Three Captains Named 2025 Midwest League All-Stars, Josh Hartle Named 2025 Midwest League Pitcher of the Year

EASTLAKE, Ohio – On Wednesday, Minor League Baseball (MiLB) announced its High-A League All-Star Teams and award winners for the 2025 season.

Three Lake County Captains were named Midwest League All-Stars for the 2025 campaign.

LHP Josh Hartle, MLB Pipeline’s No. 24 Guardians prospect, C Jacob Cozart, MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 Guardians prospect, and OF Alfonsin Rosario, MLB Pipeline’s No. 12 Guardians prospect, were each honored for their efforts with the Captains this year.

JOSH HARTLE, STARTING PITCHER

Not only was Hartle recognized as a Midwest League All-Star, but he was also named the 2025 Midwest League Pitcher of the Year.

The left-hander is the second pitcher in Captains franchise history to earn a league’s top pitcher honor, joining RHP Roberto Hernández (then known as Fausto Carmona), who was the 2003 South Atlantic League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher.

Following LHP Matt Wilkinson’s 2024 Midwest League All-Star nod for Lake County, Hartle gives the Captains an All-Star left-handed starting pitcher for the second consecutive year.

The 22-year-old had an impressive 22 starts for Lake County in his first full professional season this year, which resulted in his promotion to the Double-A Akron RubberDucks on Aug. 21. Hartle led the Midwest League and tied the High-A lead with 10 wins this season, and was the only MWL pitcher to earn double-digit wins in 2025. At the time of his promotion, the southpaw led the Midwest League in ERA (2.35), opposing batting average (.195), WHIP (1.05), and win percentage (.833, 10-2).

He also ranked top-10 in the Midwest League in games started (22, tied for third), innings pitched (103.1, tied for fourth), and strikeouts (100, sixth) at the time of his promotion. Additionally, Hartle surrendered just two home runs during his Captains tenure, which ranked tied for fourth among MiLB pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched in this span.

With 10 wins, 100 strikeouts, and a .195 opposing batting average during his time with Lake County, the King, North Carolina native was one of just two MiLB pitchers with at least 10 wins, at least 100 strikeouts, and an opposing batting average below .200 in this span (also former Captains and fellow current Double-A Akron RHP Yorman Gómez). Hartle is also the only pitcher with at least 10 wins, at least 100 strikeouts, and an opposing batting average below .200 in a season in Lake County franchise history.

The southpaw tallied four quality starts for the Captains this season. Hartle also ended his Lake County tenure with one of the most dominant pitching stretches in the Midwest League this year, not allowing an earned run over his final six starts as a Captain. The portsider went 5-0 with 28 strikeouts, a .117 opposing batting average, and a 0.74 WHIP in 31.0 innings pitched in this span.

Hartle was originally a third-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Wake Forest. He was acquired by the Cleveland Guardians from Pittsburgh on Dec. 10, 2024, along with current Cleveland RHP Luis Ortiz and current Captains LHP Michael Kennedy, in exchange for current Pirates INF Spencer Horwitz.

JACOB COZART, CATCHER

Cozart had a strong 2024 campaign with the Captains, which resulted in his promotion to Double-A Akron on Aug. 11.

In his first full professional season, the left-handed hitter batted .229 with 59 hits, 12 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 38 RBI, 41 walks, and a .708 OPS in 72 games for Lake County this year. Defensively, at the time of his promotion, his 30 runners caught stealing ranked fourth in the Midwest League.

Cozart concluded his Captains tenure with a power surge at the plate. From July 1 through the end of his time with Lake County, the 22-year-old’s six home runs ranked tied for second in the Midwest League during this span.

The High Point, North Carolina native was one of the Midwest League’s best hitters on Sundays this season. At the time of his promotion, Cozart led the league in RBI (16) and doubles (seven, tied) on Sundays in 2025, while also ranking top-five in OPS (.985, second), batting average (.365, third), and on-base percentage (.485, fourth). Additionally, at the time of his promotion, he ranked tied for 10^th in the MWL with 19 hits and a .500 slugging percentage on Sundays this year.

After being selected by the Guardians in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of North Carolina State, Cozart was assigned to the Captains following a week of Bridge League action with the Arizona Complex League Guardians. He was a key member of Lake County’s 2024 Midwest League Championship Team, starting at catcher in all five of the Captains’ postseason games that year and tallying three hits and three RBI during the 2024 Midwest League Playoffs.

ALFONSIN ROSARIO, DESIGNATED HITTER

Rosario was one of the Midwest League’s premier hitters with Lake County this year, which resulted in his promotion to Double-A Akron on Aug. 5.

At the time of his promotion, the 21-year-old led the Midwest League with 16 home runs, while ranking top-10 in the MWL in slugging percentage (.490, third), OPS (.852, sixth), extra-base hits (34, tied for seventh), and total bases (150, eighth) during his Captains tenure.

With a .268 batting average, 16 home runs, and 12 stolen bases in 82 games for Lake County this year, Rosario was the only High-A player with at least a .265 batting average, 15 home runs, and 12 stolen bases in 2025. This season, he ranked top-10 on the Captains in RBI (47, fourth), hits (82, sixth), runs (49, sixth), doubles (16, tied for sixth), triples (two, seventh), and walks (37, seventh).

The right-handed hitter’s All-Star selection is not his first accolade of the season, however.

Rosario was also named the Midwest League Player of the Week and earned MLB Pipeline MiLB Prospect Team of the Week honors for his exemplary performance against the Dayton Dragons during the week of June 30-July 6. The San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic-born outfielder led qualified High-A hitters with a 1.525 OPS and eight walks in six games played during this span, while also leading qualified Midwest League hitters in batting average (.471) and on-base percentage (.643). Additionally, with zero strikeouts in 28 plate appearances, he was one of three MiLB hitters with at least 25 plate appearances to not strike out in this stretch.

Rosario was originally a sixth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs out of P27 Baseball Academy (SC). He was acquired by Cleveland from Chicago on Nov. 20, 2024 in exchange for current Cubs and former Lake County RHP Eli Morgan.

The Captains will begin their 2026 season with a three-game weekend home series versus the West Michigan Whitecaps. First pitch for the series-opener is scheduled for Friday, April 3 from Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake at a time to be determined. The game will be broadcast on the Bally Sports Live App, MiLB.com, and StreamGuys, with social media coverage courtesy of @LCCaptains on X and Instagram.

About the Lake County Captains:

The Lake County Captains are the professional High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians located in Eastlake, Ohio. Our mission is to honor the rich history of our organization, while also introducing baseball to a new generation of fans through innovative means. We are committed to supporting our community, sports teams, and each other by demonstrating passion and having fun every day.