitely helpful."
The game's only run came in the fourth inning when Beloit reliever Mitchell Jordan walked in Alexis Pantoja. Jordan (1-1) was charged with a run on seven hits and two walks while striking out two over four innings.
Siri made things interesting in the ninth when he walked Nate Mondou and allowed a double to Kyle Nowlin before issuing a two-out free pass to Luis Barrera. He escaped the jam when JaVon Shelby went down swinging to end the game.
Civale went to Northeastern and debuted last summer with the Scrappers, finishing 0-2 with a 1.67 ERA in 37 2/3 innings over 13 starts. He's allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of his seven starts this year, with at least five strikeouts in four of those outings. He whiffed a career-high 10 batters on April 12 against Great Lakes.
"I pitch to contact and let my defense do the work," he said. "They played good behind me. We didn't score too many runs, but I just tried to keep us in the game so we had a chance to win. We were short on bullpen arms, so I wanted to get as many innings as I could to give them a break."
Civale said he tried to pitch efficiently Tuesday. In his seven starts this year, the 6-foot-2 East Windsor, Connecticut, native has issued just three walks total.
"I kept the ball in the zone, and that limits the amount of free bases," he said. "I want to make them make the outs.
"That's always a goal of mine, limit the walks," he continued. "I know that gets the defense on their heels, they get out of rhythm, and it'll get a pitcher out of rhythm, too. So I try to limit the amount of free bases. If I can control them from getting base by walking, that's something I take pride in."
It was both the third time Beloit has been shutout this season and marked Lake County's third shutout of the year.
Civale said the transition to a higher level has been smooth since most of the Midwest League is full of players he faced last year in the New York-Penn League.
"Our team is all the same guys a Mahoning Valley last year -- I think there were similar promotions around the league," he said. "It's been good. Just a matter of going to compete and doing the same at each level. Same goals. I don't really look too far ahead. I've just gotta compete either way."
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between