Captains' Freeman reaches five times

Tyler Freeman may not have had gotten off to the kind of start he would've liked at the plate, but it didn't take long for the 19-year-old to turn it around. 
The Indians' No. 3 prospect had a perfect night at the plate on Saturday, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs, getting hit by two pitches and scoring a run in Class A Lake County's 6-2 victory over Dayton at Fifth Third Field.

Boasting a 60-grade hit tool, according to MLB Pipeline, Freeman started his 2019 campaign with two hits in 16 at-bats. In his last four games however, he's 7-for-11 to raise his slash line to .300/.432/.400. 
The slump was frustrating for the 19-year-old, who admitted he was starting to put pressure on himself to perform, and it wasn't helping.
"Some of the 0-for games that I had were still good contact," Freeman said. "I was hitting the ball hard, but at a certain point you start pressing. You start getting text messages from family members and friends that say, 'Hey, what's going on?' That's when it starts to put the pressure on you. I realized after that I'm here for a reason and I'm here to showcase my abilities and trust in them.
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"It challenges yourself. Anyone playing in this career is going to be getting [those texts], whether it be from random fans or family members. You have to learn how to zone that out and focus on the next game."
Freeman was hit by a pitch in each of his first two at bats on Saturday. With two on and two out in the top of the fourth, he laced the first pitch from reliever Eduardo Salazar off the left field wall, scoring Hosea Nelson and Indians No. 23 prospect Jose Fermin. Freeman tacked on singles in the seventh and ninth. 
"I saw the ball well today," he said. "For the first time [this season], I can actually say that. I haven't been myself early on this season, and today I trusted my ability and let my ability play.
"I was looking for a fastball. I got it early in the count, first pitch, and I tried to do as much damage as I could with it. I caught barrel and kind of thought it was a home run at first, but it hit the wall. After that swing, it kind of connected in and it felt like, 'Hey, I'm back.' That swing felt like last year's and it boosted my confidence."
A swing like last season's is a good sign for the California native, who broke out last summer with Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley. He led the New York-Penn League in batting, hits, extra-base hits, runs scored and total bases while putting up a .352/.405/.511 slash line. Freeman struck out only 22 times in 270 at bats and collected 38 RBIs.
Selected as a competitive balance pick in the second round of the 2017 Draft, Freeman turned down an offer to play for Texas Christian and signed with the Indians. He debuted later that year in the Rookie-level Arizona League, where he accumulated 38 hits -- including 11 for extra bases -- in 36 games. Now he hopes to continue performing consistently at the plate, like he's always done.

"I've gotten a lot of support from my teammates and coaching staff," he said. "I know I got off to a slow start, but the coaching staff and my teammates are very supportive about it. They're always reminding me, 'You know who you are.'"
Indians No. 28 prospect Marcos Gonzalez smacked a two-run homer for the Captains. Starter Shane McCarthy (1-1) earned the win with five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and recording a career-high nine strikeouts.
Reds No. 7 prospect Michael Siani had two hits, while 19th-ranked Mariel Bautista and Miguel Hernandez each drove in a run for the Dragons. Reds No. 11 prospect Lyon Richardson gave up four unearned runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.