Captain of the Week (5/28-6/2): Cooper Ingle

EASTLAKE, OH – 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 May 28 through June 2, Lake County is recognizing C Cooper Ingle as its seventh 2024 Captain of the Week.

The 22-year-old had a productive series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels this past week. He ranked top-five among qualified High-A hitters in: OPS (1.392, second), slugging percentage (.813, third), batting average (.500, tied for third), and on-base percentage (.579, tied for fifth).

Ingle also led Lake County in hits (eight), total bases (13, tied), doubles (two, tied), and RBI (six, tied), while striking out just once in 19 plate appearances. Additionally, he was one of four Captains to hit a home run against the Kernels. Ingle’s grand slam on Saturday, June 1 was the catalyst for Lake County’s 10-run first inning, the team’s highest-scoring frame since its 10-run top of the fourth on April 15, 2017 at Lansing.

Along with his go-ahead grand slam against West Michigan on Saturday, May 25, he is the only player across MiLB and MLB with multiple grand slams in this span.

The Captains catcher is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, which is the longest active streak in the Midwest League, and tied for both the longest active streak in High-A and longest by a Lake County hitter this season. Since his streak started on May 17, Ingle leads qualified MiLB hitters in batting average (.477) and on-base percentage (.574), while ranking second in OPS (1.279). He has also struck out just five times in 54 plate appearances.

So far this year, Ingle is hitting .354 with 40 hits, 11 doubles, three home runs, 26 RBI, 16 walks, a .434 on-base percentage, a .531 slugging percentage, and a .965 OPS in 29 games, while striking out just 14 times in 129 plate appearances.

Ingle was drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Clemson. The left-handed hitter had a terrific three seasons with the Tigers, hitting .329 with 29 doubles, 14 home runs, 81 RBI, 80 walks, and an .878 OPS in 126 games, while striking out just 62 times in 483 at-bats. In 2023, he was named Third Team All-ACC and Clemson’s Defensive MVP, while also being named to the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Watch List.

Upon being drafted by the Guardians, Ingle was assigned to Lake County on August 8, 2023. He made a strong first impression at the professional level, hitting .288 with 15 hits, five doubles, 10 RBI, 17 walks, two stolen bases, a .464 on-base percentage, and an .849 OPS in 17 games, while striking out just eight times in 69 plate appearances.

Ingle will look to continue his recent success this week, as the Captains will wrap up a season-long 12-game road trip with a six-game series against the Beloit Sky Carp. The series is set to begin on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:35 p.m. at ABC Supply Stadium in Beloit, Wisconsin. All six games will be broadcast on both the Bally Live app and MiLB.TV, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on both X and Instagram.

The Lake County Captains are the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, and have been a Class A Affiliate of Cleveland since the team was founded in 2003. To find out more information about the Captains or purchase tickets, visit CaptainsBaseball.com, or call (440) 975-8085.