{"id":124805,"date":"2019-06-24T15:19:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T19:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/?p=124805"},"modified":"2025-10-15T14:27:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T18:27:04","slug":"tincaps-news-cantillo-earns-midwest-league-pitcher-of-the-week-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/2019\/06\/24\/tincaps-news-cantillo-earns-midwest-league-pitcher-of-the-week-award\/","title":{"rendered":"TinCaps News: Cantillo Earns Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

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TinCaps left-handed pitcher Joey Cantillo earned the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week award for the week of June 17-23, 2019, the league announced on Monday.<\/p>\n

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Game recap from the Fort Wayne TinCaps:<\/p>\n

Cantillo Earns Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Award<\/strong>
\n19-Year-Old Left-Hander Struck Out 10 in 6 Scoreless on Thursday<\/em><\/p>\n

Fort Wayne, Indiana (June 24, 2019) \u2013 TinCaps left-handed pitcher Joey Cantillo earned the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week award for the week of June 17-23, the league announced on Monday. The 19-year-old from Hawaii struck out a career-high 10 batters in six scoreless innings against the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) on Thursday night in Midland, Mich. He allowed just two singles and no walks in a game the \u2019Caps won, 6-0, with all of their runs coming in the ninth inning. After one of those singles, Cantillo actually picked the runner off.<\/p>\n

Cantillo\u2019s sterling start was just his latest in a sensational season. The San Diego Padres\u2019 16th-round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft has a 1.96 ERA across 12 starts. For pitchers in the league who\u2019ve worked at least 50 innings, Cantillo has the second lowest ERA, while his WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) of 0.87 is the league\u2019s best. Opponents are batting .161 against him\u2014the lowest average against a pitcher league-wide. MLB.com rates him as the 30th best prospect in San Diego\u2019s farm system.<\/p>\n

Cantillo, who throws a four-seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup, has struck out 34% of the batters he\u2019s faced this season, which also leads the league. To put it another way, he\u2019s striking out 11.95 batters per nine innings. At the same time, he\u2019s walked just 8% of opponents. That 26% disparity between K% and BB% is another category in which he leads the MWL. Cantillo is averaging 4.29 strikeouts per walk.<\/p>\n

Advanced metrics like Cantillo, too. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching, which is comparable to ERA) of 2.21 is the best in the MWL, and so is his 2.56 xFIP.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, he\u2019s accomplished these numbers despite having had mixed results in April. But since the calendar turned to May, in eight starts, Cantillo\u2019s ERA is an even more miniscule 0.62 with 54 strikeouts to eight walks in 43 1\/3 innings pitched. The league has slashed .139\/.183\/.194 (.377 OPS) against him over this stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thankful for the recognition,\u201d Cantillo said. \u201cBut you can always be better, and I\u2019m just focused on continuing to work to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t turn 20 until Dec. 18 and he\u2019s currently the fifth youngest pitcher in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoey is very mature for only being 19,\u201d said pitching coach Matt Williams. \u201cHis day-to-day approach is really impressive. It\u2019s been fun to watch his success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cantillo is the second TinCap to garner a weekly accolade from the Midwest League this season. Infielder Tucupita Marcano was the circuit\u2019s Offensive Player of the Week for the week of April 29-May 5. Additionally, TinCaps infielder Xavier Edwards, starting pitcher Ryan Weathers, and reliever Henry Henry were all selected for the Midwest League All-Star Game that was held in South Bend last week.<\/p>\n

Cantillo is scheduled to next pitch on Wednesday, June 26 (12:05 p.m.) when the TinCaps host the South Bend Cubs. The \u2019Caps start a weeklong homestand at Parkview Field on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m.<\/p>\n

More on Cantillo<\/strong>:<\/p>\n