Lavisky had two hits in Mahoning Valley's opening loss

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

NILES

Many minor league baseball players start their careers in a different country.

Scrappers catcher Alex Lavisky barely started his in a different county.

"When I was at Lake County, I was living at home," said Lavisky, a Lakewood St. Edward High graduate who played the first 49 games of this season with the Lake County Captains. "I saw all my family and friends. It was real nice. Real comfortable. And that was the whole idea — to be comfortable so I can settle in and be the player I'm supposed to be."

Lavisky was an eighth round draft pick by the Indians in 2010 — his teammate, pitcher Stetson Allie, was a second round pick by the Pirates — but didn't sign until Aug. 16, the final day possible. After playing just five games last season for the Arizona League Indians, Cleveland wanted to make sure he saw significant action this summer, so it sent him to Lake County with the intention of bringing him to the Scrappers once the short season started.

Lavisky started at catcher for Friday's opener, collecting two hits in a 9-3 loss to the Jamestown Jammers in front of 5,428 at Eastwood Field.

"They told me I exceeded expectations up in Lake County," said Lavisky, who batted .207 with eight homers and 24 RBIs with the Captains. "I think the plan from the beginning was to kind of groom me into Lake County and finish the season here.

"I know they wanted me to play 140 games and this was the most ideal way to do it."

Lavisky was the only Scrapper with more than one hit but his most impressive at-bat may have been a strikeout. After falling into an 0-2 hole in the sixth inning, Lavisky fouled off seven of the next eight pitches before striking out swinging on a 1-2 count. Lavisky's first single went to left and his second went to right — an encouraging sign for the 20-year-old.

"That's one thing I've been working on a lot," Lavisky said. "In high school, it's easy to be a one-dimensional hitter. The pitching is not that good and you see guys just pulling balls out of the park.

"Here, I'm trying to be more of a dynamic hitter and the last couple games I've been hitting oppo [opposite field] real well."

Scrappers manager Chris Wallace agreed.

"Bringing him down here wasn't necessarily a demotion," said Wallace, a former Scrapper who made his managerial debut Friday night. "We're very happy with his progress and where he's going."

Lavisky said he dug himself into a hole, batting average-wise, early in the season at Lake County but is starting to see the ball better.

"The power numbers were there; I just kind of need to get more of that consistency," he said. "All my success at Lake County came in spurts, so I'd have three good games and fall under the bus again."

Scrappers starter Joseph Colon lasted just 21/3 innings, giving up six runs (all earned) on five hits and two walks. Joshua Hodges gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits in five innings to get the win.

"I saw some good things despite the loss," Wallace said. "The guys played hard and I never felt like we were out of it."