Cantillo Wins Midwest League Player of the Month Award
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - TinCaps starting pitcher Joey Cantillo earned the Midwest League Uncle Ray's Player of the Month award for June, Minor League Baseball announced on Wednesday. In recognition of the honor, Cantillo will receive an award from Minor League Baseball and Uncle Ray's, the "Official Potato Chip of Minor
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - TinCaps starting pitcher Joey Cantillo earned the Midwest League Uncle Ray's Player of the Month award for June, Minor League Baseball announced on Wednesday. In recognition of the honor, Cantillo will receive an award from Minor League Baseball and Uncle Ray's, the "Official Potato Chip of Minor League Baseball," before a TinCaps game at Parkview Field in July.
The 19-year-old left-hander from Hawaii made four starts in June, posting a league-low 0.36 ERA across 25 innings. Cantillo struck out 30 batters, while walking only one. His batting average against (.099) and WHIP (0.36) were also the best in the MWL. Along the way, Cantillo won the league's Pitcher of the Week award two consecutive weeks to close the month, becoming the first Midwest League pitcher to claim the honor in back-to-back weeks since 2017.
"I'm thankful for this award," Cantillo said. "I'm also grateful for my teammates and coaches in the San Diego Padres organization. I plan to continue to work hard to improve and help our team win more games in this second half of the season."
Cantillo is the fourth TinCap to win such an honor since the Midwest League began awarding a Player of the Month in 2013. He's the first Fort Wayne pitcher to garner the accolade, following third baseman Hudson Potts in Aug. 2017, catcher Austin Allen in April 2016, and outfielder Nick Schulz in Aug. 2014.
"The run Joey has been on over the last couple months has been fun to watch," said TinCaps pitching coach Matt Williams . "It's a byproduct of the work that he puts in between his outings."
The Padres' 16th round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft twirled a masterful start on June 26 at home against the South Bend Cubs (Chicago Cubs affiliate). He tossed a career-long eight scoreless innings while taking a no-hitter into the seventh. Cantillo, who MLB.com rates as the 30thth best prospect in San Diego's farm system, racked up nine strikeouts with no walks and just two singles allowed.
The last time a TinCaps pitcher had thrown eight scoreless innings was Sept. 9, 2011, when left-hander Mark Hardy did it in a playoff game. The last Fort Wayne pitcher to throw eight scoreless in a regular season start was Corey Kluber on Aug. 19, 2008.
Cantillo, who was committed to the University of Kentucky before signing with the Padres, was also outstanding on June 20, striking out a career-high 10 batters in six scoreless innings against the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) in Midland, Mich. He allowed just two singles and no walks in that start as well.
Before that, on June 11, it was five scoreless innings on the road versus the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays affiliate), in which he allowed just a single to Wander Franco, the top prospect in Minor League Baseball.
The former Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year at Kailua High School started June with six innings of one-run ball against the Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians affiliate) on the 5th. After surrendering a solo home run, he closed the month with 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames. For what it's worth, all four opponents have winning records on the season and rank among the top six teams in the league in OPS.
Cantillo's sterling June is just part of what has been a sensational season. His 1.83 ERA is the lowest in the MWL and the third lowest in all of Minor League Baseball. The same goes for his 0.81 WHIP, while his .159 average against ranks second in MiLB.
Cantillo, who throws a four-seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup, has struck out 90 batters, which also leads the league, in 69 innings. To put it another way, he's striking out 34% of batters, or 11.74 batters per nine innings. At the same time, he's walked just 6% of opponents. That 28% disparity between K% and BB% is another category in which he leads the MWL.
Advanced metrics like Cantillo, too. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching, which is comparable to ERA) of 2.11 is the best in the MWL, and so is his 2.48 xFIP.
Believe it or not, he's accomplished these numbers despite having an inconsistent April. But since the calendar turned to May, in 10 starts, Cantillo's ERA is a miniscule 0.78 with 71 strikeouts to nine walks in 57 1/3 innings pitched.
Keep in mind, the average age for a pitcher in the Midwest League this season is 21.9 years old. The average age for a hitter is 21.2 years old. Cantillo won't turn 20 until Dec. 18 as he's one of the youngest pitchers in the league.
In addition to Cantillo's awards this season, infielder Tucupita Marcano was the circuit's Offensive Player of the Week for the week of April 29-May 5. Infielder Xavier Edwards , starting pitcher Ryan Weathers , and reliever Henry Henry were all selected for the Midwest League All-Star Game.
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
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring