Captain of the Week (5/7-5/12): Trenton Denholm
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 7 through May 12, Lake County is recognizing RHP Trenton Denholm
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 7 through May 12, Lake County is recognizing RHP Trenton Denholm as its fourth Captain of the Week for the 2024 season.
The 24-year-old arguably had the Captains’ best start of the season in Game 1 of a seven-inning doubleheader against the Dayton Dragons on May 10, earning his third win of the season. For the second time in his Minor League career, Denholm pitched seven innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, while throwing a season-high nine strikeouts in 85 pitches (64 strikes).
After retiring the first five Dayton batters he faced, Denholm allowed a double and a walk in consecutive Dragons plate appearances. But the Lake County right-hander then settled into an impressive rhythm, retiring 16 of his final 17 Dayton batters faced.
This performance marked Lake County’s first seven-inning complete game shutout since current Double-A Akron RubberDucks RHP Aaron Davenport recorded one with the Captains in Game 1 of a seven-inning road doubleheader against the Great Lakes Loons on September 4, 2022.
So far this year, Denholm ranks top-10 among qualified Midwest League pitchers in: complete games (one, tied for first), shutouts (one, tied for first), win percentage (1.000, tied for first), WHIP (0.84, third), opposing batting average (.194, tied for third), ERA (2.51, fourth), innings pitched (32.1, fifth), strikeouts (36, tied for fifth).
Denholm was selected by the Cleveland Guardians in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of UC Irvine. The right-hander had a strong four seasons with the Anteaters, going 21-16 with a 3.44 ERA, 236 strikeouts, and 83 walks in 50 appearances (49 starts).
Denholm put together his best collegiate season as a sophomore in 2019. He went 9-4 with a 1.81 ERA, 93 strikeouts, 20 walks, all four of his career complete games, and his only career shutout en route to Big West Pitcher of the Year honors. The El Dorado Hills, California native was also named to both the Collegiate Baseball All-America Third Team and All-Big West First Team, and was invited to the USA Collegiate National Team training camp. He was eventually named to the Golden Spikes Award (top amateur baseball player in the United States) prior to both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
The 24-year-old was assigned to Lake County’s 2023 Opening Day roster after making 23 starts for the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats in 2022, when he went 5-5 with a 4.79 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 97.2 innings pitched. Denholm also made two starts during the 2022 Carolina League postseason, throwing nine strikeouts and surrendering just one walk in 12.1 innings of work. He then made 23 appearances (six starts) with the Captains last season, going 3-3 with a 3.16 ERA, 67 strikeouts, 18 walks, and a 1.14 WHIP, while converting three of his five save opportunities.
Denholm will look to continue his recent success this week, as the Captains will play a six-game road series against the Lansing Lugnuts. The series is set to begin on Tuesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Jackson Field in Lansing, Michigan. The series 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.