Loons' Ortiz spins longest start of career
Even as a 19-year-old, Robinson Ortiz has a work ethic that Class A Great Lakes pitching coach Luis Meza thinks equals the best in the game. And he should know, because he's seen it a lot this year.The No. 24 Dodgers prospect tossed a career-high 7 2/3 innings, yielding two
Even as a 19-year-old, Robinson Ortiz has a work ethic that Class A Great Lakes pitching coach Luis Meza thinks equals the best in the game. And he should know, because he's seen it a lot this year.
The No. 24 Dodgers prospect tossed a career-high 7 2/3 innings, yielding two hits and two walks with five strikeouts as Class A Great Lakes topped Dayton, 2-0, in 10 innings Wednesday at Fifth Third Field.
"Pretty much all of his stuff was working for him," Meza said. "He was able to locate that fastball to both sides of the plate very well. Also his secondary offerings were very good. His slider was one of the best sliders he's thrown so far. He throws it consistently in the zone, and the changeup was another pitch working for him."
Ortiz, who had never gone more than six innings in a start before, threw 60 strikes of a career-best 94 total pitches. His 3.63 ERA in July coming into the outing was the best number he's sported in any month this season, but the lefty he was following a start against Clinton in which he threw 54 pitches and only went 1 2/3 frames.
Between the two starts, there were conversations between coach and hurler on how to better effectively utilize pitches in the strike zone without being predictable. That went a long way into making this latest appearance a scoreless one.
Gameday box score
"One of the things [we talked about] was be more in the zone, especially with the secondary offerings," Meza said. "He has good stuff, but one thing that was limiting his control was that he wasn't throwing the changeup and the slider in the zone. That was one of the things we focused on in these last side [sessions]."
The left-hander got back on the right track against Dayton by limiting most hard contact, getting eight groundouts and just three flyouts. Ortiz set down the first seven hitters before allowing a single to Juan Martinez with one out in the third inning, but he worked around that with back-to-back lineouts from Miguel Hernandez and sixth-ranked Reds prospectMichael Siani.
In the fourth, Ortiz got into his first true jam of the night after plunking Miguel Bautista with one out and walking Cameron Warren with two down. He wiggled his way out of it on one pitch to Brian Rey, who flew out.
The Dominican Republic native pitched around baserunners in the fifth and sixth before completing a perfect seventh. Back on the hill for the first time in the eighth, he issued a leadoff walk to Martinez. After Hernandez was retired on a sacrifice bunt and Siani grounded out to first, the book was closed on Ortiz's night. The hurler lowered his ERA by nearly a full run from 5.31 to 4.50.
"This is a guy who wants the ball and is very competitive," Meza said. "And to see him want to get the ball and get the last out, that was fun to watch. He showed you who this guy is, he really wants the ball in big spots."
Signed as an international free agent in 2017, Ortiz has fanned 49 hitters in 50 innings during his first campaign in full-season ball stateside. To see the steps the 6-foot, 180-pounder has taken in just a few months after sporting a 16.00 ERA after his first three starts in the Midwest League has impressed his coach.
"Being so young and wanting to show people he's ready for the level, it's been a thing where we're focused on getting him into work habits and routines," Meza said. "Despite going through some bad stretches, which is something that happens in baseball, he's had a good work ethic and work habit, so it's fun to watch and awesome to be part of it."

Reliever Joel Inoa entered with a runner at third, but kept the game tied by whiffing Claudio Finol and throwing a 1-2-3 ninth to keep the game scoreless.
The Loons broke through in the 10th on RBI singles by Romer Cuadrado and Dan Robinson.
Justin Bruihl worked around a hit to earn his first save of the season.
Andrew Battifarano is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter, @AndrewAtBatt.
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