After five months of baseball and 123 games, the Lansing Lugnuts (25-34, 54-69) host the Fort Wayne TinCaps (25-33, 52-72) this week for a six-day, seven-game series to cap off the 2026 campaign.
This will be the third time the Nuts and ‘Caps have clashed this season; Lansing took four wins against Fort Wayne in Indiana during the second series of the season, and the teams split a shortened two-game matchup toward the end of July in Michigan’s state capitol. The first game of that mini-series was postponed due to air quality concerns from wildfire smoke.
Lansing returns to JacksonⓇField™ after dropping five games against the Great Lakes Loons last week, bringing its record on the road to a franchise-worst 20-45, starkly contrasted with a home record of 34-24, the fourth-most wins at home in the Midwest League this season. The Lugnuts avoided the sweep against the playoff-hunting Loons with a 9-5 win on Sunday, powered by two home runs from Myles Naylor.
Fort Wayne enters the series having lost four games against the Dayton Dragons last week to round out its 2026 home schedule. The TinCaps are half a game up on the last-place Lugnuts in the Midwest League East second half standings.
Capping the Season with the ‘Caps
Fort Wayne comes into the final week of the 2026 season having put up low marks on offense in the month of August in the Midwest League, ranking 10th in batting average (.235), 11th in OBP (.331), 12th in SLG (.353) and OPS (.684), 11th in hits (189), 12th in RBIs (106), 11th in walks (97), 12th in total bases (284) and 12th in home runs (15).
Fort Wayne also scored the fewest runs in that time frame, 114, to contribute to the second-worst run differential among teams in the Midwest League in the second half, with opponents outscoring the TinCaps by 86 runs. In the season as a whole, the TinCaps have the worst run differential in the league at -231, 46 runs lower than the next closest team.
The bats on the active roster are led by Bradley Frye (.279/.362/.459 in 18 games, free agent signing in July) and veteran Kasen Wells (.264/.356/.319 in 112 games), who is ranked ninth in the Midwest League among qualified hitters in most hits this season with 101. San Diego Padres No. 20 prospect (MLB Pipeline) Robbie Lavey is another name to watch; Lavey was the Padres’ fourth pick in the 2026 draft (Rd. 4, 124th overall) out of George Washington University and is slashing .244/.320/.444 in his first 13 professional games.
On the mound, Fort Wayne’s pitching staff didn’t fare much better than its offense in the league rankings in August, slotting in at 11th in ERA (5.81), 10th in WHIP (1.58), eighth in batting average against (.252), 10th in strikeouts (228), eighth in walks (129), seventh in hits allowed (213) and 11th in runs surrendered (164).
Carson Montgomery leads the active roster in starts with 20 this season, tied for the eighth-most in the Midwest League. The Florida State product has a 4.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .218 BAA and 76 strikeouts over 87 innings as a starter.
The pitching staff also includes No. 6 prospect (MLB Pipeline) Bryan Balzer (4.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, .225 BAA in 10 games), No. 13 prospect Kannon Kemp (5.73 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, .321 BAA in nine games) and No. 15 prospect Winyer Chourio (7.00 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, .270 BAA in 10 games).
Young Blood
With neither team in contention for a playoff spot, the focus for this series can shift to other aspects of the game, and it might be worth keeping an eye on how some of the younger players on both rosters finish out the season.
There are two 2026 draft picks featured in this series; Lavey for the ‘Caps and Tanner Marsh for the Nuts. The Athletics drafted Marsh in the ninth round with the 261st overall pick. The North Carolina native was a standout at Liberty University throughout 64 games in 2026, ranking fifth in the country in defensive runs saved, tied for 21st in hits (89) and tied for 24th in runs scored with 70, setting a Liberty single season record. Marsh was named Conference USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year. After arriving in Lansing on Aug. 20, Marsh is hitting .158/.273/.158 over 19 at-bats in six games.
Jared Davis was promoted to Lansing from the Arizona Complex League on Aug. 18. Davis began his High-A career going 5-for-6 at the plate with two doubles and five RBIs in his first two games and is slashing .435/.519/.522 with three runs scored, six RBIs, four walks and two stolen bases over seven total contests.
Breyson Guedez, 18-year-old A’s No. 9 overall prospect and No. 3 outfield prospect (MLB Pipeline), has a little more High-A experience, promoted to Lansing from Single-A on Aug. 3 and appearing in 24 games. In 102 at-bats, Guedez is batting .275/.318/.353 with 17 runs scored, 14 RBIs, four walks, two doubles and two home runs (both hit in the same game on Aug. 18).
Pitcher José Parra also recently found himself promoted from the Arizona Complex League and has pitched in a single game for the Lugnuts, allowing two hits, two runs and three walks with a strikeout in his first High-A start last week against the Great Lakes Loons.
One last round of Powell’s Predictions
In addition to watching how the young players perform and what kind of impression they can leave on the higher-ups in the organization, there are a few veterans I am looking forward to watching this week, and Tucker Novotny is at the top of my list.
Novotny began the season in the bullpen before moving to the starting rotation after the promotions of Nathan Dettmer, Zane Taylor and Ben Hanson to Double-A, and he has shined in the role. Over six starts, Novotny has a 3.49 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and .212 BAA with 31 strikeouts. In his last four games, which includes a bulk relief appearance against Great Lakes last week, Novotny has a 1.59 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a .175 BAA, allowing just four earned runs and seven walks with 28 strikeouts over 22 ⅔ innings pitched.
I’m also interested to see how long Jake Reinisch can extend his on-base streak, which currently stands at 39 games and is the third-longest streak in Minor League Baseball. Since the beginning of the streak on July 5, Reinisch is slashing .302/.461/.512 with 39 hits, 36 walks, one intentional walk and two hit-by-pitches.
As for my series prediction (which I’ve learned this season I’m not all that good at), I think the TinCaps present the Lugnuts with a very winnable final series of the season, especially with it being at JacksonⓇField™. I think that as long as the team shows fight, Lansing can take five or six wins in the seven-game series and end 2026 on a high note.